British Prime Minister David Cameron lost a parliamentary vote on Syria, which dashed his hopes of joining Barack Obama’s long-planned war against the Syrian regime. Meanwhile, a British-proposed resolution supporting military action against Syria was defeated in the UN Security Council.
In other news, the firebrand “Norwegian” jailbird Mullah Krekar wrote a letter endorsing the Labour Party in the upcoming elections, thereby increasing Prime Minister Stoltenberg’s chances of cornering the criminal terrorist vote.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Mary Abdelmassih, ST, 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.
As the Rupee Goes on a Free Fall, India and Nepal Fear Currency Crisis
India’s currency hit its all-time low against the US dollar, followed closely by that of Nepal. Indian Finance Minister tries to discourage imports to protect the country’s foreign currency reserves.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) — As collapse looms on the horizon, India is poised for a currency crisis as the rupee reaches a new low. This, in turn, is dragging down Nepal and its currency.
Yesterday, the Indian currency lost another 4 per cent, reaching 68.7 rupees against the US dollar. Today, the Nepali rupee dropped to 105.35 per dollar.
For some analysts, the governments of the countries want to discourage imports in order to protect their respective foreign currency reserves.
This is why India’s Finance Minister P Chitambaran met top bankers and trade experts on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Nepal is closely monitoring India’s moves. As today’s plunge shows, the fate of the Nepali rupee is closely tied to that of India.
“If India’s currency rises, Nepal’s currency rises automatically,” said Yubaraj Khatiwada, governor of the Central Bank of Nepal.
“This crisis,” he explained, “shows that we need to rethink our financial policies.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Detroit Stopped Issuing Death, Birth Certificates After Bankruptcy
Detroit’s funeral directors received this unusual text message last month. “FYI, city of Detroit can’t process death certificates because they have no paper and don’t have money to buy any.”
The message, from a fellow funeral director, was mostly true: The city did stop issuing certified copies of birth and death certificates on July 23, days after the July 18 bankruptcy filing. That day, a nervous paper vendor demanded cash — and the city wanted to do business as usual, on credit.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Sheds Bankers’ Shackles
International Monetary Fund told to vacate the country; nation now issuing debt-free money
…Instead, the Hungarian government has assumed sovereignty over its own currency and now issues money debt free, as it is needed. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. The nation’s economy, formerly staggering under deep indebtedness, has recovered rapidly and by means not seen since National Socialist Germany.
The Hungarian Economic Ministry announced that it has, thanks to a “disciplined budget policy,” repaid on August 12, 2013, the remaining €2.2B owed to the IMF — well before the March 2014 due date. Orbán declared: “Hungary enjoys the trust of investors,” by which is not meant the IMF, the Fed or any other tentacle of the Rothschild financial empire. Rather, he was referring to investors who produce something in Hungary for Hungarians and cause true economic growth. This is not the “paper prosperity” of plutocratic pirates, but the sort of production that actually employs people and improves their lives.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A Discussion on Race, Crime and the Inconvenient Facts
By John F Gaski
About 90% of interracial violent crime in our nation is committed by blacks against whites. The black-on-white murder rate in the U.S. exceeds the white-on-black rate by about 2.5-to-1. The black-on-white assault and battery rate exceeds the corresponding white-on-black rate in this country by at least 10-to-1.
I would rather not report what is known about U.S. interracial rape statistics because it could be taken as incendiary, but the previous numbers in terms of black/white proclivity are dwarfed. (See Department of Justice, Criminal Victimization in the United States, “Victims and Offenders.”)
OK, here’s a hint: Because the number of white-on-black rapes is so low nationally in any given year, the ratio ranges from 100-to-1 to infinity. Liberal, politically correct feminists need to reflect on that one.
If these interracial crime ratios were randomly based, they would be uniform — that is, 1-to-1 — for the two racial groups. In other words, the population with six times as many potential victims also has six times the pool of perpetrators, so the effect of that disproportion should be perfectly offsetting arithmetically.
Yes, the relative crime stats would be moderated if adjusted for socioeconomic status (from astronomical to merely stratospheric), but by no means inverted.
The baseline conclusion is straightforward, even if surprising to readers who are victims themselves — victims of racial and racist propaganda. The hysterical public mantra of epidemic white-on-black violence is thus exposed as fraud.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) Two detailed studies shine light on the devastating side effects that antipsychotic medications have on children and adolescents. One study, recently published in JAMA Psychiatry, reports that children on anti-psychotic medications are three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The other study delves further into the dark side of the medications, showing suicide rate increases 20 times greater when antipsychotic medication is used as treatment.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) If you’ve never heard of “civil forfeiture laws,” you’re about to get an eye-opening education. What’s more, you’re going to be disappointed that far too many local police departments — maybe even your own — are using these laws to rip off innocent citizens and help fund their own operations.
In a recent lengthy piece for The New Yorker magazine, Sarah Stillman described in detail how these laws have been abused by police agencies all over the country to extort money and valuables from people whose only “crime” was traveling through their jurisdictions:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Copts in the West Campaign Against Muslim Brotherhood
by Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) — Expatriate Copts in Western capitals launched campaigns to draw attention to the violence of the Muslim Brotherhood and to expose it as a terrorist organization, and to support the Egyptian army, who they say is “fighting a war on terror” launched by pro-Morsy supporters against the Egyptian people at large.
As with most Egyptians, the Copts are angry with the Obama administration for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and describing their demonstrations as “peaceful.” Video evidence supports the contrary.
“We are also angry with the bias of the western media, which still talks of the June 30 demonstrations as a coup. How could this be when over 33,000,000 citizens went out to the streets all over Egypt calling for the ousting of Morsy,” said activist Mark Ebeid, “why deny us our revolution, and the right to choose a suitable president?”
On July 25, in an interview on Cairo Tonight, a news discussion program hosted by Amr Adeeb, Major General Sameh Seif El-Yazal, an expert in national security affairs and Chairman of the Al Jamhooriyya Center for Political and Security Studies in Cairo, said the Muslim Brotherhood hired an American public relations firm to portray the June 30 Revolution as a military coup, even though nearly 33 million citizens joined in the demonstrations. Yazal said there is an Arab state which funds this process and is injecting huge sums of money into the U.S. to disseminate negative publicity against the Egyptian army (Al-Ahram story in Arabic).
On August 22 a large rally was staged in front of the White House in Washington, where Copts travelled from all over the U.S. to denounce the Brotherhood’s Terror in Egypt, and to expose the bias of the Obama administration and the American media towards the Brotherhood. The rally later marched to the Washington Post and CNN to denounce their bias.
American Copts funded a $100,000 full page advert in the New York Times newspaper on August 24. “It was all from Coptic donations” said Magdi Khalil one of the heads of “Coptic Solidarity”, an NGO based in the US which organized the rally and adverts.
The advert came in response to the advert published by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Washington Post, which talked about the ‘military coup’ in Egypt and the massacres and atrocities committed by Gen. -Abdel Fattah Sisi, the defense minister, demanding the right of Egyptians to electoral legitimacy — meaning the return of Morsy as President.
The Coptic advert blasted the Obama administration for considering the MB demonstrators as “peaceful” and for withholding acknowledgement that the Egyptian people regained control of their country from the MB, demanding justice and equality for all Egyptians. They explained to the readers that the Muslim Brotherhood is supported by Al-Qaida and that Hamas, one of its offshoots, is designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.
Addressing the American public, the advert said “If you are outraged by the Muslim Brotherhood’s attack on over 90 churches and public institutions and their killing of innocent and unarmed civilians, join us in asking our government to acknowledge that there is nothing ‘peaceful’ in their violent and deadly demonstrations.”
The Muslim Brotherhood has announced that on August 30 demonstrations will take place all over Egypt, asking for the return of the deposed President Morsy.
Egyptian Copts have paid the heftiest price after the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) President Morsy, and the breaking up of the two MB sit-ins in Cairo by security forces. According to church sources over 90 churches, monasteries, Coptic orphanages, schools and properties looted and torched from August 14-22 (AINA 8-24-2013). Human Rights Watch visited various churches that were attacked and reported on it (video).
Bishop Makarious of Minya, the Upper Egyptian governorate with the most church and property casualties, said that attacks on churches and Copts were planned before the breakup of the sit-ins, and fears that more attacks will continue.
Copts have been accused by pro-Morsy supporters of being behind the demonstrations that ended his presidency. Al-Qaida leader el-Zawahry accused the Church and the secularist minority of having conspired with Western powers against the Muslim Nation in Egypt (video).
| — Hat tip: Mary Abdelmassih | [Return to headlines] |
Earthlings Are Really Martians, Says New Theory
Life on Earth was kick-started thanks to a key mineral deposited by a meteorite from Mars, according to a novel theory aired on Thursday.
The vital ingredient was an oxidised mineral form of the element molybdenum, which helped prevent carbon molecules — the building blocks of life — from degrading into a tar-like goo.
The idea comes from Steven Benner, a professor at the Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Gainesville, Florida, who was to present it at an international conference of geochemists in Florence, Italy.
“It’s only when molybdenum becomes highly oxidized that it is able to influence how early life formed,” Benner said in a press release.
“This form of molybdenum couldn’t have been available on Earth at the time life first began, because three billion years ago the surface of the Earth had very little oxygen, but Mars did.”
In this violent epoch of the Solar System, the infant Earth was pounded by comets and asteroids.
Mars, too, would have come under bombardment, and the impacts would have caused Martian rubble to bounce into space, where they would have lingered until eventually being captured by Earth’s gravity.
Recent analysis of a Martian meteorite showed the presence of molybdenum, as well as a boron, an element that would also have helped nurture life by helping to protect RNA — a primitive cousin to DNA — from the corrosive effects of water.
“The evidence seems to be building that we are actually all Martians, that life started on Mars and came to Earth on a rock,” said Benner.
“It’s lucky that we ended up here nevertheless, as certainly Earth has been the better of the two planets for sustaining life. If our hypothetical Martian ancestors had remained on Mars, there might not have been a story to tell.”
Other theories about how life began on Earth suggest that water, the key ingredient, was brought by comets, famously dubbed “dirty snowballs,” which comprise ice and dust left from the building of the Solar System.
Another hypothesis, called panspermia, suggests bacteria hitched a ride on space rocks, splashing into Earth’s warm and welcoming sea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Earth Life Likely Came From Mars, Study Suggests
We may all be Martians.
Evidence is building that Earth life originated on Mars and was brought to this planet aboard a meteorite, said biochemist Steven Benner of The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Evangelical Christians Labeled as ‘Extremists’ By Pentagon
The Pentagon is the nation’s hub for military activity. One would think this nerve center would be hard at work training the next generation of leaders to fight terrorists and other extremist groups. They are… except you might be very surprised at what the Pentagon is classifying as an “extremist” group.
According to a report by Todd Starnes, “The Department of Defense classified Catholics and Evangelical Christians as religious extremists similar to Al-Qaeda, according to training materials obtained by the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Defends Giving Teacher 30-Day Sentence for Rape of Young Teen
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
BILLINGS, Mont. — Faced with growing backlash, a Billings, Mont., judge who sentenced a man to 30 days for raping a 14-year-old girl is standing by his decision and comments that the girl was older than her “chronological age” when it came to sexual matters.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh handed down the sentence Monday after former Billings Senior High School teacher Stacey Rambold, 54, was terminated from a sexual offender treatment program that was part of a deal to have his prosecution deferred. The judge said he wasn’t convinced that the reasons for Rambold’s termination from the program were serious enough to warrant a 10-year prison term recommended by prosecutors.
In handing down the sentence, Baugh also said Cherice Moralez was “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation” as the teacher.
Moralez killed herself in 2010 at age 16 while the case was pending.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Martin Luther King’s Words ‘Belong to the Ages’, Says Obama
United States President Barack Obama paid tribute to Martin Luther King on the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s march on Washington. But there was more work to be done to fulfil King’s legacy, warned Obama.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Let’s begin with the real career-killer: he plagiarised his doctoral thesis from Boston University. This very useful post on snopes.com about the Martin Luther King scandals does a good job of separating myth from reality, and the plagiarism is proven.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
N.F.L. Agrees to $765 Million Settlement With Retired Players in Concussion Lawsuit
The N.F.L. agreed to pay $765 million to settle a lawsuit brought by more than 4,000 retirees with advanced dementia and other problems as well as the families of players who have died from what they claimed were the long-terms effects of head trauma.
United District Court Judge Anita B. Brody, from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Thursday that she was informed by Layn Phillips, a court-appointed mediator, that the money would be used for medical exams, concussion-related compensation and a program of medical research for retired players and their families. The N.F.L. also agreed to pay legal fees.
Brody still must approve the settlement, which has yet to be filed. The N.F.L. has denied that it deliberately misled players about head injuries and that it relied on the best science available at the time to create its policies on concussions. It also argued that the collective bargaining agreements signed by the league and its players union should govern any disputes, not the courts.
| [Return to headlines] |
Now We Know Why NYC Has Avoided Another Terror Attack
Homeland Security: Now we know why New York City has avoided another terror attack: The police there treat radical mosques as the terror enterprises they are and investigate accordingly.
The New York Police Department uses pro-active counterterror tactics, while the FBI’s approach is reactive. Guess which one has a better record preventing terror attacks?
NYPD has disrupted a whopping 16 major terror plots since Manhattan was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. The department’s intelligence unit has foiled attacks on the Brooklyn Bridge, the New York City subway system, New York Stock Exchange, Manhattan and Bronx synagogues, the Federal Reserve Bank and returning U.S.. military service members, among other targets.
The FBI’s success? Not so good. Since 9/11, the federal agency has missed the Boston bombings and the Fort Hood massacre, among other jihadi attacks.
We knew the CIA-trained NYPD was good. But we didn’t know how good until now.
According to the Associated Press, which has obtained secret police documents, the NYPD has been labeling entire radical mosques as “terrorism organizations,” a designation that allows detectives to use informants to record violent sermons and spy on mosque clerics suspected of inciting jihad or recruiting terrorists. The tactic also makes anyone attending the mosques fair game for surveillance.
The FBI has shunned this wildly effective tool in the war on Islamic terrorists as too invasive and politically incorrect.
“As a tactic, opening an enterprise investigation on a mosque is so potentially invasive that while the NYPD conducted at least a dozen, the FBI never did one,” the AP reported.
That’s a tragic shame. The victims of the Boston Marathon attack no doubt wish the feds had been more aggressive.
The Boston jihadists attended a mosque well known among locals for radicalism. Yet FBI Director Robert Mueller recently testified he was clueless about its founding by an al-Qaida fundraiser that his own agency convicted just eight years earlier. Or that it has been a breeding ground for terrorists since 9/11.
What’s more, one of the trustees of the same mosque, the Islamic Society of Boston, is on the FBI’s watch list and banned from re-entering the U.S.
The mosque’s main imam once partnered on the Islamist lecture circuit with Anwar Awlaki, the American al-Qaida cleric who ministered to the 9/11 hijackers; and wouldn’t you know, his name appears alongside Awlaki’s in post-9/11 investigative reports filed by one of the FBI’s field offices.
| — Hat tip: ST | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Seeks ‘Groundbreaking’ Spying Powers, New Leak Reveals
Among the NSA’s annual budget of $52.6 billion are requests to bankroll “groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities” that can beat cryptography and mine regular Internet traffic, new documents leaked by Edward Snowden to the Washington Post reveal.
The document in question, the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Justification — referred to as the “Black Budget” — states on page 4: “…we are investing in groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities to defeat adversarial cryptography and exploit Internet traffic.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Primordial Broth of Life Was a Dry Martian Cup-a-Soup
There’s a new, chemical reason to think that the first life on Earth began elsewhere. It now seems that only on Mars were the right chemical elements — specifically boron, molybdenum and oxygen — all present at the right time to produce the RNA molecules widely thought to be the precursor to DNA and therefore life on Earth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Quietly, Obama Begins ‘Regionalizing’ America
Stanley Kurtz at National Review Online writes about San Francisco’s new Plan Bay Area — a “regional” plan for San Francisco and the surrounding cities that is ostensibly aimed at making sure minorities can afford the local housing market, but which is actually aimed at forcing Americans to live in denser urban areas as part of state and federal initiatives aimed at slowing global warming by restraining suburban growth.
The background to Plan Bay Area, which is, Kurtz writes, essentially being imposed on local residents with help from the Obama administration, is an activist agenda from the 1990s aimed at redistributing the wealth of the suburbs into failing, Democrat-run cities. One of Barack Obama’s community organizing mentors, Mike Kruglik, is involved in the effort, and Obama was once involved (together with Bill Ayers) in funding it.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
France: Neo-Nazi Vikernes to Face Trial Over Racial Hatred
The infamous Norwegian neo-Nazi Kristian “Varg” Vikernes, who was initially arrested in July on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack, is set to face trial in France on charges of inciting racial hatred and glorifying war crimes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germans Switch to National Email Providers After US Scandal
Berlin — German people are flocking to national email providers and demanding encryption services normally reserved for corporate security in the wake of the US spying scandal, German justice minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday (28 August).
“German users have reacted to the NSA (the US’ National Security Agency) scandal by switching to German email providers … and they are demanding encryption of their emails so far reserved to telecom companies. There is a great opportunity for private encryption,” the minister said.
She claimed that “some 80 percent have done so” already.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Monti Not Opposed to Pardoning Berlusconi
‘Would help overcome hateful partisanship’ says ex-premier
(ANSA) — Rome, August 27 — Former premier Mario Monti on Tuesday said he was not opposed to his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi receiving a presidential pardon for a tax-fraud conviction. “Personally…I don’t find it particularly scandalous, nor incompatible with the rule of law, to eventually pardon (Berlusconi),” said Monti in an interview with the daily Il Foglio. Monti, an economist and former European commissioner, was nominated in an emergency measure to replace Berlusconi at the end of 2011 when a peak in the euro crisis threatened a Greece-style financial meltdown in Italy. He now leads the centrist and largely Catholic formation of reformers that make up a small part of Premier Enrico Letta’s fragile left-right government.
Its stability has been made even more volatile by threats from Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom (PdL) party to topple it if the three-time premier’s ban from office is upheld following his first-ever binding criminal conviction early this month for manipulating film rights at his Mediaset media empire.
The Senate, where the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) holds a narrow majority, will decide next month whether to ratify stripping Berlusconi of his Senate seat. Many have speculated that President Giorgio Napolitano could decide to pardon Berlusconi, especially if the tycoon first chose to step down from the Senate voluntarily, in an effort to shore up government stability. Doing so, according to Monti, would help “overcome the partisanship of hate and scorn” rife in Italian politics.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Bids to Save Senate Seat
Takes case to European Court of Human Rights
(By Sandra Cordon). (ANSA) — Rome, August 28 — With the clock ticking down to the vote to strip ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi of his Senate seat, the media magnate took his fight all the way to Europe’s human rights court on Wednesday.
Lawyers for Berlusconi, who was convicted of tax fraud earlier this month, have sought leave appeal his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
At the same time, his lawyers also filed a sheaf of legal opinions in Berlusconi’s favour with a key Senate committee and launched an appeal at Italy’s Constitutional Court, in a case that has far wider implications for Italy’s political stability.
At the core of their case is the argument that the legislation allowing his fellow senators to vote to strip Berlusconi of his seat should not be applied because it took affect after his conviction for tax fraud.
And that, they say, is unconstitutional and contravenes his basic legal rights to not be subjected to laws that did not exist at the time of his August 1 conviction — the first-ever binding conviction in a criminal court against Berlusconi, founder of the centre-right People of Freedom (PdL) party.
The anti-corruption law that includes the provision against convicted criminals continuing in politics was introduced last December under former Justice Minister Paola Severino but only recently took effect.
The Senate, where the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) holds a narrow majority, is scheduled to decide on Sept. 9 whether to ratify stripping Berlusconi of his Senate seat.
The case has far wider implications than Berlusconi’s seat.
The PdL, locked in a very fragile and uneasy coalition with the PD, has threatened to pull out of the government and let it crash if the Senate votes to expel their leader.
Many have speculated that President Giorgio Napolitano could decide to pardon Berlusconi, especially if the tycoon first chose to step down from the Senate voluntarily, in an effort to shore up government stability. Doing so, according to ex-premier Mario Monti, would help “overcome the partisanship of hate and scorn” rife in Italian politics. Beppe Fioroni, a former PD cabinet minister, weighed in on the case Wednesday, suggesting the Senate should consider Berlusconi’s arguments.
Fioroni said he saw merit in the arguments of other PD members that it could be useful to have the new anti corruption law held up to constitutional scrutiny.
Hearing Berlusconi’s appeals would also serve to demonstrate the PD is not driven by political bias.
“In Italy, the laws are respected, judgments apply as the logical consequence of that belief,” he said. “If the PdL has serious elements of clarification (that) are neither subterfuge nor trivial waste of time,” they should be heard.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jellyfish Invade Mediterranean Beaches
Scientists say it is an increasingly typical summertime scene in Mediterranean holiday spots: turquoise waters, white sands and hoards of tourists — but no-one in the water. The reason? Jellyfish.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Life in Prison for Swedish Mafia Kingpin
The head of Södertälje’s organized crime “Network” was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, concluding the high-profile retrial that puts an end to one of Sweden’s largest ever police investigations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: ‘Vote Labour, ‘ Says Jailed Islamist Mullah Krekar
Norway’s most notorious Islamic militant has told supporters to back Norway’s Labour Party in the coming election, in what must rank as one of the most unwelcome endorsements in the country’s political history.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A father got a nasty shock when he tried to unplug his little girl’s iPad charger — only for it to explode in his hand.
Tim Gillooley, 34, was thrown across the room and suffered burns to his fingers when he removed the plug from the wall socket. He said the electric shock would have killed his daughter Chloe, eight.
The incident took place at Mr Gillooley’s mother’s house.
‘There was a massive bang and I felt a huge jolt up my arm, and I was thrown completely across the room,’ he said.
‘I was in total shock. Chloe burst into tears and everyone was stunned.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A chip shop boss has insisted he’s not racist after putting up a banner boasting that the business now had ‘English owners’.
Paul Bradbury insists customers ‘want to know they are going to be served by somebody English’ — even though the shop had previously been run by English people of east Asian descent and of Greek descent.
He and his wife Rachel took over the Chippy On The Green, in Hapton Road, Padiham, Lancashire less than a fortnight ago.
But the couple have already provoked a furious row with a banner across the front of the shop that reads: ‘Under new management with English owners’.
Burnley’s Lib Dem MP Gordon Birtwistle and the mayor of Padiham have both issued demands for it to be removed.
But defiant Mr Bradbury has no plans to take it down.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: “We Live in Fear of More Violence, “ Says Indian Jesuit
Head of the local Jesuit school, the priest describes how the Christian community is targeted by Islamists on a daily basis even though three quarters of its pupils are Muslim. Minya residents complain that things are out of control in their governatorate as Islamists vent their rage indiscriminately.
Minya (AsiaNews) — “When they march in front of our church during demonstrations organised by the Muslim Brotherhood, protesters are amazed that the building is still there,” Fr Bimal Kerketta told AsiaNews.
Originally from India, the priest has been in Egypt for ten years working as the principal of the school run by the Jesuit Fathers in Minya.
“Each day, they gather in front of the building to shout slogan of intimidation. I fear that tomorrow’s event will lead to fresh acts of violence.”
Minya Governorate, which is located on the Nile south of Cairo, felt the brunt of the Islamist wrath following Mohammed Morsi’s removal from power.
Many local sources describe a city out of control and left to fend for itself.
“Fundamentalists have burnt and destroyed everything,” a resident told AsiaNews. “Their aim is to remove all traces of a Christian presence here. Even orphanages have been looted.”
The Islamist rage fell especially on Christian schools and churches, but also on museums and anything that stood for modernity. One of the country’s main museums of ancient Egyptian art is located in Minya and was recently damaged and looted, with about a thousand pieces stolen.
For the authorities, some members of the Brotherhood were among the thugs that attacked the building.
Since 30 June, when the President Mohammed Morsi was ousted, at least 12 churches have been torched and destroyed in Minya alone.
The number of buildings affected goes up to 20 if orphanages and other Christian-run facilities are considered.
Islamists often strike at random and indiscriminately, ignoring the fact that at least one of the buildings to which they set fire was open to Egyptians of both confessions.
“Ours is an Arab school, from kindergarten to middle school,” said Fr Bimal, who has been in Minya for five years. “Seventy-five per cent of our pupils are Muslim.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Chaos Fuels Africa’s Human Trafficking
Egypt’s political unrest has brought suffering not only to its own people but also to hundreds of African refugees. Their goal is Israel but many end up as hostages on the Sinai Peninsula.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Military Prosecutor Killed by Car Bomb in Benghazi
Yusuf Ali al-Asifar prosecuted Gaddafi loyalists
(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, AUGUST 29 — Military prosecutor Yusuf Ali al-Asifar was killed by a car bomb Thursday in the Lity neighborhood of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Asifar was in charge of investigations against loyalists of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was deposed in a 2011 revolution. He was with his brother when a bomb placed under his car exploded, sources said.
Numerous members of the security forces, judges, activists, and journalists have been killed in politically motivated attacks in Benghazi in recent months.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Life Under Martial Law in Egypt
A curfew in many Egyptian cities, put in place for safety reasons, has left many feeling locked up. Daily life is far from normal, but it has to go on.
In almost all of Egypt’s cities, people are allowed onto the streets only in the daytime. But the curfew, intended to calm the political situation, is having other effects on the lives of typically sociable Egyptians.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisian Government Turns on Former Salafist Allies, Calling Them Terrorists
The Salafist movement is responsible for the murders of Chokri Belais and Mohamed Brahmi, leaders of the non-Islamic opposition. Its members have ties to al-Qaeda.
Tunis (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The Tunisian government has added Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia to its list of terrorist groups. Until 2012, the movement was part of the ruling majority led by the Islamist Ennahda party. Now its members are accused of plotting the murder of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, leaders of the non-Islamic opposition.
A few days ago, Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said he had irreproachable proof against the group, which is fighting to implement Sharia law in the whole of Tunisia. “Anyone belonging to it must face judicial consequences,” he explained.
Mr Larayedh also said the group was supporting an armed jihadist cell linked to al Qaeda that the Tunisian army has been hunting for months in the remote Mount Chaambi region along the Algerian border.
Founded in April 2011 in the aftermath of the Tunisia uprising, Ansar al-Sharia wants the introduction of Islamic law across Tunisia.
Its leader, Seif Allah Ibn Hussein, also known as Abu Ayadh al-Tunisi, was in prison under the regime of former President Ben Ali and was released along with other Islamists after the Arab Spring.
Allied with the ruling party Ennahda, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ansar al-Sharia was banned after the attacks on the US Embassy in Tunis in September 2012.
In recent years, its supporters have been involved in attacks on cinema, art exhibits, universities, as well as shows and people deemed not in line with the Sharia.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘Moving Moment’: Israel Ends Ethiopian Repatriation Program
Some 450 Jews from Ethiopia landed in Israel on Wednesday, the last arrivals in a program to relocate the community to the Holy Land. The campaign, which lasted for nearly thirty years, has been plagued by controversy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Attacking Syria Serves No Purpose. The Middle East Needs Tolerance, Not Weapons
Philip J. Crowley, until 2011 foreign policy advisor to the Obama administration , speaks to AsiaNews about the geopolitical scenarios in the event of the fall of Bashar al- Assad. At least four conflicts are raging within the country : between the regime and rebels , Saudi Arabia and Iran, Israel and Hezbollah , Al- Qaeda and the moderate Arab world . Only with moderate and charismatic leaders will Arab countries find their stability. But it will be a slow process, that will take at least one generation.
Washington (AsiaNews) — “What happens in Syria will resonate across the region and multiple dimensions… What these countries need is a figure that will lead them towards a more tolerant society”. This is the opinion of Philip J. Crowley, former assistant and spokesman for the U.S. State Department and now a professor at George Washington University. He served the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011 . Interviewed by AsiaNews, the U.S. diplomat describes possible future scenarios and the consequences of the attack on Damascus planned by the United States with the support of Great Britain , France, Turkey , Canada and the Arab League.
“In Syria — says Crowley — there is more than one war being waged. There is the conflict between the Assad regime and the Free Syrian Army, a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a shadow war between Israel and Hezbollah and al Qaeda’s war against the prevailing Arab order and the West. Obviously what happens in Syria will resonate across the region and multiple dimensions. “
Added to these regional problems is struggle between Russia and the United States for hegemony in the Middle East. “Over the past 35 years, a number of regional governments who were former Soviet client states have strengthened their relationships with the United States at Russia’s expense. This animates President Putin’s approach to Syria. Russia also has a deeply held belief that regimes should not be overthrown by force and what happens with the internal affairs of a country is none of the international community’s business”. According to the former State Department employee, after the effects of the war in Libya, Russia is determined to avoid a similar way out in Syria. “The United States — he explains — believe that Assad has lost his legitimacy given the mounting death toll and now the use of chemical weapons. The two countries just look at Syria and reach different conclusions about the implications”.
When asked about the strengthening of al- Qaeda after 10 years of the fight against terrorism, conducted first by George W. Bush and continued by Obama, Crowley answered by quoting the results obtained in recent years , but also admits mistakes, the high human and economic toll and unforeseen scenarios . “ I think, for example, the present situation in Libya and in South Sahara — he explains -Ultimately this is a struggle within Islam. More and more Islamic leaders have rejected al Qaeda’s narrow interpretation of a great religion. This is the struggle that counts the most. The United States is trying to help counties strengthen their ability to deal with al Qaeda off-shoots themselves. We can help but cannot do it by ourselves. What we have done has been broadly effective, but it comes with high costs and some unintended consequences”.
For the future of the Middle East, the former spokesman for the State Department is hoping for a political transformation of the countries of the Arab Spring , to allow the inclusion of all members of society, especially religious minorities. To obtain this result, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are in need of moderate leaders supported by the population, but so far no politician seems to have the appropriate skills and consensus. “ Right now — he says — the post-Arab Spring Middle East is governed by a zero-sum mentality. If you win, I lose. This is tragic, but probably not all that surprising. What these countries need is a Mandela-like figure to lead them towards a more tolerant, inclusive positive-sum civil society. These figures have not yet emerged. Tragically, positive change does not occur overnight. It will be the work of a generation”( S.C.)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s Parliament Votes Against Military Action in Syria
Prime Minister David Cameron said that Britain would not participate militarily in any strike against Syria after he lost a parliamentary vote on Thursday on an anodyne motion urging an international response by 13 votes.
It was a stunning defeat for a government that had seemed days away from joining the United States and France in a short, punitive cruise-missile attack on the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians.
Thursday evening’s vote was nonbinding, but in a short statement to Parliament afterward, Mr. Cameron said that he respected the will of Parliament and that it was clear to him that the British people did not want to see military action over Syria. “I get it,” he said.
The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272.
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French and Russian Warships ‘Head for Syria’
France has sent one of its latest anti-air warfare frigates to the eastern Mediterranean, a French magazine reported on Thursday, while Russian media said that Moscow has despatched two warships to the same area, which is met by Syria’s only coast.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Halal Hotels’ Lure Turks, Not Arabs
Turkey’s ‘Muslim-friendly’ or ‘halal’ hotels that offer visitors an alcohol-free environment along with separate swimming pools for women and men are drawing Turkish tourists, not Arabs, say sector players
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Has ‘Plan B’ For Post-Assad Syria
A US military strike in Syria will have repercussions across the region, and will certainly raise hackles in Iran. But ultimately, say analysts, Tehran will call the West’s bluff, as it always does.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Never Had, Never Will Have a Say
by Badrya Darwish
The whole world is busy with the warfare which might take place in Syria any moment now. The possible attack could happen under the pretext that Syria has used chemical weapons against its own people. I cannot confirm or deny that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Also, I cannot confirm or deny if chemical weapons were used by the opposition or by the government — by both or even by neither group.
What I can confirm is that there are many innocent dead people and there is a lot of suffering and destruction. Do not add to their misery by bombing them if you have goodwill to solve the problem in Syria. However, the scenario in Syria now reminds me of what happened a few years ago in Iraq and their weapons of mass destruction. Few years after the demolition of Iraq, a whistleblower came out and spoke about the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
I do not know if we are going to live that day and if we are going to hear the same old story about Syria that there were no chemical weapons used. But even if that happens, it would be too late since Syria would have been demolished. Syria is already demolished. Is this the democracy the whole world is seeking for Syria?
They are trumpeting the start of a war. May I ask: In whose favor would that military intervention be? Would it be to kill the rest of the Syrians under the pretext that we should punish those who use weapons of mass destruction? May I know who sells the weapons of mass destruction? Can’t we punish the producers with a military intervention?
If the whole world is serious about helping Syria then they should bring the two parties together- opposition and government and force them to solve the conflict at home. Assad has his own big number of supporters. The opposition also has a large support group. Do you want to kill one of these two large groups? Who decided which group should be killed and bombed? Why don’t we leave it to the Syrians to decide for themselves? Or is the world now afraid to speak? If one powerful party suggests something, everyone else agrees.
Somebody should stand up and oppose the way of bringing democracy to Syria. That someone, we expect, to be the police of the world with the support of the other so-called powers. That is if your agenda is to bring back peace to Syria and by the way, to the area because what happens in Syria will affect all its neighbors, be it Jordan, Lebanon, Israel or Iraq. If is otherwise, then ignore my words. By the way, I am not counting on the Arab world in this. They never had and still have no say in what happens in their own land.
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Obama’s Syria Attack Rationale Crumbles
New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, stated the obvious on Wednesday — under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Sends Warships to Mediterranean; Denies Syria Link
The Russian Navy has denied that the dispatch of two warships to the eastern Mediterranean is linked to western military action against Syria, despite Interfax quoting a source in the armed forces’ general staff who said the deployment was in response to the “well-known situation”.
As part of plans to have five or six vessels stationed in the region, initial reports stated that Russia had sent an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to waters near Syria because the crisis “required us to make some adjustments” in the naval force, according to Interfax.
However, within hours a Russian Naval spokesperson told RIA Novosti that the maneuvers were part of planned rotation and not linked to the worsening situation in Syria.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Resolution Authorizing Military Force Fails in U.N. Security Council
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council failed to reach an agreement Wednesday on a British-proposed resolution that would authorize the use of military force against Syria, as the U.N. chief pleaded for more time for diplomacy.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Road to Syria Must Lead to Iran
Bill Siegel
Bill Siegel is the author of The Control Factor: Our Struggle to See the True Threat published by Hamilton Books.
Many today are questioning the policy behind the possible kinetic military activity President Barack Obama has threatened in Syria. The administration is claiming that, while compelled to act in response to illegal chemical weapons use, such action is in no way to be considered a step toward any meaningful change in the balance of power in the region.
On its face, such an approach is patently ridiculous; perhaps the predictable outcome when the foreign policy children that populate this administration — the Ladies of Syria (including Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Samantha Power) along with others such as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry (who both Peter Principled their way up years ago) — are truly incapable to lead our nation in any adult fashion.
Yet even this group must be fully aware that a simple kinetic bombing cannot be contained. If the US is to simply hit and run, what is to be accomplished? Do they trust that the other players in the region will stand by for an action that does nothing? Do they think the glaring contradictions with former stances taken against the Bush administration’s Middle East policies will go unnoticed? Do they not see that such action will afford many interested parties the rationale for further anti-US action; be it al Qaeda, Syria, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Russia, China, and so on?
It is certainly true that Obama put himself in this position by drawing a red line for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Our nation’s Left Wing media has so effectively trained Obama that he scores points when he employs his “Big Daddy” attitude and threatens Congress or Israel or others who dare to complicate his job. Unfortunately, most of the world — from Vladimir Putin to Li Keqiang to Kim Jong Un to Egyptian General Al Sisi — responds differently from Sasha and Malia. One too many times Emperor Obama exposed himself wearing no clothes.
Still, his narcissism cannot fully explain the call to action here. And perhaps he is setting up to be saved from action through an appeal to a higher purpose- the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine promoted by Power herself. This doctrine requires regional support and the failure of the Arab League and the UN to support any action against Syria may allow Obama to cleverly further a precedent and subject US policy to the collective desires of the rest of the world. This is certainly in line with the radical Leftist views of those with whom Obama has surrounded himself. Still, it is a roundabout way to establish the RTP doctrine.
On the other hand, an action against Syria could have certain desirable political side effects for Obama. It looms as another Wag-the Dog scenario made famous by Bill Clinton.
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This is the Most Dangerous Time in Modern History — Intelligence Insider Update
My source continued, “think Gulf of Tonkin, the Lusitania, even Pearl Harbor, use those as your historical guides for what we’re seeing today. Make no mistake, the global agenda has not changed,” he emphasized. “When their primary plan backfires or meets resistance, they have alternate plans. In the coming days or weeks, we could see an event that will be horrendous enough to change that nine-percent backing. Also, time is not on their side, they need to act within a short window as the anti-Assad ‘rebels’ are being beaten badly without Western assistance.”…
“Launching cruise missiles into Syria will likely fall not only upon innocent civilians, but on Iranian forces, Russian forces — Russia has over 100,000 ‘military advisors there now, and perhaps even some Chinese assets. What do you think their response will be?“ he asked rhetorically. “This is asymmetrical warfare on steroids. The response might not be what everyone expects. In fact, we should be looking for the unexpected, as we are about to be blindsided.”…
“This is not a ‘zero sum game’ confined to Syria. Again, this is about setting up the globalist takeover of the world’s economic system, killing off the U.S. dollar to have it replaced by a basket of currencies, or SDRs, and controlling all transactional activity everywhere on the planet under one mechanism. It will be done by using Syria as the trigger, oil as a weapon, and striking at the weakest aspect of American power — the U.S. dollar, which has been the target all along.“
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron Delays Syria Strike After Parliamentary Revolt
Obama says Assad carried out chemical attack while intel officials work furiously to find evidence to back up that claim
But if they don’t find any, it will almost certainly be full speed ahead anyway — al Qaeda needs our help.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India Arrests Top Alleged Indian Mujahideen Leader
Indian police have arrested one of the suspected co-founders of the militant group the Indian Mujahideen. The top militant has allegedly involved been involved in several bombings that killed hundreds of people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India: Kashmiris Want ‘Ban on Beethoven’
Separatists in Jammu and Kashmir have called for the cancelation of Western classical music icon Zubin Mehta’s upcoming musical symphony sponsored by the German embassy in Srinagar next month.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Government ‘Must Step in’ To Halt Fukushima Leaks
Ministers called on to intervene as regulators upgrade severity level of the leakage
Pressure is mounting on the Japanese government to intervene in the clean-up of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after experts voiced fears that the power company responsible for the facility is unable to cope.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Rehab Law Targets Australia’s Aborigines
A new Australian state law is set to force problem drinkers into mandatory rehabilitation. The move, however, is being criticized for targeting indigenous Australians and for not tackling alcohol abuse issues properly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norwegian Inmate Took Own Life: Congo
Tjostolv Moland, the Norwegian found dead in his cell in the Democratic Republic of Congo, most likely committed suicide, an investigation by Congolese authorities has concluded.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
51 Syrians Smuggled Over Bridge Into Sweden
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle 51 Syrian asylum seekers across the Öresund Bridge into Sweden. The alleged traffickers were stopped by the police on the Swedish side of the bridge on Wednesday.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, a bus with 45 Syrians on board, along with four men suspected of organising the journey, was stopped on the bridge which links Sweden and Denmark. Several hours later in a separate incident, a further six Syrians in a mini van was intercepted. The driver, based in Gothenburg, was also arrested.
All the Syrians have been put up in a hotel and are not suspected of any crime.
According to the police, such an extensive alleged smuggling operation is highly unusual.
“I have not encountered this before,” says Malmö police officer Anders Krister Andersson, to newspaper Sydsvenskan.
All 51 Syrians are understood to be seeking asylum in Sweden.
“They are being looked after by us and will be applying for asylum during the day, I presume, says Migration Board press officer Fredrik Bengtsson to news agency TT.
The Migration Board expects an increase in the number of Syrian refugees coming to Sweden.
“Given the situation in Syria it is reasonable to assume that more and more are looking to countries such as Sweden, since Sweden is one of the few countries in Europe that actually grants any permission,” says Migration Board’s press officer Fredrik Bengtsson.
“At the beginning of the year, we saw the number of Syrians coming here as smaller than we had expected. Then we concluded that it was the reinforced border controls , especially at the Greek border , which had made it harder for Syrians to get into Europe. In recent weeks, we have seen that the trend has been broken, now we see more and more Syrians coming to Sweden .” Fredrik Bengtsson says.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
African Migrants Aspire to a Better Life in Asia
Over 70,000 Africans migrated to Malaysia in 2012. While many have found a better life, some continue to live rough in one of Southeast Asia’s biggest cities, Kuala Lumpur.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France Makes it Easier to Become French
Vive la France! Despite the talk about the French wanting to quit France it appears to be a popular country after all. After announcing a 14 percent rise in people gaining French nationality, the government wants to make it even easier.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Citizenship to Become More Accessible
The French government is easing language skills requirements and streamlining the administration in charge of granting French citizenship to reverse a fall in the number of naturalisations since 2010.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Eastern European Migrants Overwhelm Duisburg
Since Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, an increasing number of poverty-stricken Roma have come from these countries to Germany. The city of Duisburg is struggling to deal with them, and residents are annoyed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Boat Carrying 70 Syrian Migrants Rescued by Coastguard
Over 2,800 have arrived on Italian coasts in 2013
(ANSAmed) — Palermo, August 29 — The Italian coastguard rescued 70 Syrian migrants from a boat off the coast of Sicily, taking them aboard their ship and transporting them to shore, port authorities said Thursday.
Port authorities said they received an emergency call overnight Wednesday and were able to locate a 25-metre boat some 85 miles off the southern coast of Sicily near the city of Siracusa.
All of the migrants, including four children, are safe and in good condition, authorities said.
An increasing number of Syrians are fleeing to Italy with 2,872 arriving on its coasts in the first eight months of 2013, the Italian interior ministry said Wednesday.
In recent weeks the number of Syrians who made the perilous crossing from North Africa has surged as war rages in their homeland.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Officers Warn There’s a War Front Opening Up on the Southern Border
There is a thriving slavery business going on in Nuevo Laredo with cartels kidnapping citizens on the American side and selling them into prostitution and slavery back across the border.
I’ve been hearing for years about the danger of terrorists slipping into the country across the Mexican border, but now I’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth.
One of the officers I talked to stopped an 18-wheeler that looked suspicious to him and found over sixty illegals hiding inside, four of which were Taliban. Yes, that’s the exact word he used. Taliban.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Moderate Politician Jumps Ship to Anti-Immigration Party
Olov Stråmark, former chairperson of the conservative Moderates in Landskrona, has gone over to the Sweden Demcrats, reports news agency TT. He says in a speech that the Moderates have foundered on question after question and immigration and integration issues have derailed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
$2M NIH Grant to Study Effect of Cultural Stigma on Chinese Homosexual Men
(CNSNews.com) — The final installment of a federal grant worth over $2 million has been awarded by the National Institutes of Health to a researcher studying how cultural stigmas affect the sexual behavior of homosexual men in China.
Project leader Kyung Hee Choi from the University of California San Francisco received $429,431 in May for the end of the five-year study. Research on the “Influence of Stigma and Discrimination on HIV Risk Among Men in China” began in 2009 and is projected to end next year.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Is 4th Grade Sex Education in Wisconsin Public Schools Going to Include Lessons on Masturbation?
“What is surely going to happen is the Oak Creek School District is going to instruct children on all of these topics, and outline the options available to them. Should they get pregnant? Have an abortion, it’s easy and painless. Do they think they might be gay? That is amazing. Congratulations on coming out! It is a wonderful, safe, and perfectly normal lifestyle. And are they feeling that they are not sexually satisfied? Try masturbation, it’s the easiest way to achieving full sexual pleasure.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Skype Marks a Decade of Shrinking the World
Skype, the internet messaging service co-founded by Swedish IT entrepreneur Niklas Zennström, has shrunk the world in ways few people anticipated, evolving into an essential part of life for those who live far away from family and friends.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |