Italian travelers are being warned not to visit Egypt because of the violence and turmoil there, and travel agencies in Denmark and Sweden have canceled tours to Egypt until at least October. Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood supporters continue to act out their anger by burning Coptic churches.
In related news, the Syrian National Coalition — more commonly known as the “Syrian rebels” — has moved its headquarters from Egypt to Turkey, after the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi chilled the climate in Egypt against the Syrian Islamists.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Diana West, Fjordman, ICLA, JD, KP, McR, 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.
Brain-Eating Warning Issued in Florida
As a 12-year old boy fights for his life in Miami, the Florida Department of Health has issued a warning to anyone who might come in contact with warm freshwater.
Zachary Reyna is the second child in several weeks to suffer from the deadly parasite known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis; the first was 12-year old Kali Harding, an Arkansas girl. Harding spent several weeks in intensive care after contracting the parasite at a water park but is now in rehab after receiving an experimental anti-amoeba drug. Now, Reyna’s parents hope the same drug will help him recover.
The Reyna family says Zachary was knee-boarding in shallow water with some friends on August 3; the next day, he slept the afternoon away. Because it was so out of the ordinary for him to rest that much, his parents took him to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with the illness. He has since had brain surgery, and now his family waits to see if the medicine will work.
The Arkansas water park where Kali likely contracted the parasite has been shut down for the time being, because a previous case of the illness was reported there in 2010.
“Based on the occurrence of two cases of this rare infection in association with the same body of water and the unique features of the park, the ADH has asked the owner of Willow Springs to voluntarily close the water park to ensure the health and safety of the public,” the health department said.
Florida officials say that high water temperatures and low levels are breeding grounds for the amoeba and that the best way to avoid it are to stay away from swimming in freshwater during those times. If it can’t be avoided, they say, use nose plugs to keep the water out. Symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the CDC.
“Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations,” the CDC says. “After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.”
A similar infection caused Aimee Copeland to lose both hands, a leg and a foot last year after she cut herself while ziplining over a Georgia lake. Bacteria from the water got into her wound and spread rapidly, but doctors were able to save her life.
| — Hat tip: McR | [Return to headlines] |
Below is a picture of a CFL light bulb from my bathroom. I turned it on the other day and then smelled smoke after a few minutes. Four inch flames were spewing out of the side of the ballast like a blow torch! I immediately turned off the lights. But I’m sure it would have caused a fire if I was not right there. Imagine if the kids had left the lights on as usual when they were not in the room.
I took the bulb to the Fire Department to report the incident. The Fireman wasn’t at all surprised and said that it was not an uncommon occurrence. Apparently, sometimes when the bulb burns out there is a chance that the ballast can start a fire. He told me that the Fire Marshall had issued reports about the dangers of these bulbs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Diana West: In Defense of My Livelihood
What did I do on my summer vacation?
I stayed home. The family went to the country this week but not me. I stayed behind to deal with a white-hot controversy.
About what?
Me.
Thus, I am now engaged in the painstaking job of rebutting an explosion of falsehoods and distortions about me and my new book, American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character. These attacks began appearing on the Internet last week at several neoconservative websites: first and mainly Frontpage Magazine (FPM), Pajamas Media and American Thinker.
Close to 10 pieces have appeared (more promised), all of them emanations of a 7,900-word book review at FPM that reviewer Ronald Radosh described as a “take-down” in one of his own three follow-up pieces. Two writers who followed suit admitted in print that they hadn’t read the book.
It is important to note that this lengthy “take-down” comes after an earlier, positive review of “American Betrayal” appeared at FPM. Controversial books spark different reactions, of course, but instead of leaving the original, positive review posted and commissioning a new review from a different perspective, FPM editor David Horowitz — noted free-speech advocate — pulled the positive review off the website.
The recent spate of attacks advance one notion in particular. They impugn my credibility as a writer based on allegations (which I am currently rebutting) against my accuracy, integrity and even sanity. Clearly, they want to kill this book. Thus, they depict me as inaccurate and dishonest. Fortunately, I have a nearly 30-year reputation as a journalist, columnist and published author to stand on as I mount what is, in fact, a defense of my livelihood.
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt is Descending Into Civil War, But Don’t Expect Obama to Cancel His Golf Vacation
The largest Islamic nation in the Middle East is on the verge of descending into civil war, the Syrian civil war is starting to spill over into Lebanon, and the worst violence in five years has just hit Iraq, but Barack Obama is way too busy to be bothered with any of that. Right now, Obama is enjoying one of the true loves of his life — golf.
According to the Washington Post, Obama has “played 18 holes of golf every day but one this week”, and without a doubt he appears to really be enjoying his time up in Martha’s Vineyard. I hear that it is absolutely beautiful up there this time of the year. And apparently he needs the rest. After all, prior to this vacation he has only had time to play 133 rounds of golf since becoming president. Between snubbing world leaders and getting the U.S. economy going again, it must be really tough for Obama to find enough time to sharpen his game.
Of course I am being facetious. It is absolutely ridiculous how much time Obama takes off, and Congress is even worse. Congress is taking a five week vacation right now. Most Americans don’t get that much vacation in an entire year.
Meanwhile, as our leaders enjoy their rest, the Middle East is coming apart at the seams…
Sadly, some of the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have chosen to express their fury with the government by setting Christian homes, businesses and churches on fire. According to one report, 18 churches have been torched so far…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Admits it Has Documents on Michael Hastings
Federal agency initially denied it had investigated Rolling Stone journalist
The FBI has tacitly admitted that it possesses documents pertaining to Michael Hastings despite initially claiming that it had never investigated the Rolling Stone journalist, who complained of being under scrutiny by the federal agency in the hours before his death.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Maine Doctor Calls DHHS on Mother for Feeding Fresh Goat Milk to Her Baby
(NaturalNews) The federal government is once again illicitly assuming the role of Big Brother dictator in matters relating to parenting and food freedom, this time in a small Maine town. As reported by The Weekly Packet, 17-year-old Alorah Gellerson has become the latest target of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which is right now trying to take Alorah’s baby away from her for feeding him fresh goat milk fortified with healthy oils like flax and coconut, and liquid infant multivitamins.
It all began when Alorah, who receives aid from the Food and Nutrition Service’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, was having trouble naturally breastfeeding her baby boy, Carson. Born prematurely and underweight, young Carson would only feed from a bottle, and Alorah was unable to produce enough milk naturally to keep him nourished. Carson also had trouble with every store-bought formula his mother tried to put him on, which made matters worse.
Desperate for a solution, Alorah eventually found a recipe from the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) with the help of her mother that combines fresh goat milk with a handful of others “superfoods” shown to help support the growth and development of young babies. Alorah put Carson on this homemade formula and, sure enough, the little guy flourished. Not only was he healthy and strong, but Alorah says he “grew like a weed.”
“We put celery juice in it and he just loves that, and it worked really well with his body,” said Alorah to WABI TV5 News about the formula, which also contains flax seed oil, coconut oil, brown rice syrup, and probiotic powder.
But when Alorah’s WIC doctor found out that she was giving this homemade formula to Carson, she reported it to DHHS, which sent staff member Christie Leighton to Alorah’s house. Leighton rudely asked to enter Alorah’s house, and demanded that Alorah come with her to the hospital to have the baby evaluated. Leighton also threatened that if Alorah refused, she would take baby Carson away from her and put him in foster care.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Funds New “Top Secret” $60 Million Dollar Data Lab
Center will analyze information from private emails, cell phone calls, Google searches
The National Security Agency is funding a “top secret” $60 million dollar data analysis lab at North Carolina State University which will scrutinize information collected from private emails, phone calls and Google searches.
“The Laboratory for Analytic Sciences will be launched in a Centennial Campus building that will be renovated with money from the federal agency, but details about the facility are top secret. Those who work in the lab will be required to have security clearance from the U.S. government,” reports the News & Observer.
According to NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson, the program will revolve around “making sense out of the deluge of data that we’re all swimming in every day,” although the university denies that it will be involved in “mass surveillance”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Oregon: Ban on Carrying Loaded Guns Absent a Concealed-Carry Permit is Upheld
The Oregon Supreme Court has upheld a Portland ordinance that prohibits the carrying of loaded guns in public places.
In an opinion (PDF) issued on Thursday, the court said the loaded-gun ban does not violate the Second Amendment or the Oregon Constitution. The court noted 14 exemptions to the city’s loaded-gun ban, including one for people who have obtained a state license to carry a concealed weapon. Police officers, hunters and people traveling to target ranges are also exempted.
The court pointed to language in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling District of Columbia v. Heller that said the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is not absolute.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ron Paul Dismantles Corporate Boondoggle Known as ObamaCare (Video)
Brainchild of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries
Retired Congressman Ron Paul went on CNN and pointed out something rarely mentioned by the establishment media — Obamacare is the brainchild of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries…
The so-called public option, the idea that the government will create its own health insurance agency to compete with corporate leviathans, was never a serious consideration and was indeed anathema. It was a ploy crafted to trick persistently gullible Democrats into supporting yet another corporate swindle, this time enforced by the most violent and ruthless player on the block, the federal government.
After Obamacare was rammed through Congress, Baucus, one of the biggest recipients in Congress of campaign cash from the healthcare industry, boasted about the architect of the legislation, Liz Fowler.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Army Buys Nearly 600,000 Soviet AK-47 Magazines
Each fully loaded, magazines combined hold almost 18,000,000 rounds.
The U.S. Army is buying almost 600,000 Soviet AK-47 magazines, enough to hold nearly 18,000,000 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammo which is not standard-issue for either the U.S. military or NATO.
A U.S. Army solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities site asks for approximately 592,825 new AK 30-round magazines.
The solicitation even refers to the magazines as being for “non-standard weapons.”
More specifically, they are for the AK-47 designed by the Soviet Union at the start of the Cold War, which is now commonly used by opposition forces in proxy wars around the world.
This magazine order is an astronomical amount.
Assuming an individual, unloaded magazine weight of 0.95 pounds, all of these magazines combined weigh more than the operating weight of a Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy, one of the largest aircraft in the world.
The C-5 Galaxy wouldn’t even be able to carry all of these magazines. Two trips would be necessary.
To put it in another prospective, all these magazines combined weigh more than seven 18-wheelers each carrying the maximum legal load of 8,000 pounds.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Michael Bloomberg’s organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, recently found himself trying to lure a man into a sexual encounter through the liberal use of alcohol. When the charm and alcohol didn’t do the trick, James ‘Jay’ Schiliro (R) decided to go a different route — firing a handgun into a wall in an attempt at intimidation.
The mayor who, as the title suggests, is against illegal guns, was forced to hand over his firearm collection, and has been charged with several crimes.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Group Guinea Pig Sex ‘Too Loud’ Say Neighbours
Frantically mating guinea pigs living in a free-love rodent commune at a German university are making so much noise that neighbours have complained to the city’s administrative court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Health of Patients at Waterford (Ireland) Hospital at ‘Immediate Risk’
Hiqa inspectors found the environment at the 549-bed Waterford Regional Hospital to be ‘generally unclean’
Immediate and serious risks to the health and welfare of patients at Waterford Regional Hospital have been identified by the Health, Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
The risks, which relate to the transmission of infections, must be seriously addressed within six weeks, the authority has said.
Among the risks identified were serious breaches of hand-hygiene standards, a toilet area “heavily stained with a mould-like substance”, an unlocked medication fridge, used surgical instruments and a used tracheotomy tube stored on top of a tray containing disinfectant fluid; a designated hand-wash sink containing pieces of equipment soaking in solution, a patient with a suspected communicable disease not in a room but in an open bay, and a commode not being washed after use.
The Hiqa inspectors, who made an unannounced visit to the 549-bed hospital on June 25th, found the environment to be “generally unclean”.
The report on the hospital is published today. The hospital was assessed for compliance with environment and facilities management standards and with hand hygiene standards. They looked at the emergency department, a surgical ward and a medical ward.
In the emergency department, they found the hand-hygiene of staff “was not in line with best practice guidelines.
“The authority observed 23 hand-hygiene opportunities throughout the monitoring assessment, comprising 11 before touching a patient [and] 12 after touching a patient. Five of the 23 hand hygiene opportunities were taken and were observed to comply with best practice hand hygiene technique. Non-compliance related to failure of nursing and medical staff to take hygiene opportunities. Some staff wore sleeves to their wrists and wrist watches, which is not best practice as it prevents adequate hand-washing.”
Hand-hygiene, says the report, is “the single most important preventative measure” in the transmission of health-care acquired infections.
The inspectors said there was evidence of good practice in environment and facilities management. However they also found a “heavy sticky residue” on the exterior of a patient’s wardrobe, chipped lockers, chipped paintwork, dust , radiators being used for patients’ personal towels which sometimes touched other patients’ towels.
In the medical ward they found: “The floor directly around the toilet and the base of a toilet cistern for patient use was heavily stained with a mould-like substance”. In the same ward “a disposable kidney dish containing used surgical instruments and a used tracheotomy tube were stored on top of one of two large trays containing disinfectant”.
Also in this ward, “Hiqa observed that the surfaces of two commodes assessed were stained [and] a member of staff was observed … failing to clean a used commode after use.” Another commode had “visible soiling on the seat” and the lids of two others were “unclean”.
In the drugs/utility rooms the inspectors “found that a medication fridge on medical ward 2 containing, for example, insulin and antibiotic solutions and a cupboard containing medicated sprays, were unlocked and as such accessible to unauthorised persons”.
In the surgical ward, “the designated hand-wash sink contained a tray with pieces of equipment soaking in a solution. Hand washing was carried out without removing the tray from the sink”.
There was also evidence of non-compliance with National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections. Although isolation rooms were available, says the report, “a patient with a suspected communicable infection was accommodated in a bay in the main area of the Emergency Department.
“During the course of the monitoring assessment the [inspectors] identified immediate serious risks to the health and welfare of patients.” These risks were brought to the immediate attention of the hospital’s general manager and the HS.
“Waterford Regional Hospital must now develop a quality improvement plan (QIP) that prioritises the improvements necessary to fully comply with the National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections…This QIP must be published by the Hospital on its website within six weeks.”
The HSE is preparing response to the report which it says will be ready before the end of the day.
| — Hat tip: McR | [Return to headlines] |
John Cleese Launches Comprehensive Attack on British Media
Veteran actor and comedian John Cleese has launched a furious attack on the British media while promoting his new film, the Disney cartoon Planes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Museum Dedicated to Founder of Modern Turkey Reopens in Thessaloniki, Greece
A museum dedicated to the founder of the modern Turkish state has reopened in his native city in northern Greece following a year’s restoration work.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Growers See Red at Kenyan Roses
Norwegian flower farmers are up in arms at the Labour party’s decision to turn to Kenyan growers to source more than a million red roses for the ongoing election campaign.
“Talk about double standards!” Eilif Nordfjæran, who runs Oslo’s Nordfjæra gardening, told VG. “They say they’re working for Norwegian jobs, while turning their back on them. I’m exasperated and hope there will be a change of government.”
Norway’s Labour party has had to buy in vast quantities of the flowers, which are its party symbol, in the run-up to the general election on September 9.
Marthe Scharning Lund, Labour’s campaign chief, explained that it would not have been practical to use Norwegian roses.
“As far as I know there are no Norwegian producers who can meet the requirement of more than one million roses, over the short period of an election campaign,” she said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland Opens Drive in ‘Sex Boxes’ To Make Prostitution Safer
They look like shelters for hikers in a national park, but these wooden sheds in Switzerland have a rather less innocent purpose — they provide a discreet location for men to have sex with prostitutes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The underworld ‘kingpin’ and man linked to a terrorist attack in Mumbai that left hundreds dead, has died in exile in London.
Iqbal Memon, 63, named as one of the world’s biggest drug dealers has been hidden away in his suburban home, east London, for the last two decades.
He was reputed to be the right-hand man of India’s most infamous terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and was facing drug smuggling charges in India.
He was also under investigation over the IPL cricket match-fixing and betting scandal which saw 29 people arrested.
Over his 20 years in Britain he repeatedly defied attempts by the Indian authorities to extradite him over suspicions that he was linked to the series of bombings that targeted the Mumbai stock exchange and other key locations in 1993.
Yesterday his solicitor, Afsheen Chowdhry, told the Independent that that Mr Memon — also known as Mirchi — had died of a suspected heart attack.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hospital waiting lists have soared to a five-year high, with almost 2.9million patients in the queue for treatment.
New figures show that at the end of June the number of people waiting to start NHS treatment after being referred by their GP was 240,000 higher than the same time last year.
It comes as the respected medical journal The Lancet accused ministers of treating the health service like a ‘failing bank’ by trying to bail-out crisis hit units with extra money instead of taking responsibility for care.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ryanair Sacks Pilot Over Channel 4 Dispatches Programme
Ryanair has sacked a senior pilot and is preparing legal action against him over “defamatory” comments he made about the airline’s safety policy in a Channel 4 documentary.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Wrecker’s Ball Menaces French Village Churches
Across France, five such Catholic churches have already fallen victim to the wrecker’s ball since the start of the year. Historian Philippe Boutry says nearly all France’s churches of special historic, architectural or artistic interest are already “classified” and that others that do not fall into the same category have no official protection.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Benghazi — the Cover Up Deepens
This week I interviewed Whalid Shoebat on my national radio show http://www.therothshow.com, about his ongoing investigation to find the truth about Benghazi. Whalid stated he only looks at Arabic sources for his news to really find out the links, persons involved and real truth about Benghazi.
He linked the Benghazi attack to directives straight from ousted Muslim Brotherhood President — Mohammed Morsi. He gave 2 ‘smoking gun’ points.
A) A video was shot at the attack scene where gunmen were running toward the camera screaming ‘don’t shoot us, We were sent by Morsi.” Although spoken in Arabic, Whalid said the word ‘Morsi’ was understandable. B) He found a Libyan Intelligence document brought to the forefront by Arabic translator Raymond Ibrahim. This lead to the arrest and interrogation of 6 members of an ‘Egyptian cell.’ They were all Egyptians and belonged to the Ansar al-Sharia group. In their confessions they mentioned their link to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
It is most clear that ousted — Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi was behind these attacks. This is the same Morsi who Obama was and is boldly behind. Hmmmm…who is behind Morsi?
Since the Benghazi event and murders, theories and conspiracies are flying everywhere. The latest that is most intriguing is the strong possibility that Valerie Jarrett gave the stand down order. We know that Obama disappeared after 10:00 pm that night and was not heard from again until morning. Who ever gave the ‘stand down orders’ Jarrett, Obama or the Janitor, it was Treason and it all goes back to Obama.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Deaths Reported as Thousands of Morsi Supporters March in Egypt’s ‘Friday of Anger’
At least 17 people are dead and dozens are injured after thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters stormed the streets of Cairo Friday— some chanting “down with military rule!”— in another day of protests over the removal of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Christians Living in Fear After Church Attacks
Copts are scared of leaving their houses after string of attacks on their churches, businesses carried out by Morsi supporters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Keeps a Wary Eye on Turmoil in Egypt
Before the violence this week in Cairo, the Israeli government was quietly pleased with the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which has always been hostile to Israel. But now the mass killings have left Israel in the uncomfortable position of being a spectator to the crisis unfolding in Egypt, though one with a huge stake in the outcome.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Travellers Warned Over Egypt Violence
Italy has advised its citizens visiting Egypt to remain in hotels and holiday resorts following clashes in which hundreds of people have been killed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New ‘Cold War’ Between Russia and America in the Land of Pharaohs
Cairo, Egypt — Despite it being a long time since the end of the Cold War between the U.S.-led Western camp and the Eastern-led Eastern one, what is happening today in Egypt is proof of what still lies in the hearts of both sides who are waiting for any chance to direct a painful hit at the other side, to win a round or cause a loss to ‘the enemy’.
The Middle East has looked more like a game of chess between America and Russia, and this was manifested after the American invasion of Iraq, an important ally of Russian and China. It was renewed with the Arab Spring and the collapse of the old pro-American regimes and the rise of new powers. Both sides are keen to gain influential allies at the expense of the other and any innocent civilians in the way.
The new Russia under President Vladimir Putin is trying to re-establish its global presence, and sees the well touted Arab Spring as the perfect chance to do it. U.S. military bases are spread across the Arabian and Persian Gulfs, Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Pacific, while Russia, has only one orphan base in Syria on the Mediterranean. The ‘Syrian Free Army’, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, collaborates with the MI6 and CIA, and takes their instructions, weapons and funding from NATO the U.S. At the same time, Russia and China are trying not to lose the only Russian military base in the region, or lose influence to maintain even a minimum level of its interests.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Swedes’ Trips to Egypt Cancelled Until October
Swedish travel agents have halted all trips to Egypt until mid-October due to the violence in the country, with an estimated 1,600 Swedes affected.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Travel Agencies to Pull Out Egypt Tourists
Major travel agencies have all decided to halt flights to Egypt and bring back any of their customers who are already there.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Danish-Speaking Salafist Incites Jihad in Syria
Justice minister and leading terror expert concerned after the emergence of what appears to be the first video to actively recruit Danes to Syria
While the internet is awash with Islamists advocating jihad in the Middle East, this week marked the first emergence of video targeting a Danish-speaking audience.
Danish-speaking jihadist Abu Khattab has uploaded a video on YouTube, calling on his “brothers” in Denmark to participate in the Syrian civil war. The video, which appears to have been recorded in Syria, features Khattab next to a masked warrior with a rifle as he speaks of jihad as “the forgotten implication” and encourages Danish Muslims to join him in a holy war.
“We were given everything in Denmark. Our parents paid everything for us, we were given bread and milk for free, but the (the infidels) could not deceive us,” he says in the video. “My dear brothers, jihad is the greatest reward. Your blood will smell sweet. Your imam will appear before you as a luminous bubble. My dear brothers and sisters in Denmark, you should come too. This is the best thing to do, to strengthen the Islamic people and the Islamic state,” Khattab proclaims in the video.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Copenhagen Police and domestic intelligence agency PET have been secretly investigating Islamic organisations with links to Syria. PET’s latest threat assessment revealed that at least 65 Danes have participated in the conflict. At least five of them are known to have been killed.
The justice minister, Morten Bødskov (Socialdemokraterne), is concerned that the new video will appeal to Danish Muslims. He warns against acting upon Khattab’s request and joining the fighting in Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Krekar Funded Al-Qaeda in Iraq Say Police
German police believe that a militant Islamic group led by Norway-based extremist Mullah Krekar was involved in financing al-Qaeda’s Kurdish terror network in northern Iraq.
According to Swedish court documents seen by the VG newspaper, German police suspect at least eight people in the network, known as ‘Rawt’ or ‘the movement’, of financing and planning terrorist activities.
As well as Krekar, whose real name is Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, they believe a 34-year-old Iraqi living in Switzerland, and a 31-year-old Iraqi living in the UK both played a leading role.
The new investigation came to light when German police asked a Swedish court to interrogate a 28-year-old Iranian expelled from Norway in 2011, who now lives in Sweden.
The 28-year-old this weeek told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the interview could put his life at risk.
“I could be executed,” he told the paper. “This is incredibly important for my private life. This may have consequences for me in Iran. I could be executed if something leaks out.”
The aim of the group was to recruit around 100 Europeans with a view to establishing an Islamic state in Kurdistan.
“Eligible targets for terrorist acts in Iraq could include coalition troops, political parties, and American and Norwegian civilians,” the German police wrote in their request. “Even suicide bombings, assassinations, snipers and chemical weapons would be allowed.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Rebels Move HQ From Egypt to Turkey
The headquarters of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) is being transferred from Egypt to Turkey, as the new administration that toppled President Mohamed Morsi has limited the movements of the Syrian opposition, according to the coalition’s Turkey representative.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
World’s Oldest Temple Built to Worship the Dog Star
THE world’s oldest temple, Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, may have been built to worship the dog star, Sirius.
The 11,000-year-old site consists of a series of at least 20 circular enclosures, although only a few have been uncovered since excavations began in the mid-1990s. Each one is surrounded by a ring of huge, T-shaped stone pillars, some of which are decorated with carvings of fierce animals. Two more megaliths stand parallel to each other at the centre of each ring (see illustration).
Göbekli Tepe put a dent in the idea of the Neolithic revolution, which said that the invention of agriculture spurred humans to build settlements and develop civilisation, art and religion. There is no evidence of agriculture near the temple, hinting that religion came first in this instance.
“We have a lot of contemporaneous sites which are settlements of hunter-gatherers. Göbekli Tepe was a sanctuary site for people living in these settlements,” says Klaus Schmidt, chief archaeologist for the project at the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Berlin.
But it is still anybody’s guess what type of religion the temple served. Giulio Magli, an archaeoastronomer at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy, looked to the night sky for an answer. After all, the arrangement of the pillars at Stonehenge in the UK suggests it could have been built as an astronomical observatory, maybe even to worship the moon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Four Police Killed in Thai Nursery School Attack
Four police officers were killed in a gun and grenade attack in front of a nursery school in Thailand’s insurgency-hit south Friday, an official said, as bloodshed continued to dampen hopes for peace talks.
Narathiwat is one of several provinces in Thailand’s Muslim-majority south, where some 5,700 people have been killed since the insurgency flared in 2004.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Couple Arrested on Blasphemous Text Message Charge
A disabled Christian man, Shafaqat Emmanuel, and his wife Shagufta Kausar were arrested in Pakistan’s Punjab Province on suspicion of sending a blasphemous text message. It is quite remarkable that blasphemy is something that a person can even be accused of in the twenty-first century!
It has been reported that disabled Shafaqat Emmanuel was in fact tortured by the police in front of his family. In typical medieval tradition the torture was reported to have been accompanied by the extraction of a false confession. However, he only “broke” when the officials threatened to start torturing his wife. Who would not admit to false charges under such conditions?
Such legal abuse is always a possibility in any jurisdiction where the law is influenced by sharia principles. Equality before the law does not exist under sharia and no meaningful human rights can exist. If anything sharia exacerbates community tensions. Under sharia Christians are second class citizens and this case illustrates that Christians have this status in Pakistan. This case is yet another example of why it is important to oppose sharia. How many more lives have to be blighted by sharia before the dangers that it poses are understood by world leaders, particularly by Western leaders? Western leaders should stop pandering to the sharia lobby both at home and abroad.
| — Hat tip: ICLA | [Return to headlines] |
‘A Big Hoax’: Experts Say North Korea Showing Off Missiles That Can’t Fly
Missiles paraded through the streets of Pyongyang in recent displays of North Korean military might — said to be capable of hitting targets throughout Asia and even in the U.S. — are incapable of flight and are almost certainly nothing more than fakes, according to U.S. government experts and independent analysts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A ‘monster’ who smashed his new-born baby daughter against a wall and chopped up her body before burying her, has been awarded £1700 because he was not fed Halal food in jail.
Despite the outrage that has followed the revelation, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said today that prisoners had to be treated ‘humanely and appropriately’ and he would not attempt to stop them suing prisons.
Former butcher Raymond Akhtar Ali, 60, complained to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal after being fed a vegetarian diet for four months, instead of specially-prepared Halal meat in accordance with his religious beliefs.
Ali complained that he had been fed a vegetarian diet for four months while being held in prison instead of Halal food which needs to be blessed, slaughtered, cooked and stored in accordance with strict rules.
Miss Ann Fitzpatrick, a member of the Tribunal, found in Ali’s favour because he had to eat vegetables and not Halal meat, the Courier Mail newspaper reported today.
In 2000 that Ali was found guilty of the gruesome murder of his newborn daughter while the baby’s mother, Amanda Blackwell, 22, was found guilty of manslaughter.
The court learned that she had become Ali’s virtual ‘sex slave’ while working in his Halal butcher’s shop. Although he was married at the time, she became pregnant with his child.
Minutes after she secretly gave birth, Ali killed the baby girl.
A post-mortem found that her severe fractures were likely to have been caused by being crashed against a hard surface while still alive.
When her body was found by police in a grave it was found her right leg had been severed, she had been cut in half at the abdomen and her reproductive organs had been removed.
She had suffered multiple skull fractures, multiple rib fractures and ‘multiple incised and stab wounds’.
A forensic examiner said after the trial that the ‘victim in this case was defeminised — her reproductive organs were removed to destroy evidence that she was a female.’
Mr Bleijie said said that ‘the community would understandably be angry about this decision (to pay compensation) and I’ve requested urgent advice with respect to the State loading an appeal.’
Any appeal is expected to consider Miss Fitzpatrick’s opinion that after being incorrectly told Halal food was not available, ‘it forced a person who otherwise ate meat as part of his diet to eat a vegetarian diet.’
Ali, who is serving a life sentence, can apply for parole from August next year.
He will be able to access the award money if released and if there are no claims from victims or child support agencies.
Outraged Australians responded online to the compensation decision.
‘That guy should have been hung by the neck,’ wrote one woman.
‘That creature is the personification of evil,’ wrote Rob Greer, ‘and an Australian court of law rewards him.’
| — Hat tip: McR | [Return to headlines] |
Humberto Fontova: ‘Axis of Evil’ Alive and Well Right Off U.S. Coast
Excerpt: Eusebio Penalver, Ignacio Cuesta Valle, Antonio Lopez Munoz, Ricardo Valdes Cancio, and many other Cuban blacks suffered almost thirty years in Castro’s prisons. These men (and many women too, by the way, black and white) suffered their tortures 90 miles from U.S. shores. But you’ve never heard of them, right?
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Beachgoers Make Human Chain to Save Migrants
Holidaymakers in Sicily rallied together on Thursday to save 160 boat migrants, by creating a human chain into the sea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy ‘Can Cope’ With Huge Boat Migrant Wave
More than 24,000 immigrants landed on Italy’s shores in the last year, the interior minister said on Thursday, but insisted the situation had not reached a crisis point.
Almost 9,000 arrived in a single 40-day period between July 1st and August 10th this year, Angelino Alfano told reporters.
Despite the wave, illegal immigration had not yet become an “unmanageable situation”, he said, as Italy struck a delicate balance between its duty to legitimate asylum seekers and the right to secure its borders.
Three boats carrying a total of 280 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa were rescued overnight on Wednesday in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Tunisia.
Taking advantage of calm waters, the influx has intensified in recent weeks, especially in Sicily and Calabria in the south.
In July, Pope Francis visited Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa on his first trip outside Rome to mourn the thousands of migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean, often in tiny vessels unsuited to such journeys.
Lampedusa is a common point of entry for illegal immigrants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Law Change to ‘Recognize Third Sex’
Germans will soon be legally divided into three genders — those born as hermaphrodites have the right to not identify as male or female. It has been described as a revolution, effectively creating legal recognition of a third sex.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Carbon Dioxide: The “Gas of Life”
It’s amazing that minuscule bacteria can cause life-threatening diseases and infections — and miraculous that tiny doses of vaccines and antibiotics can safeguard us against these deadly scourges. It is equally incredible that, at the planetary level, carbon dioxide is a miracle molecule for plants — and the “gas of life” for most living creatures on Earth.
In units of volume, CO2’s concentration is typically presented as 400 parts per million (400 ppm). Translated, that’s just 0.04% of Earth’s atmosphere — the equivalent of 40 cents out of one thousand dollars, or 1.4 inches on a football field. Even atmospheric argon is 23 times more abundant: 9,300 ppm. Moreover, the400 ppm in 2013 is 120 ppm more than the 280 ppm carbon dioxide level of 1800, and that two-century increase is equivalent to a mere 12 cents out of $1,000, or one half-inch on a football field.
Eliminate carbon dioxide, and terrestrial plants would die, as would lake and ocean phytoplankton, grasses, kelp and other water plants. After that, animal and human life would disappear. Even reducing CO2 levels too much — back to pre-industrial levels, for example — would have terrible consequences.
Over the past two centuries, our planet finally began to emerge from the Little Ice Age that had cooled the Earth and driven Viking settlers out of Greenland.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
@New ‘Cold War’ Between Russia and America in the Land of Pharaohs
A halal of a foreign policy that will alienate just about everyone other than the jihadists, if America asserts that its National Security interests are to be fought in an alliance with islam then what of the counter jihad on both sides of the Atlantic.
An American halal foreign policy by definition would compel the United States to nudge Islamic (OIC) interests in Europe. Jihadists in cowboy hats, will Europeans then look to Russia to build their alliances?