Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/23/2013

One of the most fervent advocates of jihad in Canada is a convert who is a member of the Cree Indian tribe in Saskatchewan. The Native Canadian, who now calls himself Dawood, says he converted five years ago when he was drunk and suicidal. Now he lives to defend Islam by whatever means necessary, as prescribed by the Koran.

In other news, a teenage girl testifying in the Bullfinch Trial (Mohammed Coefficient of defendants: 22%) in the Old Bailey says that she was branded on the buttock by her culturally enriched pimp when she was just twelve years old. The “M” brand was intended to show her, ahem, suitors that she was the property of Mo, her pimp. She also told the court in the Oxford grooming trial that she was sexually assaulted with a baseball bat.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, Nilk, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Crumbling Global Economy Passes Point of No Return
» Euro Crisis Returns — In Italy, Spain and Cyprus
» Obama Resorts to Local TV Interviews to Push Tax Hikes
 
USA
» “Virtual President” Bill Whittle Nails it on Gun Control (Video)
» 5,200 Names Involving the Pentagon Paid for Child Pornography
» AIM Interview With Christopher Horner of CEI About “The Liberal War on Transparency”
» Cause of Mosque Fire Remains a Mystery
» Dr. Ali Salim Raped, Killed Pregnant Woman Deanna Ballman, 23 Murdered Responding to Craigslist Ad for Modeling, Continued to Abuse Corpse and Solicit Other Women to Kill
» Firearms Companies Refuse to Do Business With Government Attacking 2nd Amendment
» Half of Detroit Property Owners Don’t Pay Taxes
» Help KeyWiki Expose Minnesota’s Socialist Elected Officials
» It’s for My Own Good?
» Judy Chu Exposed, Part 3: Judy Chu and Communist Worker Jose Zapata Calderon
» Maine Police Being Trained That Christians, Constitutionalists May be “Domestic Terrorists”
» Michigan State Speaker Violates States Rights and Oath
» New Defense Clandestine Service Blends Civilian and Military Operations
» NYC Mayor Bloomberg Bans Soft Drinks for Your Health?
» Obama: Marxist Revolutionary
» Rock Hill’s ‘Mosque of Peace’ Nears Completion
» State Attorney General Visits Paterson Mosque
» There’s an Even Worse Scandal Hidden in Obama’s Secret Drone Memo
» U.S. Troops Arrive in Niger to Set Up Drone Base
» University Evacuated Amid Bomb Scare in U.S. Texas
» Veterans Receiving Letters Prohibiting the Purchase, Possession, Receipt, Or Transport of a Firearm or Ammunition.
 
Canada
» Cree Jihadist: How a Boy From a Saskatchewan Reserve Became a National Security Concern
» Rights Complaint Against Muslim Barber Who Refused to Give Woman Haircut Quietly Resolved
 
Europe and the EU
» Belgian Radio Poll on ‘Sex-Abuse Cardinal’ Going to Conclave
» Belgian Creche Stabbings: ‘The Joker Practiced at Home Before Going on Killing Spree’
» British Al-Qaeda Recruits Told to Spread Terror Training Through Europe
» Cardinal Says Next Pope Should Allow Priests to Marry
» Denmark: Arabic Man Accuses Free Speech Group of Hypocrisy
» English Should be the Language of Europe, Claims Germany’s President as He Begs Britain Not to Leave the European Union
» Italian Auto Insurance Most Costly in Europe
» Italy: Consumers File for Probe if Cardinal Mahony Comes to Rome
» Italy: M5S Leader Grillo Points to 800,000 Campaign Rally Turnout
» Sweden: Lecturer Suspended Over Racist Mohammed Email
» Sweden: Minister Slams ID Checks Based on Skin Colour
» This Week Saw Britain’s Largest Trade Mission to India. The Tragedy is We’ve Very Little to Sell Any More. And for That, Our Politicians and Civil Servants Are Largely to Blame
» UK: ‘He Branded Me So People Knew I Was His’: Sex Slave Aged 11 Describes How ‘Trafficker Disfigured Her Flesh With Heated Hairpin’
» UK: ‘Boom, Boom, Boom Everywhere… Kill’: Chilling Words of British Muslim Terrorists’ Ringleader as He Plotted to Murder 2,000 People in Al-Qaeda-Backed Atrocity in Supermarkets and Town Centres
» UK: ‘Don’t Give My Lazy Daughter a £400,000 Home… Make Her Get Off Her Backside and Work!’ the Father of Notorious Benefits Mother Speaks for Britain
» UK: Arrests Made After EDL Rally and Protests in Central Cambridge
» UK: Bullfinch Trial Day 24: Girl Claims She Was Marked With Heated Hairpin
» UK: Commute Three Hours a Day or Lose Benefits, Jobseekers Are Told in Tough New Plan
» UK: EDL Protests Come at Too High a Price, Says Howitt
» UK: London Metropolitan University Suspends Researcher With Car Bomb Conviction
» UK: Muslims Fight Prayer Room Ban at College
» UK: Mosque Plans Given Go-Ahead by Leicester City Council
» UK: Muslims on the March to Defy EDL
» UK: Men Would “Pay Up to £600” For Sex With 12-Year-Old, Old Bailey Hears [Bullfinch Trial]
» UK: So Much for BBC Transparency! 90 Pages of BBC’s Savile Report Blacked Out, Dg Goes to Ground… and No One is Blamed for Fiasco
» UK: Teenager “Branded” By Alleged Abuser, Old Bailey Hears [Bullfinch Trial]
» UK: Universities Act Against Islamist Extremism and Bigotry
» UK: What if the Terrorists Were Jews?
» We Must Rethink How We Approach Shoah Memory
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Rushed Elections Not Conducive to Stability, NSF
» Egypt: Activist: Increased Discrimination and Persecution of Christian Copts
» Egypt: Civil Disobedience in Port Said Enters Fifth Day, With Escalations
» The Silent Islamization of Egyptian Society
» Tunisia: Ennahdha Names Ali Larayedh for Prime Minister, According to Its Official Website
» Tunisia: Sidi Bouzid — Police Storm Mosque Where Armed Group Took Refuge
» Welcome to Phase Three of the Arab Spring
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel Licenses US Oil Drilling in Golan Heights
 
South Asia
» India: 15 Special Teams Constituted to Crack Hyderabad Blasts Case, Andhra Govt Hopeful
» India: Islam Has No Connection With Terrorism: Prof. Bruce Lawrence
» Is Bngladesh’s Shahbag the Next Tahrir Square?
» Maldivian Police Launch Investigations Into Attack of Journalist
» The Plight of Afghanistan’s Opium Brides
» Toy Bomb Kills 2 Children in Pakistan’s North Waziristan
» Wives Duped and Dumped by ‘Holiday Grooms’
 
Far East
» Japan: Plans to Alter Constitution Cause Consternation
 
Australia — Pacific
» Free Speech Stoned to Death
» Sydney Seeing ‘Islamisation’, Wilders Says
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Iran Denies Involvement in Nigerian Terror Cells: Official
» Kenya: School Refuses to Take Head Scarf-Wearing Girl
» Nigeria: Timeline of Boko Haram and Related Violence
» Tuaregs and Arabs Not Ready to Return to Mali
» Twenty Islamist Rebels Killed in Gao Battle
 
Immigration
» Elections: ‘New Italians’ Between Enthusiasm and Disappointment
» Italy: Four Held After Brawl at Immigration Centre in Turin
» UK: Let’s Talk About the Exodus of 600,000 Whites From London
 
Culture Wars
» Filthy and Unsanitary Conditions Found in Offices of Chicago Law Firm Hinshaw & Culbertson!

Crumbling Global Economy Passes Point of No Return

As bad as the global economy is right now, it is unfortunately going to get far worse. Many central banks around the world are now racing to devalue their currencies through the implementation of debt monetization programs and low interest rates. Despite statements coming out of the G20 saying otherwise, many insiders and former insiders are fully admitting that there is an on-going global currency war and that this war is accelerating. The Bank of Japan’s recent announcement of a massive bond purchase program is the latest episode in an already sorry state of affairs. It is a historical fact that prosperity has never been obtained by devaluing a nation’s money which makes it all the more insane that the central planners are actually trying to sell the general public on these policies.

In fact if monetary devaluation resulted in economic growth, Zimbabwe which recently experienced a period of rampant hyperinflation would easily be the wealthiest nation in the world instead of one of the poorest. Ancient Rome had a strong monetary unit when the nation rose to prominence but degenerated after the ruling powers decided to devalue its coinage. In more recent times both the British Empire and the United States reached great heights when they maintained a sound money system. With this said, you really don’t need to be an economics guru to figure out that the result of today’s monetary policies will eventually result in a complete disaster for the global economy.

Despite all of the absurd propaganda from the major news networks, there is no question that much of the world is in a depression. The only reason there has not been a total collapse of the system is because of the fact that central banks have maintained artificially low interest rates and propped up sovereign bond markets by purchasing bonds with money that they created out of nothing. Taxpayer bailouts, stimulus programs and other nonsense haven’t helped matters either. These policies which were implemented following the crash of 2008 have simply set the world up for a much larger collapse in the future.

There would have at least been an outside chance to fix the system had the central planners not intervened but now the situation is becoming increasingly hopeless. Take for example what happened in Iceland immediately following the 2008 financial crisis. The Icelandic people voted against using taxpayer money to prop up failed Icelandic banks. Even though there was a great deal of short term economic pain with foreign depositors and foreign bond holders losing billions, the country is now on the road to recovery.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Euro Crisis Returns — In Italy, Spain and Cyprus

Worries about the euro crisis have died down somewhat in recent months, but the upcoming election in Italy is giving financial markets the jitters again. And Italy is, by far, not the only cause for concern.

It was in autumn 2011: The euro crisis was getting worse and worse — and slowly spreading from smaller economies, like Greece and Portugal, to larger players, like Spain, and even Italy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Obama Resorts to Local TV Interviews to Push Tax Hikes

The sequestration policy was an idea created by the White House and pushed by Democrat Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. Even the left-leaning PolitiFact fact-checking website has admitted as much.

Even as Obama has continued to say that sequestration is the Republican’s fault, PolitiFact points out that the President’s claim is “mostly false” Last October, PolitiFact noted that “Obama can’t rightly say the sequester isn’t his”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

“Virtual President” Bill Whittle Nails it on Gun Control (Video)

“Virtual president” Bill Whittle nails it on gun control… Absolutely nails it.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

5,200 Names Involving the Pentagon Paid for Child Pornography

[WARNING: *** EXTREMELY DISTURBING CONTENT ***]

A stunning report reveals that 5,200 workers at the Pentagon actually purchased child pornography online and visited child porn sites from their government offices! An investigation dating back to 2006 over 6 years ago has failed to prosecute both contractors and military employees of the Pentagon: 264 employees including Secretary of Defense personnel and contractors of the Pentagon are kiddy porn customers. These people are buying kiddy porn, child sex videos, pictures and content related to the sexual exploitation of children.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

AIM Interview With Christopher Horner of CEI About “The Liberal War on Transparency”

While the Obama administration has promised us “the most transparent administration in history,” they are proving to be anything but. And it’s not just Benghazi and Fast and Furious that they have tried so hard to cover up. In an interview with Christopher Horner, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we discussed some other examples from his blockbuster book, The Liberal War on Transparency. He makes a powerful case demonstrating how the left, and specifically the Obama administration, goes to great lengths to avoid having to reveal the record of what they are doing at the expense of the American taxpayer.

A significant part of the book is about how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has used secret email accounts to conduct business to avoid having their work product subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). CEI filed suit in late September asking the federal court to order the EPA to produce records pertaining to these “non-public email accounts for EPA administrators.”

While it got very little attention in the mainstream media, Thomas Lifson of American Thinker reported this week, in a piece titled, “EPA Covert Email System Scandal Deepens,” that “Last Friday, under court order, the agency [EPA] released a tranche of 1,200 pages in response to a lawsuit by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Chris Horner of the CEI uncovered the first sign of the secret communications channel when he was researching his book, The Liberal War On Transparency, when he came across emails to and from ‘Richard Windsor’ that were in fact from [Lisa] Jackson. Jackson resigned her post [as EPA administrator] in December last year when a court ordered her to release all Richard Windsor emails. By using an alias, these emails were not discoverable in Freedom of Information Act Inquiries, and in violation of the law.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Cause of Mosque Fire Remains a Mystery

Las Vegas CBS KXNT- On the anniversary of a blaze that destroyed an Islamic mosque and cemetary, authorities announced that they’ve exhausted their leads, and would like some help from the public. Clark County fire investigators, working with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, concluded that the fire was deliberately set. But on Friday, they announced they’ve reached a dead end, and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Dr. Ali Salim Raped, Killed Pregnant Woman Deanna Ballman, 23 Murdered Responding to Craigslist Ad for Modeling, Continued to Abuse Corpse and Solicit Other Women to Kill

[WARNING: ** Extremely Disturbing content ** ]

An Ohio man has been charged with raping and killing 23-year-old woman. Dr. Ali Salim is charged with murdering Deanna Ballman after she responded to a Craigslist ad. The Doctor allegedly injected the expecting mother with a lethal dose of heroin killing her and her unborn baby and later doing ‘inhumane’ things to her corpse.

The mother of two was found dead in the backseat of her car outside of New Albany on August 1. The Pakistani born doctor was charged with two counts of murder as well as rape, felonious assault, corrupting another with drugs, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. The 44-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will be released on $1 million bail Friday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Firearms Companies Refuse to Do Business With Government Attacking 2nd Amendment

In a move designed to counter federal and state attempts to whittle away the Second Amendment and disarm the American people, a growing number of firearm companies have announced they will no longer sell products to states, counties and municipalities engaged in subversion against the Constitution.

“There are some states, counties, cities, and municipalities in our great nation that fail to allow their citizens to fully exercise their right to keep and bear arms with restrictions such as magazine capacity or types of firearms that are widely available to citizens of other states, counties, cities, and municipalities,” notes The Police Loophole. “However, these government entities do not place these restrictions upon their own employees, such as police officers. It is important to note that we are against gun control; we are not against any particular government agency or individuals.”

The Police Loophole lists a large number of companies that have publicly announced they will no longer sell firearms to states, counties and municipalities attacking the Second Amendment.

A number of the companies have policies stating they will not do business with government engaged in gun control efforts.

“The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types of firearms,” states Extreme Firepower Inc. “If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Half of Detroit Property Owners Don’t Pay Taxes

Nearly half of the owners of Detroit’s 305,000 properties failed to pay their tax bills last year, exacerbating a punishing cycle of declining revenues and diminished services for a city in a financial crisis, according to a Detroit News analysis of government records.

The News reviewed more than 200,000 pages of tax documents and found that 47 percent of the city’s taxable parcels are delinquent on their 2011 bills. Some $246.5 million in taxes and fees went uncollected, about half of which was due Detroit and the rest to other entities, including Wayne County, Detroit Public Schools and the library.

Delinquency is so pervasive that 77 blocks had only one owner who paid taxes last year, The News found. Many of those who don’t pay question why they should in a city that struggles to light its streets or keep police on them.

“Why pay taxes?” asked Fred Phillips, who owes more than $2,600 on his home on an east-side block where five owners paid 2011 taxes. “Why should I send them taxes when they aren’t supplying services? It is sickening. … Every time I see the tax bill come, I think about the times we called and nobody came.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Help KeyWiki Expose Minnesota’s Socialist Elected Officials

Decades long Communist Party USA leader Gus Hall (Arvo Kustaa Halberg) was a “Red Finn” from the Iron Range.

‘90s Minneapolis Mayor Jim Schneibel was a card carrying member of the US’ largest Marxist group, Democratic Socialists of America. His ‘80s predecessor Donald M. Fraser was also a committed socialist.

Then there was the late Senator Paul Wellstone, tragically killed in a 2002 plane crash during his second election campaign. Still an icon to many in the state, Wellstone was a long term friend and supporter of Democratic Socialists of America.

Today’s bunch are no different.

Governor Mark Dayton is a far leftist, with ties to both Democratic Socialists of America and Communist Party USA.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, the man charged with overseeing Minnesota’s elections, is a hard core leftist, with secret ties to the Communist Party.

Senator Al Franken is also a serious leftist, with connections to both communist and socialist groups.

Congressman Keith Ellison too has strong ties to the hard left.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

It’s for My Own Good?

Cass Sunstein, Michael Bloomberg, Nanny State, coercive authoritarianism

I happened across an as-yet-to-be-published review in the New York Review of Books of a newly released book by Sarah Conly. The review itself is apparently scheduled for publication on March 7, 2013 and it has been authored by that famous (or if you prefer, infamous) Obama regulatory “czar”, Cass Sunstein.

The book itself is titled Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism (Cambridge University Press, 206 pp., $95.00)

I hadn’t even gotten past the title and bibliographical references when I realized that for those of us who have been writing about the idiocies, stupidities and hypocrisies of our benighted friends of the Progressive left, Cass Sunstein is just the gift that keeps on giving. Who else comes to mind when the title of the book review is (and as Dave Barry would put it, “I am not making this up!”) “It’s For Your Own Good!”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Judy Chu Exposed, Part 3: Judy Chu and Communist Worker Jose Zapata Calderon

Judy Chu, Congressional Representative of California’s 32nd District, is a long term affiliate of the now defunct Communist Workers Party and its still existing activist networks.

While officially extinct for 25 years gone, the ultra-militant, habitually violent and loyally pro-China CWP is still having an impact in New York, The Bay Area and Southern California, through covert networks of former members.

Judy Chu led a CWP front, the Federation for Progress, in the 1980s, while beginning her ascent of the Democratic Party ladder. Now it appears that Chu is still working closely with residual CWP networks.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Maine Police Being Trained That Christians, Constitutionalists May be “Domestic Terrorists”

A new unit study, No. 1.12.0 allegedly being taught at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA), entitled “Sovereign Citizens” and labeled as Restricted to Law Enforcement, seems to be teaching Maine’s police officers that anyone who believes in the superiority of the Lord God over man and man’s government, or those who espouse the belief that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are the Supreme Law of the land, are classified as “Sovereign Citizens” and should be considered potential domestic terrorists.

The course starts out with the instructor suggesting the U.S. and state governments are essentially dysfunctional and a menace to society. It goes on to insinuate that anyone who would seek to hold the criminal element that has taken over government at all levels accountable is somehow a domestic terrorist bent on doing unspeakable harm to patrol officers.

Both the U.S. and state governments have been basically hi-jacked by corporate interests in large, multi-national corporations and a meticulous banking syndicate, called the “Federal Reserve” (a privately owned banking cabal, not accountable to the Federal government), which has destroyed the purchasing power of U.S. currency by watering it down with cheap, counterfeit, debt-based Federal Reserve Notes over the past 100 years.

Those corporate chieftains who have gained power over the U.S. and Maine citizenry, and rule by proxy using an emasculated legislature, have gained the unwitting obedience and loyalty of Maine’s law enforcement officers and seek to keep those officers as their private security force to guarantee their monopoly of force over the people in Maine, as well as the entire U.S. To that end, they have crafted psychological warfare pieces such as this course at MCJA to brainwash the police that anyone who wants to hold them accountable and remove them from power is a threat to society and must be dealt with using extreme force.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Michigan State Speaker Violates States Rights and Oath

Over a month ago, Michigan representatives of The North American Law Center presented Speaker Bolger with a Model Bill being introduced in numerous states across the country, aimed at restoring Michigan’s Constitutional Balance of Power.

Bolger referred the Model Bill to legislative legal aide Doug Mains, who contacted representatives of the Law Center for further insight. Mains agreed with the constitutionality of the Model Act in an extensive phone conversation with the center. However, following that phone conference and at the direction of Speaker Bolger, Mains prepared a statement in opposition to not only The Balance of Powers Act, but ALL states and individual rights.

Although Bolger represents the opinion as his own, it is actually a poorly copied and pasted collection of opinions taken from The Heritage Foundation and David Barton at Wall Builders, both of whom have come out against the Tenth Amendment and States Rights for years now.

Contrary to Bolger’s claim, the opinions presented in his letter of 2/22/13 are not his own, but rather that of Barton and Heritage Foundation, both of whom have been working to support unbridled federal authority by destroying states’ rights via false history and anti-state propaganda for years.

Bolger’s letter is entirely embarrassing. It demonstrates exactly why RINOs like Bolger cannot be trusted with the business of the people of Michigan. Bolger’s letter is a carefully crafted false propaganda piece designed to destroy State and Individual Rights protected by the Michigan State Constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

[…]

In short, Bolger has bought the lie that our Founding Fathers created an unbridled federal power protected by a nine-member unelected oligarchy, hook, line and sinker. His lawyer Doug Mains knows better, as I spoke to him personally. But desperate for legal cover, Bolger has chosen to lie, support unbridled federal authority and lynch the people of his state at a most critical moment in history. Bolger chose the cowards way out.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

New Defense Clandestine Service Blends Civilian and Military Operations

The federal government is expanding the spy network, this time by adding an intelligence agency at the Department of Defense. The Defense Clandestine Service (DCS) is now active and operating under the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). According to the organization’s website, DCS’s mission will be to conduct:

human intelligence (HUMINT) operations to answer national-level defense objectives for the President, the Secretary of Defense, and senior policymakers. The civilian and military workforce of the DCS conducts clandestine and overt intelligence operations in concert with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and our Military Services to accomplish their mission in defense of the Nation.

The basic idea is that the new spies will work in conjunction with their counterparts at the CIA’s National Clandestine Service to expand the scope of the federal intelligence community’s surveillance operations.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Bans Soft Drinks for Your Health?

“Six months from today,” Bloomberg tweeted, “our city will be an even healthier place. NYC’s new sugary drink policy is the single biggest step any gov’t has taken to curb obesity. It will help save lives.”

There are several glaring problems with this ban. It does not include diet soda or diet drinks larger than 16 ounces, and it doesn’t apply to alcohol. That means you can get hammered on beer in a bar, but you won’t be allowed to buy a big gulp soda at a Yankee game.

What’s even worse, diet soda containing the neurotoxin aspartame with over 92 reported adverse side effects listed on the FDA’s website is okay. What kind of screw balls are making the laws in this country?

I am certainly not in favor of someone drinking big gulp sodas any more than I am in favor of someone smoking cigarettes. However, this is a very slippery and dangerous road for the government to be going down. What are we going to see in the future, a whole new agency known as the Food Police? We should pay more attention to our Founding Fathers and their statements because they lived through a tyrannical period of time where foreign governments did try to control what people ate.

“If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” — Thomas Jefferson

[…]

Morning-After Pills Dispensed Like Candy In All New York City High Schools

On one hand, he thinks he is going to cut down on rates of obesity and disease which will help ‘save lives’ and, on the other hand, he fully supports a pilot program in New York that gives out morning-after pills freely that for all intents and purposes stop life.

Students as young as 14 can now get free birth control at 13 New York City high schools without parental consent, but with the Mayor’s blessing. I am not just talking about condoms here either. Although condoms have been provided free for years, this program gives students access to oral contraceptives, along with the morning-after pill, which can prevent (end) pregnancy up to 72 hours after conception.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Obama: Marxist Revolutionary

The Democrat Party is dominated by leftist radicals who are abetted by the Republican Establishment.

As most real conservatives know, Obama, by his own admissions, appointments, associates, and actions, is a hard-core, 21st century, Marxist revolutionary. This means that while he has no real plan for what his utopian, pie-in-the-sky collectivist state would look like, or how it would survive as an economic entity, he is dedicated to destroying our existing free, constitutional, capitalist republic to start the process. It also means that like all Marxists, archaic and modern, his primary enemy is what Marx called the bourgeoisie — the Middle Class.

As those who went to school while actual history was still being taught know, it was the rise of a Middle Class that made capitalism possible in the first place. It was the possibility of bettering one’s situation in life, economically, socially, and politically that motivated people to invent new products and the devices to make them, to create systems for the distribution of the products, to constantly improve on all these things to make them more and more available to more and more people. The ability to own property, create personal wealth, and maintain the individual’s power to control how both were used, motivated the colonists in America to become independent and to create a nation, as Abraham Lincoln put it, “…conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

[…]

Under Obama,we have seen the Constitution violated on an almost daily basis. Laws that the public overwhelmingly disapproves of are passed regulary by a renegade Congress that consistently violates its own rules in the process. Huge bills are amassed, so big and introduced and voted on so quickly, that no one has time to read them, to know what they will require from us, and what the consequences of these radical rules will be. ObozoCare is a great example, but there are others like the highway and farm bills, and the upcoming 2013 Omnibus Federal Lands Bill. All are filled with laws that take more and more of our constitutional freedoms, the liberty that Americans have fought and died to protect and defend for over 200 years, that defined us and made possible the rise of our great Middle Class, and made us different from the rest of the world.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Rock Hill’s ‘Mosque of Peace’ Nears Completion

After years of planning, construction and the hard work of fundraising without being able to borrow even a dollar, Rock Hill’s first mosque is just months from opening its doors. The name of the mosque — Masjid Al-Salam — was voted on by the membership and announced this week. Translation: “Mosque of Peace.”But this building on Main Street just west of downtown is not just opening to Muslims. The Islamic Center of South Carolina, which is building the mosque, wants it to become “a part of the spiritual life of Rock Hill.”…

[JP note: Heaven forbid.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

State Attorney General Visits Paterson Mosque

Paterson: Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa visited North Jersey’s largest mosque Friday, where he told worshipers he is committed to protecting their civil rights and helping their families feel safe. Chiesa’s visit — part of a statewide Muslim outreach effort — comes a year after news reports revealed that New York City police watched Muslim mosques, schools and businesses in New Jersey. “I am very serious about working to ensure that all your rights, just like everyone else in the state, are protected,” Chiesa told about 1,600 people during Friday afternoon prayer at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

There’s an Even Worse Scandal Hidden in Obama’s Secret Drone Memo

The Obama administration’s classified legal memos justifying targeted killings contain secret protocols with foreign governments and “case-specific” details of strikes, two sources aware of their contents told Krisitn Roberts and Michael Hirsch of the National Journal.

The accords with foreign governments — which include Pakistan and Yemen — are a key element excluded from the Department of Justice (DoJ) “white paper.”

A legal expert outside the government “who is intimately familiar with the contents of the memos” told the Journal that targeted-killing memos written by the DoJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) are being withheld to protect this information.

The Senate and House intelligence committees have only been allowed to examine four of the nine OLC memos.

The expert told the Journal that the administration believes Congress would leak the information to the public, which could be extremely embarrassing to the U.S. and its foreign partners given the unpopularity of the drone program and the potentially shady details of the agreements.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

U.S. Troops Arrive in Niger to Set Up Drone Base

President Obama announced Friday that about 100 U.S. troops have been deployed to the West African country of Niger, where defense officials said they are setting up a drone base to spy on al-Qaeda fighters in the Sahara.

It was the latest step by the Pentagon to increase its intelligence-gathering across Africa in response to what officials see as a rising threat from militant groups.

In a letter to Congress, Obama said about 40 U.S. service members arrived in Niger on Wednesday, bringing the total number of troops based there to “approximately” 100. He said the troops, which are armed for self-protection, would support a French-led military operation in neighboring Mali, where al-Qaeda fighters and other militants have carved out a refuge in a remote territory the size of Texas.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

University Evacuated Amid Bomb Scare in U.S. Texas

HOUSTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — About 100 people were evacuated from a building at Texas A&M University on Friday after a bomb threat was received, school authorities said.

It was the second bomb threat in the past few days at the university. School officials were notified of the threat against the university’s College Station campus at about 9:25 a.m. local time…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Veterans Receiving Letters Prohibiting the Purchase, Possession, Receipt, Or Transport of a Firearm or Ammunition.

How would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? Suppose that letter also stated that the government is going to appoint a stranger to handle your affairs for you at your expense? That would certainly be scary enough but it gets worse.

What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?

That makes is sound like something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes. In my capacity as Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I have been contacted by some of these veterans and the stories I am getting are appalling.

The letter provides no specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “… be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.

Obviously, the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t be bothered by such impediments as the Constitution, particularly since they are clearly pushing to fulfill one of Obama’s main goals, the disarming of the American people. Janet Napolitano has already warned law enforcement that some of the most dangerous among us are America’s heroes, our veterans, and now according to this letter from the VA they can be prohibited from buying or even possessing a firearm because of a physical or mental disability.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Cree Jihadist: How a Boy From a Saskatchewan Reserve Became a National Security Concern

A Cree who wears a traditional coonskin cap he made himself, Dawood is a member of the James Smith First Nation in Saskatchewan. He is also a strident advocate of armed jihad. At Toronto mosques, he has handed out hundreds of DVDs of lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric who urged his followers to fight the “evil” West — until a Hellfire missile found him in Yemen. “For us as Muslims, our religion teaches that we’re brothers and sisters,” said Dawood, 33, who said he feared repercussions if his last name was published. “You have to stand up for your brothers and sisters, you have to defend them.” Young, Canadian-born and online, Dawood is the embodiment of the Islamist extremists the government has called a top national security concern. He is also a newcomer to his faith, having converted to Islam less than five years ago, when he was drunk and suicidal…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Rights Complaint Against Muslim Barber Who Refused to Give Woman Haircut Quietly Resolved

Months after a Toronto woman filed a human rights complaint against a Muslim barber who would not give her a haircut, the issue has been quietly resolved.

During a closed-door mediation session Friday, Faith McGregor and barbershop owner Omar Mahrouk came to an “arrangement” that satisfied them both, thus putting the controversial complaint to rest.

The complaint made headlines in November as a hot button issue and a textbook example of competing rights — his, the right to freedom of religion and hers the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of gender.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Belgian Radio Poll on ‘Sex-Abuse Cardinal’ Going to Conclave

Daneels joins Mahony, Dolan and Brady on protest list

(ANSA) — Brussels, February 22 — Belgium’s Cardinal Godfried Daneels has become the latest prince of the church whose presence at next month’s conclave to elect a new pope has been questioned because of sex-abuse allegations.

Belgian radio station Vivacite’ launched a poll Friday asking listeners whether Daneels, accused of covering predator priests in 2010, should go to Rome to help vote in a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

The poll is being covered live by Belgian TV station LaDeux.

Former Los Angeles archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, and the head of the Irish Church, Cardinal Sean Brady, are all facing calls not to attend.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Belgian Creche Stabbings: ‘The Joker Practiced at Home Before Going on Killing Spree’

Belgian prosecutors have alleged that Kim De Gelder, the man who went on a killing spree in a kindergarten dressed as”The Joker,” practiced stabbing a human silhouette at his home in the run up to the attacks.

De Gelder, 24, has not denied the 2009 killings and his trial which opened in Ghent on Friday will revolve around the question of whether he was insane. After De Gelder’s arrest, police raided his apartment where they found a wooden fibre board daubed with the outline of a human silhouette covered with stab-marks that he made, it is alleged, while training for his attacks…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

British Al-Qaeda Recruits Told to Spread Terror Training Through Europe

British jihadists trained by al-Qaeda in Pakistan have been ordered to spread their knowledge throughout Europe so fanatics can “whack” innocent people.

The terrorist group now favours training a few extremists and using them to recruit other cells to carry out attacks in the West. Leaders consider it safer than people travelling to training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan and running the risk of being discovered. It is another sign of the growing weakness of al-Qaeda’s traditional strongholds…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Cardinal Says Next Pope Should Allow Priests to Marry

(AGI) — London, Feb 23 — The next Pope should allow priests to marry and have children like Anglican ministers have always done, said British Cardinal Keith O’Brien while preparing to take part in the upcoming conclave to elect the successor of Benedict XVI. Cardinal O’Brien backed up his position by recalling that celibacy does not have a “divine origin” and can therefore be questioned.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Denmark: Arabic Man Accuses Free Speech Group of Hypocrisy

Jihad Taha says his Arabic name could be the only reason Trykkefrihedsselskabet has excluded him from attending meeting

A 20-year-old student from Roskilde University with an Arabic background has been denied entry to a debate on Thursday about the importance of free speech, despite having purchased a ticket.

The debate was organised by free press advocates Trykkefrihedsselskabet, which is chaired by historian and journalist Lars Hedegaard, who was the target of a recent failed assassination attempt.

While the perpetrator has yet to be apprehended, it is widely believed that Hedegaard’s vocal criticism of Islam may have been a motivation.

The student, Jihad Taha, says his middle-eastern background and the fact that his first name is also used to refer to ‘holy war’ in Arabic may be the reason he received an email yesterday informing him he wouldn’t be granted entry to the parliament building, Christiansborg, where the meeting is being held.

“I’m afraid to inform you that for security reasons we have chosen to reject your participation in the meeting on Thursday,” Torben Mark Pedersen, a Trykkefrihedsselskabet board member wrote in an email to Taha. “Your name will not appear on the guest list and you will not be granted entry to Christiansborg. If you send me your bank details we will refund your money.”

Taha, who volunteers for a range of charity and human rights organisations such as the Danish Youth Council told Politiken newspaper that he found the decision by Trykkefrihedsselskabet to be “strongly discriminatory”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

English Should be the Language of Europe, Claims Germany’s President as He Begs Britain Not to Leave the European Union

English should become the language of Europe, the German president has claimed.

Joachim Gauck made his comments in Berlin as he pleaded with Britain not to leave the European Union.

In remarks unlikely to please the French, Mr Gauck said English had become the ‘lingua franca’ of the continent.

‘One of the main problems we have in building a more integrated European community is the inadequate communication within Europe,’ he said.

‘It is true to say that young people are growing up with English as the lingua franca.

‘However, I feel that we should not simply let things take their course when it comes to linguistic integration.

‘More Europe means multilingualism. I am convinced that feeling at home in one’s native language and its magic and being able to speak enough English to get by in all situations and at all ages can exist alongside each other in Europe.’

Mr Gauck also pleaded with Britain to stay in the EU.

Referring to David Cameron’s pledge of an in/out refernedum on the EU Gauck said in a keynote speech: ‘Dear English, Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish and new British citizens. We would like to keep you!

‘We need your experiences as the country with the oldest parliamentary democracy, we need your traditions, your soberness and your courage.

[Comment: This is just the EU crocodile smiling while saying “Don’t leave dear friends”. Don’t trust them.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Italian Auto Insurance Most Costly in Europe

Antitrust authority also finds more accidents in Italy

(ANSA) — Rome, February 22 — Italian liability auto-insurance premiums have the highest and one of the fastest-growing costs compared to premiums found in Europe’s main countries, according to figures released from an Italian antitrust authority investigation on Friday.

The average premium in Italy is more than twice that of France and Portugal, 80% more than Germany, and nearly 70% more than Holland.

Price growth for auto insurance from 2006-2010 was nearly twice that of the eurozone as a whole, and nearly three times that of France.

The cost and frequency of accidents in Italy is also among the highest for the main European countries.

Accidents occur in Italy with almost double the frequency as France or Holland, and exceeds Germany by 30%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Consumers File for Probe if Cardinal Mahony Comes to Rome

‘We must determine if Italians were victimized’ says Codacons

(ANSA) — Rome, February 22 — Catholic members of Italian consumer association Codacons on Friday submitted a request to prosecutors to open a sex-abuse investigation into Cardinal Roger Mahony if he comes to Rome for the conclave to elect a new pope next month, but also asked Benedict XVI to prevent him from attending at all. “We maintain there are sufficient grounds to put him under investigation as soon as he enters our country,” said a statement from the group. Mahony, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, must answer questions under oath Saturday about a visiting Mexican priest who in 1987 is believed to have molested 26 children.

In its petition to prosecutors, Codacons said “we must bring to light whether there were any Italians who were victimized”. Mahony’s case has prompted a growing number of calls on social media and from advocacy groups for him to skip the conclave, which is expected to commence mid-March.

Codacons Friday asked the pope to intervene. “Considering the requests from the Christian world, keep the cardinal from participating in the conclave,” they said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: M5S Leader Grillo Points to 800,000 Campaign Rally Turnout

(AGI) — Rome, Feb 22 — Speaking in Rome’s Piazza San Giovanni on Friday, M5S leader Beppe Grillo ranked supporter turnout at 800,000. Wrapping up his election campaign in Rome, Grillo said “there are 800,000 thousand of you here — with 150,000 watching our live streaming,” adding “this can’t be true: you’ve pasted in against the background using Photoshop.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Sweden: Lecturer Suspended Over Racist Mohammed Email

A local politician who also lectures at a university in central Sweden has been forced to leave his post after sending a new student a racist email lampooning him as being “Mohammed from Mecca”.

“Hello Anneli, can you help Mohammed? He’s probably come straight from Mecca,” wrote Swedish lecturer and local Centre Party politician Hans-Erik Hellborg after receiving a request for guidance from newly admitted student Merhan Mahmoudi.

However, the email never went to the colleague, as Hellborg apparently hit the reply button by mistake, instead sending the note to Mahmoudi.

“I was shocked and disappointed. This is unacceptable,” the 23-year-old, who was inquiring about how to register for a course at Dalarna University (Högskolan Dalarna), told the TT news agency.

Mahmoudi uploaded a screenshot of the email exchange to Facebook, which prompted the creation of an online group calling for the fumbling teacher’s resignation.

Hellsborg, meanwhile, has quickly backtracked and referred to the incident as a joke.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Sweden: Minister Slams ID Checks Based on Skin Colour

Sweden’s integration minister, Erik Ullenhag, has slammed as “unacceptable” reports that police in Stockholm are stopping people based on the colour of their skin and forcing them to show their IDs.

“If it’s true that people with dark skin are being stopped for ID checks, that’s totally unacceptable,” Ullenhag told the TT news agency.

“ID checks based on a foreign appearance actually violate the rules that are currently in place.”

Ullenhag’s comments on Friday come following extensive media coverage detailing reports of police officers demanding that “foreign looking” commuters in the Stockholm metro system produce identification documents.

Police have defended their actions, explaining they only stop people who are suspected of committing a crime — such as trying to enter the metro without paying — and that the measures are tied to a wider effort to track down and deport immigrants who remain in the country illegally.

But Ullenhag was sceptical of officers’ explanation, demanding instead that police “get to the bottom” of the situation.

“It’s very troubling if people with dark skin colour or foreign appearances believe they may be stopped and subjected to an ID check,” the minister said.

“This isn’t the sort of situation we should have in the Stockholm metro system.

“People shouldn’t be stopped by police on the basis of their appearance or skin colour.”

Ullenhag explained further that Sweden strives to have an asylum policy marked by “solidarity and compassion” and anyone granted a residence permit should be allowed to stay in Sweden.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

This Week Saw Britain’s Largest Trade Mission to India. The Tragedy is We’ve Very Little to Sell Any More. And for That, Our Politicians and Civil Servants Are Largely to Blame

The Prime Minister was vigorously waving the flag for British trade and industry this week as he toured India and tried to lure some of that burgeoning economy’s riches in our direction.

He shook hands, won over crowds with his smile and made a passable drive on a cricket pitch before being clean bowled.

But I’m afraid when it came to the point of his visit, he was on a sticky wicket from the start. For the sad truth is he had very little to sell.

The reason? By and large we don’t make things any more, not for home consumption, let alone for export.

As someone who has been closely involved with British business for 40 years — as a journalist, civil servant and working in industry — I could weep for the loss of our great industries.

When it comes to trade, Britain, once the glittering shop window for the world, now feels like a handful of market stalls. In my lifetime, we’ve gone from being Mr Selfridge to Del Boy.

Sixty years ago, as a jubilant nation was preparing to crown its new Queen in June 1953, the vast majority of the coronation mugs, medallions, tins, toys and other souvenirs they snapped up were made in Britain.

By contrast, almost all mementoes to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee last year came from factories in China.

There, in a nutshell, is the history of manufacture in this country over the past six decades.

‘Made in Britain’ was once a rallying cry. Now it is nothing short of a lost cause and a wasted opportunity.

[…]

Too often British banks encouraged family businesses to float on the Stock Exchange, then engineered their sale to new and usually foreign owners. Technology was recklessly transferred to overseas competitors.

rob boberts , worcester. comments: The banks should have been allowed to fail, safeguarding only depositors cash, and letting the shareholders take the hit. We would be 3 years into a recovery now not still at the start of a 20 year mission to rescue ourselves from socialist stupidity.

[Comment: Well worth reading. The same de-industrialization is going on in all Western countries. ]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: ‘He Branded Me So People Knew I Was His’: Sex Slave Aged 11 Describes How ‘Trafficker Disfigured Her Flesh With Heated Hairpin’

[WARNING: ** Extremely Disturbing Content ** ]

A young girl has told a court how her sex attacker branded her with his initial.

The child was just 11 when Mohammed Karrar, 38, allegedly bought her and loaned her to abusers all around the country for £600 a year.

She told a court yesterday about being mutilated by a hairpin, saying: ‘After heating it up for a little while, he stuck it on my bum.

‘It was M for Mo and he said I belonged to him. He was branding me so people knew I was his.’

Over five years the girl, now 19, was repeatedly raped by large groups of men in what she described as ‘torture sex’, the jury was told last month.

Seven men of Pakistani origin and two from North Africa are accused of 79 offences against six vulnerable white British girls. The charges include child rape, sexual trafficking and child prostitution.

Noel Lucas QC, prosecuting, said Karrar — known as Egyptian Mo — bought the youngest victim from an unnamed man just after her 11th birthday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: ‘Boom, Boom, Boom Everywhere… Kill’: Chilling Words of British Muslim Terrorists’ Ringleader as He Plotted to Murder 2,000 People in Al-Qaeda-Backed Atrocity in Supermarkets and Town Centres

The leader of an Al Qaeda-backed British Muslim gang who plotted the deadliest terror attack on British soil boasted of a nailbomb attack that could kill 2,000 people, shouting: ‘Boom, boom, boom everywhere…kill.’

Chilling police recordings capture Irfan Naseer saying Westerners deserve to be ‘terrorised’ because ‘they wanna have sex like donkeys on the street’.

He adds: ‘Why shouldn’t we terrorise them, tell me that? You think about it, if someone came in your house, yeah, and started dancing and throughout the night and started basically having orgies and smoking drugs and stuff…you would terrorise them, innit.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: ‘Don’t Give My Lazy Daughter a £400,000 Home… Make Her Get Off Her Backside and Work!’ the Father of Notorious Benefits Mother Speaks for Britain

Few people, if anyone, have come out in support of Miss Frost, who first fell pregnant when she was 14. So this week the Mail sought out her father, to seek his views.

Perhaps his daughter has been misunderstood? Is she perhaps a well-meaning woman who suffers from an overabundance of maternal feeling which has led to her having so many children by a variety of fathers — up to five?

Not according to Royston Frost, 72, who is angry and ashamed of his daughter. Indeed, he confesses that even he doesn’t know the identity of the fathers of two of his daughter’s 11 children. ‘I didn’t tell my daughter to have 11 kids,’ he says. ‘I tried to stop her at five, but you can’t tell someone in their 20s what to do.

‘Ever since she had her first child, she hasn’t been able to work because she’s had to look after all those kids.

‘She should have got off her backside and got a bloody job like the rest of us. She’s on all the benefits she can get.

‘Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good mum and her kids are always clean — she just has too many of them.

‘I can’t stand what she’s become. She’s lazy. I didn’t raise her to be lazy. I’m not lazy. I’ve worked all my life until retiring five years ago.

‘The worst thing about the whole mess is the horse. How the hell can she afford to keep a horse when some people struggle even to put food on the table?’

[…]

The calculator totted up a sum of £865.92 per week owed to Miss Frost, made up of £71 income support, £526.40 child tax credit, £100 housing benefit, £27.62 council tax benefit and £140.90 child benefit.

Over a four-week period, Miss Frost will receive £3,463.68.

Over the course of a year, that figure will give Miss Frost an annual income of £45,027.84. To generate that level of net income if Miss Frost were, perish the thought, in work, she would need a gross annual salary of £66,000.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: Arrests Made After EDL Rally and Protests in Central Cambridge

Four arrests have been made after a rally by members of the English Defence League (EDL) and counter protest in the streets of Cambridge…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Bullfinch Trial Day 24: Girl Claims She Was Marked With Heated Hairpin

A TEENAGER yesterday told a jury she was “branded” by a man who charged £600 for others to have sex with her. The witness, now 19, also told the Old Bailey she blamed herself after she was hit around the head and sexually assaulted with a baseball bat…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Commute Three Hours a Day or Lose Benefits, Jobseekers Are Told in Tough New Plan

Jobseekers must commute for up to three hours a day to work or risk losing their benefits.

Tough new rules this spring will also force them to accept any job that pays the minimum wage.

They will be expected to take jobs up to one-and-a-half hours away from home, and job offers will have to be taken up immediately, not deferred.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: EDL Protests Come at Too High a Price, Says Howitt

A protest in Cambridge by a few dozen members of the English Defence League (EDL) could cost tens of thousands of pounds. Between 30 and 40 members of the far-right group are expected to attend the rally on Christ’s Pieces tomorrow. But more than 400 officers will be deployed to police the event, along with a march by Cambridge Unite Against Fascism, which expects bigger numbers that the EDL…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: London Metropolitan University Suspends Researcher With Car Bomb Conviction

A university researcher has been suspended after it emerged he has a conviction over a car bombing at the Israeli Embassy in London.

Jawad Botmeh of London Metropolitan University and a woman were found guilty in 1996 of conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK. The Unison union said Botmeh — who got a 20-year jail term — declared his conviction when he applied for the job. He has worked at the Working Lives Research Institute for five years…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Muslims Fight Prayer Room Ban at College

Muslim students have accused City University of discrimination after it closed a prayer room because of concerns about the “appropriateness” of the sermons. Students said they had been “unjustly targeted” and have formed a campaign group, Muslim Voices on Campus, in a bid to get the decision reversed. However, the university said it had a right to know what was being said at authorised events on its premises…

[Reader comment by Picky on 22 February 2013.]

Absolutely typical. A room was given to people in good faith and it was used to spread the nasty, nasty word of this nasty disease they call a religion. Preaching hatred and death and misery. Now they wonder why people are suspicious? It’s like letting someone stay in a room in your home out of the goodness of your heart and discovering that they’re plotting to murder your family. They have no right to say anything — they refuse to live in harmony with other religions so I wouldn’t give them any benefits whatsoever.

[JP note: See also www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/39929/islamic-extremism-intimidation-londons-city-university ]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Mosque Plans Given Go-Ahead by Leicester City Council

Plans to build a mosque with a 60ft minaret on the site of a demolished public house have been approved. The scheme by Goodwood Community and Education Trust was voted through unanimously at a city council planning meeting on Thursday, despite opposition from some neighbours…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Muslims on the March to Defy EDL

Muslims will defy the English Defence League (EDL) rally and march with counter-protesters in Cambridge today. But Cllr Tim Bick, Lib Dem leader of Cambridge City Council, has questioned the merits of the counter demonstration organised by Cambridge Unite Against Fascism (CUAF). His stance is in contrast to that of Julian Huppert, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, and The Muslim Council of Cambridge. Cllr Bick said he felt “revulsion” towards the EDL’s views but has questioned whether the CUAF march was the correct response…

[JP note: Silly Bick.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Men Would “Pay Up to £600” For Sex With 12-Year-Old, Old Bailey Hears [Bullfinch Trial]

“CUSTOMERS” would pay up to £600 to have sex with a 12-year-old girl because of her “soft baby skin”, the Old Bailey heard this afternoon. A 19-year-old woman told the court a gang would charge up to £400 for sex or up to £600 if men wanted to tie her up. Known as Girl 4 as she cannot be named, the witness was giving evidence at the trial of nine men accused of running a child sex exploitation gang in Oxford…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: So Much for BBC Transparency! 90 Pages of BBC’s Savile Report Blacked Out, Dg Goes to Ground… and No One is Blamed for Fiasco

[WARNING: ** Extremely Disturbing content ** ]

The BBC faced ridicule last night for publishing an ‘open’ dossier into the Jimmy Savile scandal that was covered in censor’s ink.

The corporation had repeatedly promised to be open and transparent about the material, which formed the basis of last year’s Pollard inquiry into the Savile crisis.

But there were accusations of a cover-up after large swathes of staff testimonies about the saga were blacked out.

Despite the redactions, which covered around 90 pages, stinging criticism remained — including Jeremy Paxman’s fury at the ‘contemptible’ way the BBC handled the affair.

He said it was ‘pathetic’ Newsnight had not tackled the Savile issue sooner, and said it was ‘common gossip’ at the corporation that the DJ ‘liked young… girls’.

But Paxman’s strongest criticisms of his bosses, including then director of news Helen Boaden, appear to be among hundreds of lines of evidence censored by the BBC.

Last night the BBC’s claims to be accountable descended into farce as acting director-general Tim Davie refused to be interviewed by anyone except his own journalists.

Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear said the only time he had come across a comparable situation was when he had tried to interview despots such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad of Iran and president Charles Taylor of Liberia.

Paxman himself is among several journalists who are said to be furious about the censorship of their testimonies.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: Teenager “Branded” By Alleged Abuser, Old Bailey Hears [Bullfinch Trial]

A TEENAGER has described how she was branded by an alleged gang member so people knew she “belonged” to him. The witness also told the Old Bailey Mohammed Karrar hit her around the head and sexually assaulted her with a baseball bat when she was 12. She is one of six to claim they were groomed and abused by nine men accused of running a child sex exploitation gang in Oxford. Known as Girl 4 as she cannot be named, she says brothers Mohammed and Bassam Karrar raped and prostituted her between the ages of 11 and 15…

The accused all deny the charges. They are:

  • Kamar Jamil, 27, of Aldrich Road, Summertown, Oxford, denies four rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and one of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
  • Akhtar Dogar, 32, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies six rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
  • Anjum Dogar, 31, of Tawney Street, East Oxford, denies four rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, three of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
  • Assad Hussain, 32, of Ashhurst Way, Rose Hill, Oxford, denies two charges of conspiracy to rape and three of sexual activity with a child.
  • Mohammed Karrar, 38, of Kames Close, Cowley, Oxford, denies seven rapes, four charges of conspiracy to rape, an alternative charge of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child, two of trafficking for sexual exploitation, two of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, assault, conspiracy to assault, using an instrument to procure a miscarriage, and supplying a Class A drug to another.
  • Bassam Karrar, 33, of Hundred Acres Close, Cowley, Oxford, denies three rapes, three charges of conspiracy to rape, two charges of arranging or facilitating child prostitution, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and conspiracy to assault.
  • Mohammed Hussain, 24, of Horspath Road, Cowley, Oxford, denies rape, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
  • Zeeshan Ahmed, 27, of Palmer Road, Wood Farm, Oxford, denies two charges of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
  • Bilal Ahmed, 26, of Suffolk Road, Maidenhead, denies conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and sexual activity with a child.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Universities Act Against Islamist Extremism and Bigotry

by Lucy Lips

This has been an extraordinary week. First of all, following the “Homosexuals would be executed” rant from the Manchester University Hizb ut Tahrir front, the “Global Aspirations of Women Society”, the society has been suspended and disbanded

[…]

However, even more remarkable is the news that City University — home to quite possibly the most extreme ISOC in Britain — has shut down its Muslim prayer room…

[JP note: Too little too late.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: What if the Terrorists Were Jews?

by Douglas Murray

‘Would you say the same thing about Jews? Gays? Or any other minority?’ This is one of the witless questions asked of anyone who writes about Islamic extremism. And it is a fascinating point in a way, taking in — as it does — everything other than the facts…

[Reader comment by Austin Barry on 22 February at about 3 pm.]

“Now, of course the vast majority of Muslims are as disgusted by the actions of these extremists as everybody else is.”

Really, Douglas? I don’t see any evidence of their disgust or even disapproval. Just a long. long silence which, paradoxically, speaks volumes.

[Reply to Austin Barry by Jonas.]

Many have gone out looking for this “vast majority” of “moderate muslims”. They seem very evasive, it’s almost as if … they never existed. Sam Harris in The End of Faith went out with this very mission — he came back totally empty-handed. These moderates are the etruscans of the modern world — Where did they go!

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

We Must Rethink How We Approach Shoah Memory

by Robert S. Wistrich

The opening years of the 21st century have graphically illustrated a distressing paradox regarding the memory of the Shoah. Never has the memorialisation of the Holocaust been so omnipresent in Western culture, through countless commemorative events, university courses, literature, films, educational projects, official acknowledgements at a governmental level or inter-faith dialogue. Yet, never has it been more apparent that this activity has had little if any impact on a resurgent antisemitism in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

This fact alone should prompt an urgent rethinking of one of the Western world’s fondest illusions, shared by Diaspora Jewry — that Holocaust education can neutralize or even eliminate the sting of contemporary antisemitism…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Egypt: Rushed Elections Not Conducive to Stability, NSF

Voting to coincide with Coptic Holy Week, Sawiris also says.

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO- Egypt’s main opposition group as criticized the “rush” to hold the upcoming elections, saying that this “will not lead to stability”. National Salvation Front (NSF) spokesman Khaled Daoud told ANSAmed that the front would meet on Sunday to discuss the calling of elections to begin on April 27. He added that the group’s lawyers were looking into filing a complaint of unconstitutionality against the new electoral law.

Coptic activist, lawyer and president of the Egyptian Human Rights Union Naguib Gebrail has meanwhile spoken out against the choice of date itself. He said that the Muslim Brotherhood had found “a new method” to stop Egypt’s Copts from voting, by calling for elections to be held on their Easter. April 28 is Palm Sunday for Egyptian Copts and their Easter will be on May 5, when the second round of voting is slated to be held in a number of voting districts including Cairo.

The decree for election day therefore violates “human rights as concerns religious freedom”, Gebrail said. Egyptian coptic tycoon Naguib Sawiris also critized the decision.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Egypt: Activist: Increased Discrimination and Persecution of Christian Copts

More than two years after the Maspero massacre, the families of the 27 victims still seeking justice. The courts sentence Copts rather than prosecute military officials. For Mina Magdy, spokesman for the Maspero Youth Union, all Egyptians are victims of the justice system in the hands of the army and Islamist establishment.

Cairo (AsiaNews) — “The Coptic Christians continue to be victims of attacks and harassment by not only radical Islamists, but also the state. Christians were already being persecuted at the time of Mubarak, but after the Jasmine Revolution and the rise the power of Islamists attacks against the minority have increased”, Mina Magdy, 27, of the Maspero Youth Union, a human rights organization that brings together Christians and Muslims tells AsiaNews. Born after the Jasmine Revolution, since October 9, 2011 the movement has been fighting for justice for the families of the 27 Coptic Christians killed during the Maspero massacre.

The young man speaks of continuing injustices against the Christian minority, some of which are at the limits of absurdity. In recent weeks, the sentencing to three years in prison of two young Christians, Michael Farah and Michael Shaker, on charges of ‘stealing’ a machine gun from an army truck during the massacre of Maspero has made headlines. According to the judges, they used the gun to shoot against their own friends. However, video and eyewitness accounts show that the two attacked the armoured vehicle in an attempt to stop the carnage of the military.

“We denounced this to the media — Mina says — because the Court is against us. Nobody has the right to two people sentenced to three years in jail on seemingly illogical accusations based on partial investigations.”

The Maspero massacre, however, is just one of many cases of denial of justice suffered by the Christian minority. On 21 January, the court of the province of Qena (Upper Egypt) released seven Muslim responsible for an assault Coptic village of Marashada in early January. Also in Qena, after the burning of their church some months ago, the Catholic Coptic community of Higaza still has nowhere to celebrate mass. The authorities are blocking the reconstruction of the religious building.

For Mina Magdy, October 9, 2011 is a crucial point in time not only for Christians, but for the entire population. “Our movement has arisen with the aim of improving the crisis situation in the Egyptian judicial system,” which has not changed since the days of Mubarak. Until now, all the trials against military officials responsible for the massacres that took place during the Arab Spring have been halted, including that of Mohammed Mahmoud Street, which killed dozens of demonstrators. “Only by working for the good of the population — he concludes- can the Copts improve their own situation.” The movement has already filed several complaints against the Egyptian government at the International Court of Justice. (S.C.)

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Egypt: Civil Disobedience in Port Said Enters Fifth Day, With Escalations

Civil disobedience in Port Said entered the fifth day on Thursday, with popular movements calling for escalations. Popular movements called on residents to refrain from paying their electricity, phone, gas and water bills in protest against what they described as the regime’s negligence. On Sunday, hundreds of residents started a civil disobedience, demanding justice and an apology from the president and his administration for what they believe is negligence of their demands. An Aswat Masriya reporter said that ports remain shut, leading to financial losses that severely affect the already ailing economy of the Middle East’s most populous country…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

The Silent Islamization of Egyptian Society

A court in Cairo allows Islamist police officers to wear beards to Islamic way. Slogan praising Islam also appears on army tanks. The Muslim Brotherhood program to impose lessons on Islam and Koran, even in foreign schools.

Cairo (AsiaNews) — From the continuing attacks against Christians, to the proposed ban on alcohol and belly dancing, Egypt is increasingly being transformed into an Islamic state. The signs of this change are not only within the Constitution, based on sharia, but the imposition of customs until now the preserve of a minority of society. In recent days, a decision of an Administrative Court of Cairo has made headlines. The court is allowing police officers to wear beards the “Islamic way” after a thirty years ban. In February, dozens of police officers were suspended for violating the law. They protested for days in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior arousing the sympathy of several Salafi imams and police officers who lobbied on the Court to remove the ban. Dating back to the regime of Hosni Mubarak, the law was introduced to prevent the entry in the police force of elements of radical Islamism who would not be impartial in administering the law. Anyone who sported an Islamic beard was suspended.

According to the moderate newspaper Al Ahram, the Court’s verdict marks an important page in the Egyptian society and confirms the silent Islamization of institutions and has sparked new protests by Christians and the secular opposition, which for months has been denouncing this trend.

However this ruling is not the only sign of this trend taking hold. Radical Islamists begin to emerge even in the army after decades of keeping a low profile. In recent days, the Baladna Bel Masry talk showed a video of a military tank painted with the words: “Not God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” The video was shown across the country and today Ahmed Mohammed Ali, spokesman of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces announced legal action against those responsible. “One vehicle — however, he stressed — does not mean that the phenomenon concerns the entire army.”

Attempts to Islamize Egyptian society also affect education. In recent days Mogheth Kamal, an expert on education, denounced a Muslim Brotherhood plan to impose lessons of Islam and the Koran in schools, even private ones. The Islamist movement reportedly has the support of many institutions, including foreign ones. (S.C.)

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Tunisia: Ennahdha Names Ali Larayedh for Prime Minister, According to Its Official Website

Tunis — At the end of Ennahdha Shura Council meeting held on Thursday evening, Ali Larayedh has been chosen as its nominee for Prime Minister, Ennahdha website announced .

Mr. Larayedh, current Interior Minister, is one of the most prominent leaders of Ennahdha.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Tunisia: Sidi Bouzid — Police Storm Mosque Where Armed Group Took Refuge

Sidi Bouzid — Security forces and National Army units stormed Thursday evening after evening prayer, Errahma Mosque downtown Sidi Bouzid where an armed group had taken refuge without for all that managing to find them…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Welcome to Phase Three of the Arab Spring

by Paul Berman

Islamists are waning in the Arab world. But will Obama notice?

So it is not true that, in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood speaks for society as a whole. Nor does Islamist ideology, with its invocations of superstition and its exaltations of obedience, express the Egyptian “street.” Nor does the Brotherhood possess the canny ability to bend history to its will. The crisis in Egypt over the Brotherhood’s proposed new constitution broke out in December, and, three months later, the riots and demonstrations and killings have still not come to an end. Even the police have been demonstrating…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Israel Licenses US Oil Drilling in Golan Heights

Israel has granted a United States energy company a licence to drill for oil and gas in the occupied Golan Heights, in a move that may stir up tension with neighbouring Syria.

The permit allows Genie Oil and Gas exclusive petroleum exploration rights over a 153-square mile radius in the southern part of the Golan Heights. In a statement the company said: “Based on preliminary analysis and interpretation of existing geological data, the newly issued licence area may contain significant quantities of conventional oil and gas in relatively tight formations.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

India: 15 Special Teams Constituted to Crack Hyderabad Blasts Case, Andhra Govt Hopeful

HYDERABAD: 15 special teams have been set up to crack the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case even as Andhra Pradesh government today announced steps to ramp up security including installation of 3,500 CCTV cameras at vital points…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

India: Islam Has No Connection With Terrorism: Prof. Bruce Lawrence

Hyderabad, February 22

Noted researcher of comparative study of various religions, Prof. Bruce Lawrence, Professor Emeritus, Islamic Studies, Duke University, U.S.A. said that Islamic has no connection with terrorism and the propaganda of the forces which are trying to link Islam with terrorism is baseless. Prof. Lawrence who is on his visit to various cities of India, told this while talking to selected media persons at the US consulate-general here on Thursday. Prof. Lawrence has also done comparative study of various languages and exhaustively read religious books. He has read the Holy Quran with interpretation (tafseer) with reference to various interpreters (mufassirin). He has expressed his views over linking Islam with terrorism in the present scenario, rights of women and Islamic perspective of Jihad…

[JP note: Good timing.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Is Bngladesh’s Shahbag the Next Tahrir Square?

By Nayma Qayum

During the past week, thousands of Bangladeshis have gathered at Shahbag, a neighborhood in Dhaka, demanding justice for the war crimes of 1971. The protests emerged after an international tribunal sentenced Abdul Qader Mollah, assistant secretary general of the political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), to life in prison…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Maldivian Police Launch Investigations Into Attack of Journalist

MALE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) — Maldivian police have launched investigations into the attack of a journalist who was seriously beaten on Friday night, officials said Saturday. The journalist who received serious head injuries was flown to Sri Lanka on Saturday for urgent medical treatment after he was attacked in the Maldivian capital Male, officials added. Raajje TV journalist Ibrahim Waheed was attacked near Artificial Beach with an iron rod by an unidentified man. The journalist is said to be in critical condition when he was rushed to Colombo, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Spokesman Hamid Abdul Gafoor said.

Meanwhile the Maldives media reported that during an opposition MDP protest on Friday night, two State television journalists who were covering the protest were also injured when a packet filled with paint thinner was thrown at them from the crowd. The MDP said that an Islamic minister’s car was also set ablaze. The minister represents the Islamist faction Adhaalath. An MDP spokesman said that the capital was tense on Friday night as street protests subsided and the three journalists were hospitalized…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

The Plight of Afghanistan’s Opium Brides

While opium trade might be lucrative for some of those involved, many find themselves at the losing end. Daughters of farmers who find themselves desperate and indebted are used as little more than currency.

To provide for their families, many Afghan farmers turn to the relatively lucrative practise of poppy cultivation.

Initial capital costs for items such as seeds, can be high. Many are forced to take loans from unscrupulous lenders, the drug lords and the Taliban among them.

But growing the poppy plant is no definite route to success. There are risks. While the government’s eradication program may not be far-reaching, those farmers that do feel the brunt are left with bare earth and no way to settle their debts.

Some resort to bartering their daughters in marriage to settle the loans. These daughters are known as the “loan brides” or even “opium brides.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Toy Bomb Kills 2 Children in Pakistan’s North Waziristan

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — A toy bomb killed 2 kids in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region Friday evening, local media reported. A five-year-old child found the device while collecting woods in Tapi area and took it home. The bomb exploded as his 12-year-old sister snatched the device, presuming the bomb as the cap of water cooler…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Wives Duped and Dumped by ‘Holiday Grooms’

For many Indian and Pakistani women, the chance to marry a foreign husband, and a possible new life in the West, sounds like a dream come true. Often, the reality is all too different.

A foreign husband of Asian origin is considered a catch in India and Pakistan. Families associate it with improving their status in the society. And the women dream of fairytales in England and the US.

As far as many women from poor backgrounds are concerned, a marriage with a foreign national is the ticket to a better life. In reality, however, it turns into a nightmare for a significant number of them.

Sabah, the 24-year-old mother of a 14-month-old boy, was abandoned by her husband and is currently being supported by the local authorities in Britain.

“My husband’s family proposed to me through a marriage bureau in Lahore,” Sabah told DW.

“They seemed very nice and we soon got engaged. Six months later, the family came back to Pakistan and we got married and in the same month I conceived a child.” It was only seven months after the marriage that Sabah finally got a visa and traveled to meet her husband in London.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Japan: Plans to Alter Constitution Cause Consternation

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is pushing ahead with sweeping changes to the constitution, despite concerns that they signal a return to Japan’s inward-looking, militaristic regime of the early years of the 1900s.

Ever since the LDP was created in 1955, it has called for the Japanese constitution, which it claims was effectively forced upon the nation by the Allies in the aftermath of World War II, to be thoroughly re-examined and rewritten. Now, nearly 70 years after the supreme law was promulgated, Mr. Abe has an overwhelming majority in the Lower House of the Japanese parliament and is expected to secure a similar edge in elections for the Upper House in the summer.

His first move, he has already stated, will be to revise procedures required to amend the constitution, lowering the bar from a vote of two-thirds of all members of each house being in favor of the changes to a mere simple majority.

Lawrence Repeta, a professor in the Faculty of Law at Meiji University, warns that this initial step will eventually pave the way to “more government power over the people and reduced protection for individual’s rights.”

First outlined on April 28, 2012, a significant date because it also marked the 60th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and Allies, the LDP’s proposals will impact many aspects of life in Japan and the nation’s relationships with the rest of the world.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Free Speech Stoned to Death

IF you needed proof that free speech in Australia is on the run, look at what happened when Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders came to town.

With 10 per cent of the vote in Holland, Wilders is a mainstream politician, leading the third largest political party in one of the most tolerant liberal democracies in the world. Yet in Australia he is treated like a pariah, denied a visa for months, and unable to secure a venue for his speaking tour in Perth.

Instead of a “welcome to country” before he spoke to audiences in Sydney and Melbourne last week, organisers had to read aloud a statement of Victoria’s racial and religious tolerant act.

As much as anything, this curious legal requirement adhered to by the Melbourne-based Q society which hosted Wilders, explains why Australians are open to his message of creeping Islamisation.

That and the enormous security needed to guard him from assassins 24-hours-a-day.

It is shameful that of all the Western democracies Geert Wilders has visited it turns out, Australia is the most repressive…

           — Hat tip: Nilk [Return to headlines]

Sydney Seeing ‘Islamisation’, Wilders Says

Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders has delivered a speech in Sydney’s west where he attacked the ideology of Islam as being dangerous.

Firebrand Dutch MP Geert Wilders has told supporters in Sydney’s west that the ideology of Islam is dangerous, while claiming Australia is seeing an “Islamisation” of its cities. The far-right politician addressed the Q Society of Australia on Friday night at a function centre in Liverpool on the third leg of his controversial tour of Australia. Protesters gathered outside the venue to voice their anger at the MP’s controversial tour. Many members of the media were blocked from entering the event, despite having being told by the ultra-conservative Q Society group that they would be allowed to attend…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Iran Denies Involvement in Nigerian Terror Cells: Official

TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — An Iranian foreign ministry official said his country does not have anything to do with Nigeria’s terror cells as alleged by Western and Nigerian media, Press TV reported Friday. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian described such the allegation as “ fabricated by biased security and media circles.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Kenya: School Refuses to Take Head Scarf-Wearing Girl

A girl who belongs to the Akorino church has been denied admittance at the Catholic-sponsored Consolata Girls’ school in Kevote, Embu for wearing a headscarf. Speaking to the press yesterday, the girl’s father Njoroge Ndwiga said his wife had taken their daughter to report at the school after being selected to join the institution. Ndwiga said on arriving at the school, his wife and the daughter were confronted and told she would not be be admitted unless she removes the turban and stays without it…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Nigeria: Timeline of Boko Haram and Related Violence

Dakar — Human rights organizations estimate some 3,000 Nigerians have been killed in violence related to militant Islamist group Boko Haram over the past three years. Numerous negotiation attempts have stalled due to distrust on both sides, and the factionalized leadership of the group’s different cells. Below is a chronology of violence relating to Boko Haram and the government’s police and military crackdown since January 2012. See here for an earlier IRIN timeline covering 2002 to January 2012…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Tuaregs and Arabs Not Ready to Return to Mali

Goudebo — Fatimata Wallet Haibala sits among a group of women and teenage girls under a tent, her handicapped boy on her lap. The scene could be a rural picture of a Tuareg gathering in the desert. But the mother mother of five resides in a refugee camp in Goudebo, Burkina Faso, almost 100 kilometres from their home in Mali. “Life is harsher for women in the camp,” she tells IPS. “We have to take care of the family — men can walk around freely.” The widow makes money by re-selling to her fellow refugees the boxed milk and sugar that she buys from outside the camp. She has been here for more than a year now, escaping Mali before the crisis first hit in 2012…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Twenty Islamist Rebels Killed in Gao Battle

(AGI) — Paris, Feb 22 — Twenty Islamist rebels were killed in fighting in Gao on Thursday and two French soldiers were injured. Bamako’s regular army joined French troops in fighting the rebels who had taken over the courthouse and town hall in the north-eastern Mali city.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

Elections: ‘New Italians’ Between Enthusiasm and Disappointment

Careful criticism from second generation and protest votes

(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 22 — Many ‘new Italians’ who have recently become citizens and will be heading to the polls for the first time on Sunday believe in being vocal about their rights. ‘Rights should be demanded as nobody will be active on your behalf’, some said.

According to the Italian interior ministry, this section of the population has increased by 2.932.579 units since the last political elections in 2008 and by 972.175 since a referendum was held in 2011. Estimating how many are between 18 and 22 years old is difficult. According to the data available, some 25% out of the 70,000 new citizens in 2012 are in this age range, representing a relevant voting capital.

As for the rest of would-be voters, these citizens are divided between political enthusiasts, and those who are wary of parties which include candidates of foreign origins in their lists to attract more votes. Many are also disappointed or angry because they still feel marginalized although they are now formally Italian.

The so-called G2, the second generation of immigrants, are the most vocal. Many of them will be voting for the first time.

Malak, of Moroccan origin, is a political science student at Rome’s La Sapienza University. She is 19 and is clear about her political ideas. She is a member of the Movimento per Roma, Movement for Rome, a civic list created in 2011 by Michele Baldi and she will run at the next municipal elections. ‘I am not the only one’, she said. She is a militant together with 15 ‘new Italians’. Becoming active ‘is an obligation’, she said.

‘It means taking destiny into your hands’. She said she will be voting for the Left, Ecology, Freedom party (SEL).

Salah, 21, has an Egyptian father and a Moroccan father and became an Italian citizen in 2005. He studies computer engineering and supports himself as a waiter. Many like him, he said, will be voting for Beppe Grillo’s Five Star movement (M5S)as a sign of protest.

However Khalid Chaouki, a candidate with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) fears that ‘many could choose to just look out the window’ and abstain from the vote. ‘They were marginalized for too long and even now that they are citizens they continue to be so’.

Many are sharing opinions on social networks and blogs like Yalla Italia, created by second generation immigrants who grew up in Italy and are often not citizens yet. The political scenario is dissected here by youths who are not part of either worlds.

Mohamed Talmouni is a spokesman for the G2 network which groups thousands of youths who were born and raised in Italy by immigrant parents. Of Libyan origin, Talmouni has lived in Rome since he was five years old. Today he is 40 and has yet to become a citizen. He cannot vote but has a clear opinion of what is going on. ‘There is no talk in this campaign of immigration or a law on citizenship. The PD briefly touched the issue along with Monti’s candidates, SEL and M5S. The PDL (the People of Freedom Party of ex premier Silvio Berlusconi) did so fleetingly’.

He believes many still don’t know who to vote for and that makes it hard to say which party the G2 will mainly be supporting. ‘They could be the only ones to have obtained a citizenship at home and don’t yet have a political culture’, he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Four Held After Brawl at Immigration Centre in Turin

(AGI) Turin, Feb 23 — Four North Africans have been arrested after a brawl broke out at an immigration centre in Turin. Five police officers were slightly injured in the fighting at the Identification and Expulsion Centre. The building was also damaged, but was now operating normally.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]

UK: Let’s Talk About the Exodus of 600,000 Whites From London

by Graeme Archer

It is not wrong to discuss the cultural changes that large-scale immigration can cause, such as ‘white flight’ from certain areas in London

Imagine if Glasgow disappeared. Not overnight and not physically, but imagine if everyone who lived there decided to leave, in the space of 10 years. Argyle Street, in the city centre — empty. Byres Road, next to the university — derelict. The Crow Road — abandoned (except, perhaps — if this were an exciting new BBC drama — for an old Iain Banks novel, rain-damaged pages flapping in a gutter, symbol of the great evacuation). All those tenements, riverside apartments, suburban villas, all lying vacant. You’d sort of notice, wouldn’t you? You’d expect people to talk about it, at least. If your geographic history differs from mine, and you’ve no mental image of Glasgow to play with, consider, instead, Sheffield, or Nottingham, or Belfast. All cities of about 600,000 people. Imagine if everyone who lived there upped and left…

[Reader comment by eyeswideshut on 22 February 2013 at 5:10 pm.]

I’m concerned with the blatant newspeak practised in this Telegraph article. The vast hoards of significantly different invaders of the English and their way of life portrayed here is not straightforward acceptance of an absorption of a small percentage of newly arrived immigrants — IT IS a large scale invasion of foreigners over a short period of time that in a matter of 10 short years has changed the demographic English culture of society in these cities. It is a disgrace and a betrayal of the trust the English placed in the hands of it’s English professional politician Leaders.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Filthy and Unsanitary Conditions Found in Offices of Chicago Law Firm Hinshaw & Culbertson!

I was recently subpoenaed as a witness in a case making its way through federal court involving a gay bar here in Chicago that’s been accused of harassing a Christian employee…which is a shocking display of hypocrisy, if you think about it, because the “Ministry of Truth” that is our national media constantly berates you with talking points that claim Christians are forever the ones victimizing gays…and no indication is given to the public that in reality it’s the gays who are the victimizers and not necessarily the victims in a lot of cases.

I’ve written about this before, while coining the term “Gaystapo” to refer to militant gays who serve as goon squads for the Left…and who are specifically charged with accusing Christians of all manner of hatred and bigotry (while simultaneously being the ones who actually rev up hatred and bigotry themselves against Christians at just about any gay-related public event held in cities like Chicago).

Well, I’m openly gay and can tell you that I’ve seen, firsthand, Christian men harassed and persecuted in the very prominent Chicago bar currently a Defendant in a major discrimination suit. I witnessed atheist or agnostic gays deliberately targeting gay Christians for harassment as “traitors” because of their faith…and I am looking forward to the day in the near future where I can take the witness stand in federal court and put on record everything I’ve seen self-styled “leaders of the gay community” do to men in Chicago who are both gay and Christian (but who refuse to denounce Christ or turn their backs on their families because the “gay community leaders” tell them that’s what they need to do). Honestly, this case is one of the most explosive I’ve ever encountered and has the potential to completely obliterate the Left’s ability to ever use gays as a weapon against Christians in the future…because it exposes the reality that whenever the Left accuses other people of doin g something evil, it’s because subgroups of the Left are actually doing those exact same things to someone else.

This case will expose the Gaystapo for the evil it does to Christians…and it will also show the self-styled “gay community leaders” to be the real hatemongers at work in our society today.

[Return to headlines]

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/23/2013

  1. Your story about the Canadian Indian, Dawood, who became an Islamic zealot is very like one of our Australian aboriginal boxers, Mundine, who was such an eager convert to Islam that he’s even on record as having said 9/11 was a good thing. Silly lad has been refused entry to the USA, unsurprisingly.

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