An Austrian woman who advertised her services as a dominatrix looking for sex-slaves is being sued by her would-be customers. Instead of leather and chains, the men who answered her ad found themselves turned into actual slaves, being forced to plant crops and do other menial farm labor on her rural estate.
In other news, a Chinese court in Xinjiang has sentenced three Islamic terrorists to death for their role in an attack last June that killed 24 people.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Fjordman, Gaia, Insubria, JD, JP, KP, Mary Abdelmassih, Papa Whiskey, 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.
Greece: Childbirths Rate Fall 10% in Four Years
Drop due in part to the country’s financial crisis
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — The number of live births in Greece fell 10% between 2009 and 2012, which is attributed partly to the repercussions of the country’s financial crisis, as daily Kathimerini reports. The number of live births recorded in 2012 was 100,980, compared to 117,933 in 2009, according to statistics from the Institute of Child Health, a state-funded research organization, that were submitted in Parliament Thursday by Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. “The low birthrate problem has worsened over the past two decades and has become more acute recently due to the financial crisis,” Georgiadis said in a response to a question lodged by independent deputy Yiannis Kourakos.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Press: Greeks Hide 200 Billion Euros in Switzerland
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, SEPTEMBER 13 — Greeks hold deposits of 200 billion euros in Switzerland, while Greece emerges as the “big loser” of tax evasion, as GreekReporter website writes quoting the Austrian newspaper Der Standard which dedicated an article to tax evasion in Greece, referring to the large deposits of rich Greeks in Switzerland, as well as to the off shore companies founded by Greeks. The newspaper published the article on the occasion of the broadcasting of the French documentary “Tax evasion, the hold-up of the century,” made by Xavier Harel by the French-German TV network Arte. “In the Swiss banks, which are the winners of tax evasion in Europe, Greeks — people of money have deposits of around 200 billion euros and Greece is the big loser of tax evasion.”
According to the article, in the documentary it is revealed among others, how a well-known industrial group, with an annual turnover of many billion dollars, has moved its headquarters to Switzerland, an example followed by many multinational companies, resulting in French loosing in taxes more than 30 billion euros annually. Der Standard also talks about the off shore companies, for example at Cayman Islands, where 18,000 of these companies are installed in a four-story building or in Delaware, where Americans have their own tax haven and where in a one-story building 285,000 companies are registered, the owners of which remain secret.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Al Qaeda Calls for Attacks Inside United States
(Reuters) — Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged small-scale attacks inside the United States to “bleed America economically”, adding he hoped eventually to see a more significant strike, according to the SITE monitoring service.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boston High School Teacher Trades Pledge of Allegiance for Muslim Anti-American Poem
By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: Poor Muslims. Mean intolerant Americans are always so bigoted toward them. Instead of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or any unsettling images from the mass murder of 3,000 Americans in the name of Islamic Supremacism, Principal Peter Badalament chose to read Mohja Kahf’s poem, “My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears” in which her Syrian grandmother argues with American women who don’t want her following the Islamic ritual of washing her feet in a sink where people wash their hands.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Burning Qurans Won’t Do it — Exposing the Quran Will
…To add more danger to this Muslim horror show, Obama is making news in Egypt. Tahani al-Gebali, Vice President of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Egypt stated…”the time was nearing when all the conspiracies against Egypt would be exposed-conspiracies explaining why the Obama administration is so vehemently supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood.“ She allegedly said this on Bitna al-kiber, a live TV show.
In addition, the son of jailed Muslim Brotherhood leader in Egypt, Saad al-Shater has also said he has the goods on Obama and it will incriminate Obama and the U.S. He accuses Obama of giving a secret bribe of $8 million to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Regular guest Whalid Shoebat a former Islamic terrorist himself and now peace activist translated this from a Turkish news source and shared it on my show and in print. “In an interview with the Anatolia News Agency, Saad Al-Shater, the son of a Muslim Brotherhood leader, the detained Khairat Al-Shater, said that his father had in his hands evidence that will land the head of the United States of America, President Obama, in prison. Such documents, he says, were placed in the hands of people who were entrusted inside and outside Egypt, and the release of his father is the only way for them to prevent a great catastrophe. He stated that a warning was sent threatening to show how the US administration was directly connected. Other Arab sources confirmed this report. Voice of Russia, wnd.co, dcclothesline.com, Anatolia News Agency.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EPA Goes Paramilitary, Conducts Armed Raids With ‘Police’ Jackets, Checking for Water Quality
(NaturalNews) In what is another example of gross regulatory abuse, a squad of Alaska enviro-agents wearing POLICE-emblazoned body armor and dressed in paramilitary garb recently “raided” a small community for the purpose of — wait for it — checking the quality of water.
According to the Alaska Dispatch newspaper, which reported on the incident Sept. 3, “agents with the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force surged out of the wilderness around the remote community of Chicken wearing body armor” and jackets, leaving residents stunned, confused and most likely a little ticked off.
– From the paper:
Did it really take eight armed men and a squad-size display of paramilitary force to check for dirty water? Some of the miners, who run small businesses, say they felt intimidated. Others wonder if the actions of the agents put everyone at risk. When your family business involves collecting gold far from nowhere, unusual behavior can be taken as a sign someone might be trying to stage a robbery. How is a remote placer miner to know the people in the jackets saying POLICE really are police?
Some of the miners went so far as to dare to suggest that agents do what they used to do in such circumstances — show up at the front door and politely ask to test water quality.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
By Ron Radosh
Excerpt: My acquaintance with Landau went back to my leftist student days at the University of Wisconsin, where Landau and I were both members of the Communist youth movement on campus and later worked on the radical New Left intellectual journal Studies on the Left. As I moved on and left those circles, we became bitter political enemies. In the 1980s, when I went to Nicaragua to report for The New Republic and on human rights missions with Nina Shea for a group she led called The Puebla Institute, my experiences led me to become a critic of the Sandinistas and their program to turn Nicaragua into a second Cuba in the western hemisphere.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Man Fails Trying to Cross Atlantic Via Balloon Cluster
A U.S. balloonist who was trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean using hundreds of helium-filled balloons has landed short of his goal in Newfoundland. “This doesn’t look like France,” he posted on Facebook.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Monsanto Protection Act Resurrected to Grant Biotech Giant Legal Immunity
The secret legislation that protects Monsanto from legal action is back thanks to corrupt politicians.
The Monsanto Protection Act that grants Monsanto full immunity from federal courts is back, and once again it is being pushed by elected politicians who have utterly disregarded the very people they claim to represent.
As you may remember, the original version of the Monsanto Protection Act was contained as a secretive rider in the Senate spending bill HR 933, which was rushed through to ‘prevent government collapse’. In other words, Monsanto nefariously planned the rider to hide within the emergency bill that they knew full well would pass the Senate. As a result, Monsanto was granted complete immunity from federal courts with regards to their experimental GMO crops — regardless of any scenario regarding Monsanto’s disease-spawning GM waste.
This means that even if Monsanto were to go and plant a genetically modified crop variation that was admitted to cause cancer, they would still be immune. Even if they went and created something called the ‘Cancer Apple’, for example, this Monsanto Protection Act steps in and holds even the federal court system back from doing anything about it. Monsanto is even now more powerful than the bloated federal government.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
N.J. Teen Gets 17 Years in Prison for Killing Girl
WOODBURY, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey teenager called his actions “a big mistake” as he was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in state prison for fatally strangling a 12-year-old girl whom he had lured to his home with an offer to trade bicycle parts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Reid: Tea Party Republicans Are Anarchists
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said today that “anarchists” have taken over Congress in reference to the Republicans attempting to kill Obamacare.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Senate Committee Passes Shield Law Defining “Journalist”
By Ed Morrissey
Excerpt: Dianne Feinstein wants that to be a rather exclusive club: ‘Journalists and bloggers who report news to the public will be protected from being forced to testify about their work under a media shield bill passed by a Senate committee Thursday. But the new legal protections will not extend to the controversial online website Wikileaks and others whose principal work involves disclosing “primary-source documents … without authorization.” …’
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Shock Video: Texas State Troopers Arrest Legally Armed American (Video)
Trooper stumbles for words after realizing man’s replica black powder revolver is not considered a firearm under Texas law
On a visit to the Texas state capital to show his appreciation for the Second Amendment right that we all enjoy, Texas Open Carry board member Terry Holcomb was arrested by Texas state troopers who appeared ignorant of state firearm laws.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Student Protesters Rip 2,977 American Flags Out of Ground at 9/11 Memorial
More than 200 colleges and high schools across the nation participated in Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project. Students came together to establish an American flag memorial on campus consisting of 2,977 flags representing each person murdered in the terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, five student protesters at Middlebury College ripped the flags out of the ground before 3:00 pm.
The 9/11: Never Forget Project has been an annual nonpartisan event at Middlebury College for the past ten years. By participating in the 9/11: Never Forget Project, students honor the victims of the attacks, as well as honor the American principles for which they died.
Middlebury student groups spent nearly two hours setting up the flag display yesterday morning. The protesters told Ben Kinney, president of the conservative club on campus, they were “confiscating” the flags in protest of “America’s imperialism.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Ethanol Debacle — End the Ethanol Scam
A recent Wall Street Journal editorial said, “A strong candidate for the most expensive policy blunder of recent years would have to be the mandate to blend corn ethanol and other biofuels into the nation’s gasoline supply. Last month even the Environmental Protection Agency essentially acknowledged that the program is increasingly unworkable and costly to consumers. The EPA just won’t do much to fix it.”
Some future historian will calculate how many trillions this nation wasted when it passed a law in 2007 that was supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to save the Earth from global warming and to provide a domestic energy source to compete with OPEC oil.
Implicit in that calculation will have to be the millions, if not billions, of automobiles whose engines were ruined by ethanol. Another element of the calculation is the way the cost of food at home and around the world was increased needlessly by requiring approximately 42% of the U.S. corn crop be used for ethanol production. It is more than the amount of corn used to feed livestock and poultry nationwide…
The ethanol mandate is so crazy that, not just corn must be sacrificed, but “cellulosic” ethanol, made from switch grass and wood chips, is also required. It isn’t even being produced despite the law, but the EPA continues to levy fines against oil company refineries for failing to buy and use a fuel that doesn’t exist. The cost of that is, of course, passed along to consumers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Use Found for Jerry Brown’s California
Excerpt: “A new lawsuit filed by the city of San Francisco on behalf of the state of California alleges that over the past five years, the state of Nevada has dumped 1,500 mental patients onto other states by putting them on Greyhound busses and sending them over state lines with no prior arrangements with families or other mental hospitals once they arrive.” By “other states” they mean primarily the erstwhile Golden State.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Verizon’s Diabolical Plan to Turn the Web Into Pay-Per-View
Think of all the things that tick you off about cable TV. Along with brainless programming and crummy customer service, the very worst aspect of it is forced bundling. You can’t pay just for the couple of dozen channels you actually watch. Instead, you have to pay for a couple of hundred channels, because the good stuff is scattered among a number of overstuffed packages.
Now, imagine that the Internet worked that way. You’d hate it, of course. But that’s the direction that Verizon, with the support of many wired and wireless carriers, would like to push the Web. That’s not hypothetical. The country’s No. 1 carrier is fighting in court to end the Federal Communications Commission’s policy of Net neutrality, a move that would open the gates to a whole new — and wholly bad — economic model on the Web.
As it stands now, you pay your Internet service provider and go wherever you want on the Web. Packets of bits are just packets and have to be treated equally. That’s the essence of Net neutrality. But Verizon’s plan, which the company has outlined during hearings in federal court and before Congress, would change that. Verizon and its allies would like to charge websites that carry popular content for the privilege of moving their packets to your connected device. Again, that’s not hypothetical.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Vladimir Putin New York Times Editorial Blasts American Exceptionalism
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is no fan of the idea of American exceptionalism. He suggests that God isn’t either.
In an opinion piece for The New York Times, Putin cites President Barack Obama’s address Tuesday night in which he said American ideals and principles “are at stake in Syria” as he made his case for holding the Assad government accountable for a deadly chemical weapons attack near Damascus.
Obama concluded by saying that America’s ability and willingness to act to prevent an atrocity such as gassing children is, in his words, “what makes us exceptional.”
But Putin writes: “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.”
[Our prez has been had by bad Vladi / Outmaneuvered on Syria, poor laddie / Then The New York Fishwrap / Ran the Russki’s new rap / That rhetorically asked, “Who’s yo daddy?” — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
Imam of Port Coquitlam Mosque Charged With Sexual Assault
Coquitlam RCMP say the Imam of a Port Coquitlam mosque has now been charged with one count of sexual assault.
Police initiated an investigation back in June after they received a report of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred at the Masjid Al-Hidayah and Islamic Cultural Centre, located at 2626 Kingsway Avenue in Port Coquitlam. On Wednesday, September 11, Crown approved the charge of sexual assault against the mosque’s Imam, Saadeldin Bahr. The Imam is the senior leader at the mosque…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: S&M Slaves Sue Over Slave Labour
Angry S&M fans are suing a dominatrix who promised them the thrill of a kinky life as slaves on her farm — and then put them to work harvesting her crops. The 35-year-old farmer advertised herself as a whip-cracking slave master at her estate in rural Austria.
But when more than a dozen keen rubber and leather-clad submissives turned up they realised they were more for slave labour than sex slaves.
“They didn’t get what they bargained for,” a spokesman for police in St Polten told local media. Instead of whips and chains, the slaves found themselves pulling carrots and chopping wood.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Center Left Presses Google to Pay Full Taxes in Italy
PD requests reforms
(ANSA) — Rome, September 12 — Google and other Internet multinationals should be required to pay taxes in Italy for the business they carry out in the eurozone’s third-largest economy, according to an amendment the centre-left Democratic Party proposed to a bill that is to be reviewed by parliament next week.
The requested changes were introduced Thursday, while the draft will be voted on at the parliamentary finance commission on Tuesday.
Google’s Italian unit Google Italia paid 1.8 million euros of taxes in Italy last year, in line with its fiscal contributions the previous year, according to a July 22 report by ANSA.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Dead Thief Sparks French Row Over Self-Defense
The death of a young man in Nice, shot by a jeweller whose shop he had just robbed, has plunged France into a debate this week about the legitimate use of force in the defense of property. A Facebook group supporting the local businessman has gained hundreds of thousands of followers in just 48 hours.
Crime in the Côte d’Azur in southern France appears to have reached a critical point this week, with the death of a young man in the Mediterranean city of Nice on Wednesday.
After a series of recent armed robberies in the neighbouring city of Cannes, a 67-year-old jeweller took matters into his own hands on Wednesday morning, shooting dead an 18-year-old man who had just robbed his jewellery shop.
Police continued to hold the local businessman for questioning on Friday, as a Facebook group, whose number of supporters is rising at a rate of 80,000 every hour, spearheaded a groundswell of support for his actions.
The incident, in which the robbed shop-owner shot at the two thieves’ fleeing scooter, hitting the deceased in the back, has plunged France into a passionate debate about the use of violence in self-defense, and to protect property.
The dead man’s suspected accomplice, who continued to flee after his partner fell from the vehicle, has been apprehended and is being questioned by local police.
Responding to a series of armed jewellery heists in Cannes this summer, as well as an escalation of gangland deaths in the nearby city of Marseille, Interior Minister Manuel Valls in August announced an increased police presence in the Côte d’Azur.
“Some 4,750 police reinforcements will be deployed throughout the (Mediterranean) coast, including 143 in Cannes and Nice,” he was quoted as saying by French daily Le Monde.
Speaking on Tuesday, before the fatal shooting in Nice, the city’s mayor and centre-right UMP deputy Christian Estrosi said: “Everywhere in France, businesspeople live with the anxiety of suffering a stick-up or an attack.”
Reacting to the shooting in his city on Wednesday, Estrosi took to Twitter to condemn the behaviour of armed criminals.
“This morning there are two victims: the jeweller and the hooligan. The fear needs to shift over to the other side, now. Taubira’s law must not pass,” he said, referring to planned legislation by Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, which would limit custodial sentences and expand the use of alternative punishments like rehabilitation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EP OKs Emergency Visa Reinstatement
After 2012 boom in unfounded asylum requests from the Balkans
(ANSAmed) — STRASBOURG, SEPTEMBER 12 — The European Parliament has green-lit a “safeguard mechanism” allowing EU member states to reinstate visa requirements for countries that had seen them abolished within the Schengen area.
The European Commission will be charged with evaluating the requirements and deciding the merits of each case, after informing the Council and the EP. Approved with 328 votes in favor, 257 against and 46 abstentions, the regulation allows suspending liberalization of visas “as a last result” wherever a “sudden and substantial increase” of irregular immigration and unfounded asylum requests is recorded over a six-month period. The measure had been under debate for years, but was pushed last year to the top of the agenda by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Austria and Holland following a boom in visa requests from the Balkans after the abolition of temporary visas for citizens from Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2009, and for those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania in December 2010. “I truly hope not to have to experience situations leading to a suspension of visa privileges, but I am also certain that having this option as an ‘emergency brake’ of sorts will help increase member states’ trust in governance and in future visa liberalizations”, commented EU Internal Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
The regulation must be adopted by the European Council and then published on the EU Official Gazette in order to become operative.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Auditors Must Tone Down Criticism of Brussels Spending, Says Herman Van Rompuy
Europe’s official auditors must tone down their criticism of Brussels spending to avoid negative press coverage and to promote the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy has said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Scientists Win Prize for ‘Drunk Sex Appeal’ Study
A team of scientists based in the French city of Grenoble were honoured with a unique award at Harvard university this week for their psychological study, which found that people are convinced they are more sexually attractive when drunk.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Diplomats Rack Up 5,000 Traffic Violations
Berlin’s foreign diplomats are giving police a headache with their bad driving. In four months they racked up nearly 5,000 traffic violations, getting off scot-free thanks to diplomatic immunity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Bismarck Temptation and Secret Pacts With Russia
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Excerpt: Germany’s euro break-up party — Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) — has unveiled its foreign policy. It is pure Bismarck. “Germany and Europe have no interest in a further weakening of Russia,” said Alexander Gauland, AfD’s foreign affairs chief.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Banking Could be Cheaper, Says Watchdog
Antitrust authority promotes shift online
(ANSA) — Rome, September 12 — Maintaining a current account in Italian banks is expensive and clients should be able to find cheaper alternatives, the antitrust authority said Thursday.
By shopping around, citizens could save as much as 180 euros annually in banking costs, and online banking is one viable option, said the watchdog.
It called for greater transparency from banks in the costs of the services they provide, noting it can be difficult for bank customers to know how much they are being charged or how to change banks.
Up to 70% of customers bank at the same high-cost institutions, the watchdog added.
It noted that there are still significant barriers to competition in Italian banking, and greater competition might help to lower prices.
In response, the Italian banking association said that the price of banking has fallen by about 100 euros on average over a five-year period ending in 2012.
Online banking saves a client about 30% on banking costs, it said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Trade Union Leader Calls for Govt to Attract More Carmakers
‘Fiat being Italy’s only producer penalizes nation’
(ANSA) — Turin, September 12 — The head of Italy’s biggest trade confederation on Thursday called on the government to consider introducing policies to bring new carmakers to the Eurozone’s third-largest economy, so as to offset the grip Fiat — Italy’s largest carmaker — has on the local labour and production market.
“We ask the government to make Fiat face up to its responsibilities, but we also propose another issue: can we not imagine the introduction of policies that could attract another producer?” GCIL chief Susanna Camusso said. “Isn’t it about time we stop thinking that producing cars in our country only means Fiat, and to recognize the fact that Fiat’s dominance in this sector here has penalized us, and to start initiating the introduction of policies that could attract another producer?” Camusso added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ex-Premier Amato Appointed to Constitutional Court
Centre-left politician had two brief stints at helm of govt
(ANSA) — Rome, September 12 — President Giorgio Napolitano has named two-time Italian premier Giuliano Amato as a justice of the Constitutional Court, a statement by the head of State’s office said Thursday. Amato, an centre-left politician and academic who is an expert in constitutional law, had two brief stints as premier, in 1992-1993 and 2000-2001.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Party Keeps Poll Lead Over PD
28% to 26%, Grillo 20.5%
(ANSA) — Rome, September 13 — Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party gained 0.1% to 28% as Italy’s top party in a weekly poll by the SWG agency out Friday.
Its partner in the shaky left-right coalition, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), was steady on 26%.
Comedian Beppe Grillo’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement was up 0.7% to 20.5%.
The PD and PdL are locked in a battle over Berlusconi losing his Senate seat because of a tax-fraud conviction and President Giorgio Napolitano has warned against the “dramatic” consequences of a government crisis.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Nigel Farage Confronts EU Communist Barroso on Global Warming Hoax (Video)
UKIP’s Farage savages Barroso on how manufactured global warming fears are driving poor people into fuel poverty.
Farage held up NASA satellite images which show Arctic sea ice has increased by 60% (920,000 sq. miles) since last August, confounding claims by climate change alarmists that the Arctic would be “ice free” by the summer of 2013.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Breivik Starts Studying Politics at Oslo Uni
Anders Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist, has been given permission to study political science at the University of Oslo, despite the opposition of many of the university’s lecturers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Stoltenberg Ousted as ‘World’s Hottest Leader’
Norway’s outgoing Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is to be ousted from the top spot on the Hottest Heads of State index when it is updated next month, making this week’s poll defeat still more bitter.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Public Masturbation Not a Crime: Swedish Court
A man who openly masturbated on a Stockholm beach has been acquitted of sexual assault in court after it was ruled he was not targeting a specific person, with the prosecutor saying it’s “okay” to play with yourself in public.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Residents to Have Say on Mosque and School Plans
PLANS for a new mosque are among a number of proposals being put to residents in East Renfrewshire.
The council says it is to consult the public on changes to its proposed Local Development Plan (LDP), which sets out priorities for development over the next few years. The proposed plan went out to public consultation earlier this year, outlining the council’s preferred sites for development. Now, following representations made by the public during that consultation, the council is to consult on two modifications to the plan. One is for the creation of a new denominational and a non-denominational primary school within the M77 Strategic Development Opportunity at Malletsheugh/Maidenhill in Newton Mearns. The second, following a request from the Muslim community in East Renfrewshire, is for a new religious or community facility. The council is to now hold a six-week consultation on the proposed modifications…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
By Daniel Hannan
Excerpt: Most Christians find the [court] scene uncomfortable; most Jews find it excruciating. Some years ago, the lawyer Anthony Julius argued that the archetype created by Shylock was the basis of an English anti-Semitism that, while not as destructive as the European versions, was the worse for being rooted in high culture.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Swedes Claim US Parody Prize for Dung Beetle Find
A Swedish led research team has claimed an “Ig Nobel” prize, a Harvard University award which celebrates quirky discoveries, for revealing that dung beetles can find their way home in the dark by looking at the Milky Way.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: ‘They Called Me a Black Bastard’: Malmö Victim
A Gambian native who was assaulted together with his 18-month-old son and almost thrown off a bridge in Malmö has revealed his terror following the incident.
“They called me ‘you black bastard’ and such, and said they would kill me and my son,” Sallah told the Expressen newspaper.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Bid to Reconfigure Keighley Mosque Space
A Keighley mosque could soon undergo a major refurbishment to deal with its growing number of worshippers. Plans have been submitted for alterations to the interior of the Shah Jalal Jame Mosque on Temple Row that would see its under-utilised upper floor used for worship. Partition walls and corridors would be demolished to open up the space. A listed building consent application to Bradford Council says: “During the Friday congregational prayer, Eid and other special occasions the main prayer hall downstairs together with what space they can use upstairs cannot accommodate the current overall number of worshippers.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Birmingham Metropolitan College Decides on U-Turn Over Veil Ban
A college which told pupils to remove facial coverings, including religious veils, for security reasons, has now changed its policy.
Birmingham Metropolitan College originally said hoodies, hats, caps and veils must be removed so students were easily identifiable.
The move was backed by David Cameron. But now it has decided to modify its stance to allow individuals to wear “specific items of personal clothing to reflect their cultural values”.Continue reading the main story
In a statement it said it would “modify” the policy as “we are concerned that recent media attention is detracting from our core mission of providing high quality learning”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A college which tried to ban pupils wearing the full facial veil for security reasons has abandoned the rule after a public outcry.
All students, staff and visitors to Birmingham Metropolitan College were told they must have their faces visible at all times so they are ‘easily identifiable’.
But the move was heavily criticised by some students, one describing the policy as disgusting. Nick Clegg said he was ‘uneasy’ about the idea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslim Defendant Allowed to Wear Face Veil in the Dock
A Muslim woman has been permitted to wear a full face veil while appearing in the dock at Crown Court, in what is thought to be the first such case of its kind.
Rebekah Dawson from East London had refused to lift her niqab in order to confirm her identity when she appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court last month to enter a plea to a charge of intimidating a witness. The 22-year-old Muslim convert claimed it was against her religious beliefs to allow any male other than her husband to see her face.
But District Judge, Peter Murphy, refused to let her enter the dock and submit a plea on the grounds he had no way of knowing she was who she said she was. Adjourning the case for legal argument until today, he explained that while it was important to respect a person’s religious beliefs, the interests of justice had to remain paramount. He told the court: “It would be easy for someone on a later occasion to appear and claim to be the defendant. The court would have no way to check on that.”
But when Mrs Dawson appeared before court today, the Judge relented after a compromise was reached. He allowed a female police officer, who had dealt with her when she was arrested, to confirm her identity in a private side room before giving sworn evidence that she was who she said she was.Mrs Dawson then entered the dock wearing the full face veil where she pleaded not guilty to the charge. But she was told she may still be required to remove the niqab when her trial begins in November.
Judge Murphy said: “I will not have the defendant dictating to the court how she wishes to appear.” Her barrister Susan Meek argued that Mrs Dawson’s right to wear a niqab, which covers everything but the eyes, was protected under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. But Judge Murphy expressed concern over the fact jurors would not be able to see the defendant’s full facial expressions during the trial.
Miss Meek argued that jurors would still be able to assess her demeanour by examining how her head, body and eyes moved.
She added: “There is always going to be a photograph of her, the jury will always be able to see her. The jury are more than able to know who they are trying by looking at a photograph of her.” Kate Wilkinson, prosecuting said the Crown did not oppose the defendant being allowed to wear a veil. In 2007 guidelines issued by the Judicial Studies Board urged judges to remain sensitive when asking defendants to remove veils, suggesting there should be “no sense of obligation or pressure”. Judge Murphy is due to give his final ruling on whether he will allow Mrs Dawson to wear a veil during the trial on Monday.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A serial child rapist wrote to one of his traumatised victims from prison, telling her he missed her and begging her not to hate him.
Darren Myhill, 45, wrote to the teenage girl from the jail in Stockton-on-Tees where he is serving an indefinite sentence after admitting a catalogue of rape and sexual assault charges against five youngsters.
The Prison Service has launched an investigation after the victim received a letter from her attacker, scrawled on a piece of lined paper, saying: ‘I miss u…Please try not to hate me too much. Hatred will not take the pain away.’
The paedophile, from Throckley, near Newcastle, went on to complain that he felt bad, saying: ‘The pain I feel plus sick to my stomach.’
He added: ‘Please live your life’, tried to exonerate himself by saying ‘there were lies’, and told his victim he loved her.
Frighteningly for his victim, the letter makes references to places the girl had visited in recent weeks, and also accuses her of lying.
He was jailed in April at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting 22 charges of rape, indecency with a child, indecent assault and incitement against victims aged between nine and 16.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The EDL March: A Victory for Lutfur, Preening Politics and Rally Fascism
[…]
[Reader comment by Ian McKenna on 9 September 2013]
The EDL are the most vilified group since England stopped hanging witches. I am not a member and never will be (I’m 74) but I’ve been watching them for a couple of years now. I live in Whitechapel and I remember the last time I saw them here how it was the UAF/SWP that deliberately provoked them, with no protection from the police. They certainly did nothing to help a woman who was knocked to the ground and kicked by UAF middle class thugs at the Whitechapel station bus stop. There were injured EDL members but I didn’t see any of the white and Muslim protesters bleeding.
Just because some of them look tough doesn’t mean they start the fights. YouTube evidence, such as it is, is there to see who seems to be starting the trouble. They also happen to be the only protest group I am aware of who are not afraid of marching in Islam’s heartlands.
You insult these people because they have shaven heads, and look like football hooligans. That’s no different from me insulting blacks because they have shaven heads and look like drug dealers. The EDL have every bit as much right to protest against the Islamisation of whole areas of our cities, and they aren’t funded with taxpayer’s money like the UAF are. Shame on you, just whose side are you on?
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Three to Face Court Over Claims Illegal Mosque Set-Up in Resort
Three people have been taken to court for allegedly running an illegal mosque.
The trio face allegations they breached enforcement 
notices relating to the Noor-A-Madina mosque in Waterloo Road, Blackpool.
The mosque is situated behind a frontage of former shops. Blackpool Council is prosecuting the trio claiming they have carried on using the properties for worship 
despite being served a notice that it shut down. The mosque has room for two hundred Muslim followers and contained the studios of Ghousia TV which broadcasts nationally, Blackpool Magistrates Court was told…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Three men suspected of running an east London sex ring which preyed on girls in care were today jailed for a total of 24 years for raping a teenager.
Naeem Ahmed, 24, Nabeel Ahmed, 25, and Hassan Raza, 23, took turns to abuse the 18-year-old after plying her with drink and drugs.
Naeem, the ringleader and self-styled ‘pimp’, was arrested after police investigated concerns about suspected abuse of two girls under the care of Essex County Council.
When questioned by police about what he had done with one alleged victim, he bragged: ‘Have you seen the Karma Sutra?’
Naeem was jailed for 14 years, Ahmed was given eight years and Raza was locked up for two years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Salafists Denounce Love Celebration
Algiers — In an attempt to offer an outlet for Algerian youth, a trio of journalists on Saturday (September 7th) transformed the “suicide bridge” in the heights of Algiers to a “bridge of love”. Inspired by the “Pont des arts” in France and other bridges around the world, the organisers invited lovers to hang a padlock on the highly symbolic bridge in Telemly. The operation was a huge success. Even the mayor of Algiers hung a padlock.
There were, of course, lovers but also people who wanted to express their love for Algeria, or for a child, or to celebrate a lasting friendship. The three initiators wanted to create a symbol for young people, who constantly suffer humiliation and who think only of migration.
And then the salafists showed up. Armed with pliers, they cut the padlocks. They also unfurled their salafist flag. Idir Tazerout, one of the organisers, could not hide his disappointment. He told Magharebia that although the operation was a failure, it opened up a debate on love in Algeria. “It will remain a case study that has allowed us to speak about love without complexes and to face each other,” he said, noting this was symptomatic of two clashing social projects. “If we have to do again, we will,” he added…
[JP note: Love’s Labour’s Lost.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Minya: Islamists Seize a Protestant Church and Turn it Into a Mosque
The Christian community of Monshaat Baddini in the province of Samalout report that, Islamists have occupied the place of worship since August 14. The police never intervened to stop them. For almost a month, no Christian can enter. On the wall of the church an inscription reads “mosque of martyrs .”
Minya (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Muslim Brotherhood have turned an evangelical Protestant church in Monshaat Baddini in the province of Samalout ( Minya, Upper Egypt) into a mosque. According to local sources, the Islamists have removed all sacred furnishings , paintings, icons and recited the special prayer to consecrate the building to Allah. On the wall of the church an inscription reads : “mosque of martyrs and there is no other God but Allah.”
Menassa Nesseim , the Pastor of the local Protestant community , tells Mcn-direct (an Egyptian Christian Press Agency) that “ since August 14 , the day of the Islamist assault against Christians , no one has been able to enter the building .” He denounces the inaction of the authorities who have accepted the fact with indifference: “Neither the police nor the armed forces have raided the church, to eject the squatters and return the building to the Protestant community”. Nesseim reports that the militants have placed their men to guard the complex. Christians are afraid to approach their church.
Attacks against Egyptian Christians began in mid- August, after the evacuation of the sit -in of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo and other cities of the country. There are currently over 80 churches destroyed. Added to this sad toll are he 162 homes and shops destroyed and the daily threat of being subjected to more attacks and kidnappings.
In Delga city of the province of Minya , Islamists have created a kind of parallel state, turning the city into an Islamic enclave in which shariah prevails. To survive Christians must pay the “jizya “ tax “compensation” demanded by the Koran from non-Muslim subjects who are “protected” the Islamic umma .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt State of Emergency Extended for Two More Months
Egypt has extended a state of emergency for two months as the military authorities expressed growing concern over militant violence. More Mubarak-era officials have been acquitted by the courts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mikail, a Young Coptic Who Fled Minya: Christians Persecuted by Muslim Brotherhood, But Also Mubarak
Mikail , escaped from his country 20 days ago, hoping for political asylum in Italy as a refugee. “My store was burned and family threatened — he tells AsiaNews — but the recent retaliation is the result of an ongoing discrimination. Christians have always suffered violence and intimidation and the authorities under all presidents have remained indifferent”.
Rome (AsiaNews) — Mikail, a 23 year old Coptic Egyptian, left his country to seek political asylum in Italy. He is originally from Minya, one of the cities of Upper Egypt in which, after the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist retaliation against Christians has been particularly cruel. “At least 50 churches were destroyed — he tells AsiaNews — our homes and our stores have been marked with a cross. I had a carpenters shop and it was set on fire on Friday, the day of prayer for Muslims, the Georges supermarket (his friend and traveling companion ed.) was set alight in front of his eyes. “
He describes another Egypt, one in which — in spite of the media exaltation — the fall of Hosni Mubarak and overthrow of Mohammed Morsi have had a negligible weight on the difficulties that Christian minority is forced to deal with every day . “Under Morsi the economy collapsed and Islamists have had more freedom — he explains — with Mubarak maybe there was more security for us Copts because the Brotherhood was relegated to illegality , but on a social level , nothing has changed .” And he continues: “The percentage of Muslim democrats is poor and of little influence , the police still do not listen to our complaints , the problem is deeply rooted .”
His story shows that the violence against the Christian minority has escalated in recent months. But it was already a nationwide reality long before the Brotherhood ascended to government. Although the 30-year dictatorship of Mubarak kept taps on radical Islam , discrimination and hostility have always marked the relationship between faith groups especially in the south of the country. “ In Egypt, it is forbidden to build churches , a ban that was in force under Mubarak and continues to exist — says the young man — three years ago, a cousin in Giza spent 40 days in jail because he was helping to build a parish; the police killed two Christians then and the news was reported on websites . “
Mikail then tells of when he served his compulsory military service in Salloum , on the Libyan border , the only Christian among over a thousand recruits : “ My superior was a Muslim and often punished me making me stand at attention for hours. I had no right to return home like the others just because I am Coptic . He also remembers when he managed to escape an assassination attempt while he was returning from the service: “They tried to stab me — he says pointing to two scars on his wrists — I was stopped by 4 Islamists who wanted to rob me and kill me.”
Mikail left Cairo by plane on 18 August. Prior to that date had already tried to reach the capital, but had been stopped by a checkpoint of the Brotherhood and sent back home. “They saw that we were Christians — he said showing the cross that is always tied around his neck and tattooed on his wrist — they stole everything and sent me back to Minya ..” The second attempt was instead by train and then by plane to Rome. “Our visa was for Georgia with a stopover in Italy , but once here asked for political asylum .” He and his friend Georges are now looking for a job in Rome to send money to their families, while waiting for their asylum claim to be assessed by Italian authorities .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Statoil Over-Reliant on Algeria Military: Report
State-backed Norwegian oil giant Statoil said Thursday that security at the site of a deadly kidnapping in the Algerian desert earlier this year had relied too heavily on army protection.
“Neither Statoil nor the joint venture could have prevented the attack, but there is reason to question the extent of their reliance on Algerian military
protection,” concluded experts who investigated the tragedy at the In Amenas natural gas facility at the request of Statoil.
Islamist militants attacked the site, located in a military zone close to a gendarmerie camp and the Libyan border, on January 16 taking its employees
hostage for several days.
An Algerian army raid to free the hostages left up to 40 of them dead, including five Norwegians. Twenty-nine militants were killed and three others
captured alive.
“Security measures at the site were not constructed to withstand or delay an attack of this scale, and relied on military protection working effectively,” the experts said in a 78-page report.
But chief investigator Torgeir Hagen added that “no military or other force can guarantee total protection against determined terrorists in an area the
size of Luxembourg close to the porous border between Algeria and Libya”.
After the attack Statoil, which manages the site in a joint venture with Algeria’s state-run energy giant Sonatrach and Britain’s BP, pulled out all
its expatriate staff and no decision has been made about their return.
BP’s personnel is expected to return to Algeria soon, Britain’s ambassador Martyn Roper said in Algiers on Sunday.
In March, Algeria ordered state security agents to protect facilities run by foreign companies in spite of their misgivings.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Christians Murdered in Egypt for Refusing to Pay Jizya to Muslims
by Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) — Two Coptic Christians government employees were shot dead yesterday for refusing to pay Jizya, the Muslim poll tax on Christians. Emad Damian, 50, and his cousin Medhat Damian, 37, from the village of Sahel Selim in Assuit Province, were contacted two days before their murder by the leader of a Muslim gang, who was identified by Watany Coptic Newspaper as Ashraf Ahmed Mohammed Khalajah, a registered criminal from the village.
According to Emad’s brother Dr. Samy Damian, Emad was contacted about 9:30 PM by a member of the gang, who demanded 10,000 Egyptian pounds so that he could buy weapons. “My brother said that he had no problems with anyone, does not require services from anyone, and does not have the money.”
In an interview on Al Nahar TV Channel on September 12, Ahmed Fawzi, secretary for the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, said the two murdered Copts, who were members of his political party, reported the matter to the police in Sahel Selim and asked for police protection, but the police did nothing.
“A couple of days later the gang surprised the two Copts by going to their home in the morning and showering them with bullets, leaving both dead,” Fawzi said. “The police know who the killers are but are doing nothing to arrest them.”
The districts of Sahel Selim and Ghanayem are the most unsafe areas in Assuit and their police stations were heavily shelled by the Muslim Brotherhood on August 14.
Meanwhile, the security situation remains tense in the village of Delga, Deir Mawas, 160 miles south of Cairo in Minya, where Muslim Brotherhood gangs completely control the village after the ouster of ex-president Morsy. They target the 20,000 Coptic inhabitants by imposing Jizya on them allegedly to “safeguard” them from acts of violence and vandalism to their homes and shops. Despite the arrival last week of a new director of security in the province, the scene is still grim for many.
Rev. Youannas Shawky, Pastor of the monastery of Our Lady and Saint Ebram in Delga, which was completely destroyed on 3rd July by pro-Morsy supporters (AINA 7-6-2013), said the practice of collecting Jizya from Copts started after the departure of Morsy and continues to be imposed on all Copts in the village without exception, pointing out that the value of the tribute and methods of payment vary from one place to another within the village. The amount varies from 200-500 Egyptian pounds daily, which are exorbitant amounts to many villagers. Rev. Youannas estimates 50 families have left the village so far.
Many Egyptian activists have sounded the alarm on what is happening to Christians. In an open letter to the Egyptian provisional government prominent journalist Fatma Nahoot said “Where is the government, the Interior Minister and General al-Sisi on what is happening to the Copts in Minya, including harassment, murder, intimidation, displacement and imposing Jizya on them?”
| — Hat tip: Mary Abdelmassih | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Israel’s Twenty Year Nightmare
Twenty years ago today, Israel’s so-called peace process with the PLO was officially ushered in at the White House Rose Garden.
A year or so later, when the death toll of Israeli victims of the massive terror offensive that the PLO organized shortly afterwards reached what then seemed unbearable heights, a popular call went out to “Put the Oslo Criminals on Trial.”
Needless to say, with Shimon Peres, the architect and godfather of the so-called peace process now serving as the President of Israel, nothing ever came of the call.
The demand for an accounting was not unprecedented. There was no reason, on the face of things for those who made it to be perceived as anything other than reasonably enraged, and responsible citizens insisting that those responsible for the largest, most destructive strategic error Israel has ever made pay a personal price for their actions..
Twenty years before that ceremony at the White House, Israel suffered the worst military defeat in its history…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Oslo Accords Unfulfilled 20 Years On
In 1993, the Oslo accords marked a milestone in Israeli-Palestinian relations, and many had hope for the peace settlement that was meant to follow. But 20 years later, conditions on the ground have not improved. FRANCE 24 reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
The American policy with regard to Syria remains in utter disarray. Despite public declarations by Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama that any punitive strike against Syria would not be about regime change, the CIA and the State Department have begun delivering weapons and other gear to the Syrian rebels in the hopes that their effectiveness will be enhanced. What will also be enhanced is the horrific brutality of these “rebels,” as they continue to commit one heinous jihadist atrocity after another.
Photographs obtained by Time magazine emphasize this gruesome reality. They show a young Syrian man kneeling blindfolded before anti-regime rebels in the town of Keferghan, near Aleppo. They were taken August 31 by a photographer unaffiliated with either side in the conflict. They depict a public beheading. It was the fourth beheading witnessed by the photographer that day.
An eyewitness who lives in the area alleged the killers belong to the Al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a ruthless group of terrorists with battle experience in Chechnya, Iraq, and Mali. Due to that experience, they are one of the dominant rebel forces in Syria. Last June in Aleppo, ISIS also executed a 15-year-old boy in front of his family for the “crime” of blasphemy.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
China Chooses Restraint in Syrian Conflict
China has adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach on the Syrian conflict. Beijing’s actions are determined by strategic interests and the ‘principle’ of non-interference.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
John Kerry Rejects Bashar Assad’s 30-Day Deadline for Submitting Chemical Weapons Data
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rejected Syrian President Bashar Assad’s 30-day deadline for submitting chemical weapons data, saying words are not enough.
Kerry and his team began two days of meetings with their counterparts in Russia on Thursday.
“This is not a game,” Kerry said. “It has to be real. It has to be comprehensive. It has to be verifiable. It has to be credible. It has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. Finally, there ought to be consequences if it doesn’t take place.“
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Leader of Syrian Rebel Group Calls for Attacks Inside US
…And he also just happens to be the head of Al-Qaeda
Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, which is the primary opposition fighting force in Syria, has called for terror attacks inside the United States.
Al-Zawahri just happens to be the leader of another group you might have heard of….Al-Qaeda.
As the Bipartisan Policy Center highlighted in a report released earlier this week, al-Zawahri took control of Jabhat al-Nusra when he “personally intervened to settle a dispute between Jabhat al-Nusra and al-Qaeda in Iraq….and declared the Syrian group to be under his direction.”…
What should be shocking to Americans is the fact that the CIA is sending weapons to rebels who have pledged allegiance and are defecting to Jabhat al-Nusra in their droves. This is a group responsible for killing US troops in Iraq.
Essentially, the Central Intelligence Agency is arming a terrorist group which is directed by the head of Al-Qaeda, who is simultaneously calling for terror attacks inside the United States — and it’s all being conducted in plain view.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Arming Syrian Terrorists
It sounds like a sensational charge. “Twelve years after we were attacked by al Qaeda, 12 years after 3,000 Americans were killed by al Qaeda, President Obama now asks us to be allies with al Qaeda,” Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) says.
But support for the senator’s point came in the form of an NBC Nightly News report by correspondent Richard Engel on Wednesday night. Anchor Brian Williams described it as “an exclusive look at how al-Qaeda is increasingly in this fight,” in Syria.
Reporting from southern Turkey, Engel said, “The U.S. has decided it is not going to intervene in Syria, at least for now. But al Qaeda is. Every day we see its fighters in this city in the streets, at the airports, heading into Syria.”
Engel interviewed someone named Abu Abdul Rahman, on his way to Syria to fight with al Qaeda. “We have a prayer. Oh, Allah. Please annihilate enemies. Bashar is an enemy. America is an enemy. Let them fight.”
He says, “This was a dream for me to wage jihad, to bleed for Allah.”
Despite the claim about the U.S. not intervening, The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is going ahead anyway, and that “The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration…” The cost is estimated at $250 million.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters, Police Clash Across Turkey Over Man’s Death
Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Istanbul, Ankara and the southern city of Antakya to protest police violence. The disputed circumstances of a young man’s death prompted the renewed unrest.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia to Expand Mediterranean Fleet to 10 Warships — Navy Chief
The Russian Navy intends to build its presence in the Mediterranean Sea — particularly in the area close to Syrian shores — to up to 10 battleships, announced Admiral of the Fleet Viktor Chirkov.
“The task is crystal clear: to avoid a slightest threat to the security of the state. This is a general practice of all fleets around the world, to be there when a tension level increases. They are all going to act on operational command plan of the offshore maritime zone,” Chirkov told journalists on Friday. “Russia will be building up its Mediterranean fleet until it is deemed sufficient to perform the task set.”
Russia began military build-up in the Mediterranean in 2012, and starting from December last year the Navy established a constant presence in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
On May 1, 2013 all Russian battleships operating in the area were assigned to a single task force under special offshore maritime zone operation command.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Jordan Tourism Hit by Last Minute Cancellations
(ANSAmed)- AMMAN, SEPTEMBER 12 — Jordan tourism industry has been hit with last minute cancellations as the US and some European nations are lobbying for a strike to punish Syria for using chemical weapons, government officials and tour operators said today.
Up to 80 percent of reservations have been cancelled, mostly which include joint vists to Egypt and the Palestinian territories, Abdel Razaq Arabiat, director of tourism promotion.
But Arabiat said the direct bookings to Jordan were less effected, with nearly 30 percent cancellations.
But tour operators said the cancellations were directly related to the near strike on Syria, with most cancelations coming from Europe.
Jordan shares a long border with Syria, but unlike other countries in the region, it has been politically stable and authorities are put on high alert to maintain law and order in a country that absorbed hundreds of thousands of refugees lately.
Jordan heavily depends on tourism, which is considered as the second source of national income after foreign aid.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Military: Al-Qaeda Rebels Produced Sarin Gas for Chemical Attacks in Syria
Further evidence that the Aug. 21 chemical attack was a false flag to frame Assad
A leaked U.S. military document reveals that Al-Qaeda possessed and produced “kitchen-grade” sarin gas for chemical attacks against the Syrian people, further adding to the evidence that the Al-Qaeda Syrian opposition launched the Aug. 21 chemical attack in Damascus as a false flag in order to frame Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
War is Coming: 10 Reasons Why a Diplomatic Solution to the Syria Crisis is Extremely Unlikely
Over the past few days, there has been a tremendous wave of optimism that it may be possible for war with Syria to be averted. Unfortunately, it appears that a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria is extremely unlikely. Assad is certainly willing to give up his chemical weapons, but he wants the U.S. to accept a bunch of concessions that it will never agree to. And it certainly sounds like the Obama administration has already decided that “diplomacy” is going to fail, and they continue to position military assets for the upcoming conflict with Syria. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are all going to continue to heavily pressure the Obama administration. They have invested a huge amount of time and resources into the conflict in Syria, and they desperately want the U.S. military to intervene. Fortunately, overwhelming domestic and global opposition to an attack on Syria has slowed down the march toward war for the moment, but unfortunately that probably will not be enough to stop it completely. The following are ten reasons why war is almost certainly coming…
#1 Assad wants a guarantee that he will not be attacked by the United States or by anyone else before he will give up his chemical weapons.
That is extremely unlikely to happen.
#2 Assad is not going to agree to any chemical weapons deal unless the U.S. stops giving weapons to al-Qaeda terrorists and other jihadist rebels that are fighting against the Syrian government.
That is extremely unlikely to happen.
In fact, according to the Washington Post, the U.S. has been ramping up the delivery of weapons to jihadist rebels in Syria…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
4 Sentenced to Death in Brutal Rape Case in India
Four men convicted of a brutal gang rape were sentenced Friday to die by hanging, a decision met with grim satisfaction from the victim’s parents and triumphant cheers from the crowd outside the courthouse, where some held up pictures of bodies in nooses.
The four men — a fruit vendor, a bus attendant, a gym handyman and an unemployed man — were found guilty on Tuesday of raping a young woman on a moving bus last December, penetrating her with a metal rod and inflicting grave internal injuries, then dumping her out on the roadside.
The country was riveted by the story of the woman, who died of her injuries two weeks later, and tens of thousands of people flooded the streets to demand tougher policing and prosecution of sex crimes.
| [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Herat Attack: Afghanistan Taliban Target US Consulate
US and Afghan forces have fought off an attack by Taliban insurgents on the US consulate in the western city of Herat.
Two Afghan police and one security guard were killed in the dawn assault, along with four attackers. The US consulate said its staff were safe.
The Taliban said they carried out the attack, which began with a huge blast at the compound gates, sparking a gun battle near consulate buildings. Attacks continue despite the planned withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014. Seventeen civilians, including women and children, were injured in the Herat attack.
Herat sits close to the Iranian border on a vital trade route across southern Afghanistan and it has been relatively peaceful in recent years.
The US consulate in Herat was opened just four years ago in a former five-star hotel. The BBC’s David Loyn in Kabul says this attack — carried out in the shadow of the anniversary of 9/11 — is a demonstration of the ability of insurgents still to disrupt Afghanistan 12 years after the US toppled the Taliban…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
India Gang Rape Ruling Sends Strong Signal
Four adult suspects on trial over a fatal gang rape last year in New Delhi have been found guilty on all counts, and sentenced to death by hanging. The judgment is regarded as a deterrent for potential rapists.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Using Islam and Allah to Bolster Support and Unity
For Fr Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, the dispute is a trick to promote unity and group identity. In order to overcome political and social divisions, a “seed of fear” is planted. A Muslim Lawyer and former minister says that an incompetent government is Islamising the country.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) — The controversy over the word Allah is a question of “political expediency”, a “non-issue” that has become a “national question” to bolster “unity” and group identity among ethnic Malays, this according to Fr Lawrence Andrew who spoke to AsiaNews about the ongoing dispute between the government and Malaysia’s Catholics over the use of the word Allah for the Christian God.
The decision is now in the hands of the Court of Appeal, which will rule “in October or, at the latest, in early November,” said Fr Lawrence, who is the editor of the Herald, a Malaysian Catholic weekly.
Meanwhile, critics have attacked the Malaysian government for increasingly failing to maintain public order, most notably a lawyer and former minister in the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Malays are divided, Fr Lawrence noted, three-ways. Some government leaders, the priest explained, believe that the only way to rebuild unity is foster the “Muslim identity.”
To achieve this goal, they are willing to create among Malays a feeling of “alienation in their own country” and a sense of vulnerability “to non-Muslims “, who are a minority.
For the editor of the Herald, the idea that “Christians are desecrating the name of Allah” was spread via propaganda, creating general “hatred and hostility towards Christians” among Muslims.
In view of this year’s general election, it is clear “the government used the issue to win” at the polls, planting the seed of fear “in the hearts of rural Malays” that “Islam is in danger,” Fr Lawrence said.
However, some prominent Muslims have come out criticising the government, like Datuk Zaid, a Ibrahim lawyer and former minister, who slammed the authorities for not settling the dispute peacefully.
In addition, he warned that a creeping Islamisation is underway in a country where religion and race overlap, and blamed the government for adopting “Arabic” leaning education policies.
“Before [the] ban, [the] word [Allah] was used for years without problem,” Ibrahim wrote on tweeter. Indeed, other religions, he noted, have used the term Allah for God, but only Christians were dragged before the courts to prevent them from using it.
The controversy between the Catholics and the government over Allah as the name for the Christian God in media and publications, such as the Bible in the Malay language, goes back to 2008 and 2009 when the High Court ruled in the Catholics’ favour.
This decision shocked and angered many Muslims, who believe the word to be the exclusive property of Islam.
A wave of violence followed in which churches and other places of worship came under attack.
In Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country in Southeast Asia of more than 28 million people, Christians are the third largest religious group (after Buddhists) with more than 2.6 million followers.
Recently, a 17th century Latin-Malay dictionary was reprinted showing that the word Allah was already in use at that time in the local language as the name for the Biblical God.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Where Have India’s Females Gone?
(CNN) — The New Delhi rape case left the whole world wondering why India is treating its women so badly. In fact, discrimination against women already starts in the womb: India has some of the most distorted sex-ratios in the world. There are regions where fewer than 800 girls are born for every 1,000 boys. For many reasons Indian culture prefers sons. An expensive bride-price, or dowry, is only one of them.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Back to Business as Usual for North Korea
With Washington’s foreign policy being questioned, South Korea looking to appease Pyongyang with aid, and China returning as the regime’s biggest supporter, it appears to be business as usual in North Korea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Sentences 3 to Death Over Xinjiang Attack Blamed on Islamic Militants That Killed 37
BEIJING — China has sentenced three men to death over a June attack in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang blamed on Islamic extremists in which 24 police and civilians were killed. The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday that another man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the June 26 violence, in which 13 militants were also killed. All four were found guilty of murder and being members of a terrorist organization and sentenced Thursday by the intermediate court in the city of Turfan at the end of a one-day trial…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Head of Turkish Religious Affairs Visits Chinese Islamic Association
Turkish religious leader hoped for the continuation of the fruitful co-operation with Chinese Islamic Association, stressing on the great role of visits
The head of Turkish Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez met the chairman of China Islamic Association, Chen Guangyuan during his official visit in Beijing, China. Having met at the center of Islamic Association, both religious leaders touched on the importance of an agreement signed last year regarding the publication of Islamic books in China for first time. They also agreed on translation of the book named ‘Hadislerle Islam’, Islam With Hadiths, to Chinese which took 10 years to be released out and was written by a group of eighty hadith scholars. Following his visit, Gormez presented Guangyuan with a seven volumes book ‘Hadislerle Islam’ and a vase made in Turkey. Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate is due to inaugurate the exhibition of Turkish Islamic works which is to be held Friday in YÃnchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines: Authorities Order Force Evacuation of Residents in Zamboanga City
MANILA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — The Zamboanga City council on Friday ordered a force evacuation of residents in at least six barangays in the city after the Philippine government issued an ultimatum to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels, ordering them to stand down or face the full power of the state. Sheila Covarrubias, spokersperson of the Crisis Management Committee (CMC) that is seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the southern Philippine city, said that the measure was meant to ensure that no innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire. Covarrubias said the city council “unanimously approved” Thursday night a ordinance “mandating the force evacuation.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Africa’s Baby-Boom: Population to Double by Mid-Century
A new report says 2.4 billion people will inhabit Africa by 2050. Growth will triple in some African nations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Central African Republic: Crisis Opens Rift Between Muslims, Christians
BANGUI — As the security situation in the Central African Republic continues to deteriorate, a new unsettling rivalry between Muslim and Christian communities has started to take hold. Under the shade of a thatched roof, George Fakida and his workers are making knives from scrap metal at a small workshop in the Boeing neighborhood of Bangui. He says business is going well these days, but a few weeks ago the shop was forced to shut down, when soldiers from the ruling rebel coalition Seleka raided the neighborhood, looking for fighters loyal to the former president…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Army Will Not Rest Until Terrorism, Kidnapping Are Eradicated — Ihejirika
Abuja — Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, has vowed that the Nigerian Army will not rest on its oars until terrorism, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country were eliminated. Speaking at the 9th Nigerian Army Finance Corp Biennial training conference 2013 in Umuahia, Ihejirika said: “With the support of Mr. President and the transformation the Nigerian Army is undergoing, challenges of insecurity, including Boko Haram menace, kidnapping, threats of violent crimes will be stopped from rearing their ugly heads in the country.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Somalia: Al-Shabab Militants Kill American Who Cut Ties With Group
An American citizen who broke ties with the Somali militant group al-Shabab is reported to have been killed by the group’s fighters.
Former militants tell VOA’s Somali service that Omar Hammami died early Thursday when fighters attacked his hideout near the village of Shongoleh in Somalia’s Gedo region. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from al-Shabab, and Hammami was reported dead twice before, only to resurface alive and well. The U.S. government has charged Hammami with providing material support to al-Shabab and offered up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. In an telephone interview with VOA’s Somali Service nine days ago, Hammami said he had cut ties with al-Shabab and accused the group’s leader, Moktar Abu Zubayr, of seeking power at all costs…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Somalia: Jubaland President Escapes Unhurt After Car Bomb Attack
Kismayo — The President of Somalia’s Jubaland Administration Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) survived car bomb attack on Thursday, highlighting first-ever deadly attack plotted by Al Shabaab terror group in Kismayo, Garowe Online reports. Explosive-laden car hit President Madobe’s motorcade near Saadam II apartment building in Southern port city of Kismayo shortly after a delegation led by Madobe landed at Kismayo Airport, officials said. The targeted convoy was driving into Jubaland Presidential palace when what appeared to have been caused by a suicide car bomb left 20 people including civilians and security guards dead and dozens wounded…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Zimbabwe: Members of Islamic Society Up for Criminal Nuisance
SEVEN members of the Mutare Islamic Society were on Monday convicted of criminal nuisance. The seven, Binali Yard, Julius Sabiti, Percy Mahate, Elijah Chitsike, Abraham Bonyogwe and Alhaji Arubi were convicted by Mutare magistrate, Mr Langton Mukwengi for contravening Section 46 of the Criminal Law Codification Act (Criminal Nuisance). They were ordered to pay $100 fine each or spend three months in jail.
Charges against the seven arose from violence that rocked the Mutare Islamic Society’s Annual General Meeting on June 7, resulting in them trying to influence other Muslims to breakaway from the registered Mutare Islamic Society by holding separate prayer sessions at their Mutare mosque. The AGM was supposed to usher in a new leadership…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican to Work With Dominican Republic on Nuncio Accusation
Ex-envoy facing accusations of paedophilia in nation
(ANSA) — Vatican City, September 12 — The Vatican City is available to collaborate with the authorities of the Dominican Republic in relation to the accusations of sexual misconduct with minors that its former diplomatic envoy, Mons. Josef Wesolowski, is currently facing in the Central American nation, according to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. Wesolowski was called back to the Vatican City a few weeks ago after the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez, informed Pope Francis of the accusations.
As a result, the envoy was recalled back to the Vatican in August and an internal investigation into the accusations was initiated, handled by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Vatican Secretary of State had informed the ambassador of the Dominican Republic at the Holy See that the nation-state was available to collaborate with the Dominican authorities should they be required to, Lombardi said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Business Leaders Tell Lawmakers Not to Forget About Immigration
While Congress was preoccupied with Syria on Tuesday, more than 100 businesses, including some of the nation’s largest companies, sent a letter to leaders of the House of Representatives reminding them not to forget about immigration.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
California: Give Illegal Immigrants Driver’s Licenses
Illegal immigrants may soon be issued California driver’s licenses by merely proving they live in the state. A bill supporting United States citizenship no longer be a requirement for driver’s license applications passed 55-19 in the state Assembly Thursday. California has the largest population of illegal immigrants in the United States, according the United States Department of Homeland Security.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
California Lawmakers Approve Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Aliens
In the waning hours of the 2013 legislative session, the Assembly on Thursday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses.
The surprise 55-19 vote moved California a signature away from putting into law a measure that immigrant advocates have sought fruitlessly for years, with past attempts thwarted by legislative vote and gubernatorial veto.
“This is a moment, members,” sponsor Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, said in closing remarks on the Assembly floor, “that years from now you’re going to look back on.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Confused Syrians Queue at Swedish Embassies
Hundreds of Syrians are left disappointed each day after their misunderstanding of Sweden’s move to give permanent residence to Syrians in Sweden has left them waiting in long lines outside Swedish embassies.
The refugees are lining up in their hundreds outside the Swedish embassies in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.
“People are coming to the gates in the belief that all Syrians will be allowed to come to Sweden,” Charlotta Ozaki Macias at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
Earlier this month, Swedish migration authorities ruled that all Syrian asylum seekers in Sweden will be granted permanent residency in light of the worsening conflict in Syria.
The ruling means that their relatives also have the right to come to Sweden, however, they must find their own way here to seek asylum, and cannot simply head to the Swedish embassy.
Sweden was the first country in the EU to offer permanent residency to refugees from Syria, with the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket) granting the permits on a case by case basis, fully aware of the risks of war criminals seeking asylum in Sweden.
There are around 8,000 Syrians in Sweden currently with temporary residence who will now be offered permanent residence permits.
In 2012 and 2013, a total of 14,700 Syrian asylum seekers came to Sweden. Together with Germany, Sweden is the EU country which has accepted the highest number of asylum seekers from the war-torn country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Oslo Roma Will Resist Any Eviction: Campaigner
Roma immigrants living in the woods outside Oslo will resist police attempts to move them, after a court ruled the camp illegal, a Roma rights campaigner has told The Local.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Over 3,000 Syrians Landed in Sicily This Month, Says UN
(AGI) Geneva — Nearly 3,300 Syrians arrived by boat in Sicily over the last 40 days .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The EU’s Hodge-Podge Syrian Asylum Policies
Europeans have reacted with horror to the Syrian civil war, but that doesn’t mean every EU country will open its doors equally wide to asylum seekers. Should the EU force them to?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Boats of Immigrants Rescued Off Italian Island
(AGI) Palermo, Sept 13 — Two boats carrying 211 immigrants were rescued by a Coast Guard patrol boat off the coast of Lampedusa, southern Italy, on Friday morning. One passenger had called for help with a satellite phone. The refugees were transferred to the patrol boat because their vessels were in danger of sinking. All the immigrants were from the sub-Sahara, and included many women.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France: Femen Due in Court Over Topless Notre Dame Stunt
Nine members of the radical feminist group Femen are due to appear in court in Paris on Friday, charged with desecrating Notre Dame cathedral with a topless celebration of the resignation of Pope Benedict.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pledge of Allegiance Skipped, Muslim Poem Read at Boston School on 9/11
The principal of Concord Carlisle High School in Boston issued an apology Wednesday after a Muslim poem was recited over the intercom on the 12th anniversary of 9/11, and the Pledge of Allegiance was not.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Public Education Gets a Big Fat “F”
…Did the community really fail the children of Columbus’ district as Mayor Coleman claims? When “the community” — the people — educate children instead of government bureaucracies, the children do much better at much less expense. If education were taken out of the government’s jurisdiction and put in the people’s lap, we’d still have prayer in school, wouldn’t we? It wasn’t a democratic consensus that ripped prayer and Ten Commandments out of public school classrooms. It was a federal judiciary that had no regard for constitutional limitations. If education were put in the people’s charge, we wouldn’t have gay propaganda shoved down our children’s throats. We wouldn’t have the transgendered son of two lesbian parents using the girl’s restroom under California state law. If education were put in the people’s jurisdiction, we wouldn’t have students punching teachers in the face, all the while being assured that they wouldn’t be spanked for it. We wouldn’t have teachers like John Fresh water fired keeping a Bible on their desk, or for presenting scientific criticism of the theory of evolution. No, it’s not the people enforcing “Next Generation Science Standards” on students, forcing even more Darwinian dogmatism in science classes at even earlier ages. According to a 2009 Zogby poll, 78% of American voters agree that “Biology teachers should teach Darwin’s theory of evolution, but also the scientific evidence against it.” It’s not the people that dreamed up a _________ per year per student educational system whose report card reads “Four F’s, Three D’s, and Two C’s.” Nope, it’s not the people of Columbus that have failed the children…
Let’s have a separation of school and state and see what the people can do. Before the advent of public education, the American colonies had a 97% literacy rate according to a study that President Thomas Jefferson ordered.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
By Walter Hudson
Excerpt: The bill would repeal existing anti-bullying statutes which have proven effective. It would create an invasive, overbearing, and unfunded new state bureaucracy to impose politically correct values upon students, teachers, parents, staff, and anyone serving in or around the educational system. It would affect both public and private schools.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Sexy Lesbian Vampire Chic: How Europe Disguises Its Fascist Demons With Bourgeois Elegance
By Tim Stanley
Excerpt: Having delivered the standard Nuremberg defence for casual slaughter, she enters a sexual reverie as she recalls how she “plucked out the nipples” of her victims. Bathory is a psychopathic fascist and the viewer only thinks twice about loathing her because she happens to look good in Gucci. The horror movies of this period are full of such Nazi metaphors; there was no need to spell things out because the audience understood exactly what they were watching.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Did a Hyper-Black Hole Spawn the Universe?
Big Bang was mirage from collapsing higher-dimensional star, theorists propose
It could be time to bid the Big Bang bye-bye. Cosmologists have speculated that the Universe formed from the debris ejected when a four-dimensional star collapsed into a black hole — a scenario that would help to explain why the cosmos seems to be so uniform in all directions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Did anyone find the story of the Austrian woman and the slaves as hilarious as I did? Would that we could surprise some other types the same way!