Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/24/2014

At least six people were killed in four separate explosions in Cairo today. A massive bomb that exploded in front of the main police station also did significant damage to a nearby Islamic art museum.

In other explosive news, a series of three blasts in the predominantly Uyghur province of Xinjiang in China killed three people and injured several others. Police are investigating the cause of the explosions.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

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

Financial Crisis
» ECB Stress Tests May Trigger Italy Bank Mergers, Says Visco
» Spain’s Unemployment: Seven Shocking Facts
» US Stocks Slammed; Dow Falls 300-Plus Points in Worst Week Since 2011
 
USA
» 2nd Mosque is Point of Contention in Lackawanna as Variance is Sought
» Facebook Will Lose 80% of Users by 2017, Say Princeton Researchers
» From US Helpers in Iraq to Sex Criminals in Colorado
» Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Life Support From Pregnant Woman
» Trailblazing Mars Rover Celebrates 10 Years on Red Planet
» What Reviewers Said About the First Mac When it Debuted 30 Years Ago
 
Canada
» Jewish Students Fight Back on Canadian Campus
 
Europe and the EU
» Austria: Vienna ‘Far-Right’ Ball Condemned in Mass Protests
» Beer: The Women Taking Over the World of Brewing
» France Summons Ukraine Ambassador Over Killings
» Germany: Two Murder Suspects Killed in Court Attack
» Germany: Frankfurt Killings: Two Die at State Court Building
» Germany: 2 Men Dead in Frankfurt Court Building Attack
» Italy: Decorated Army Veteran Killed in Helicopter Crash Near Rome
» Italy: State Commissioner Contests 70% of Sicily Budget Law
» Italy: Mafia Pondered Bombing Pisa’s Leaning Tower
» Momentum Grows for Swedish Rape Law Reform
» Norway Chess Star Beats Bill Gates in 1 Minute
» Roubini Doom Scenario: It Looks Like 1914 Again
» Spain: Pope’s Intervention Sought in Madrid ‘Tapestry War’
» UK: Ahmadiyya Moderation Not All It’s Cracked Up to be
» UK: Conference on Peace at Bradford Mosque
» UK: Jack Straw Opposes Mosque in Blackburn House
» UK: Three Muslim Women Tried to Kidnap and Rob Their Sister’s Lesbian Lover During Row Over Arranged Marriage
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Four Bombs Strike Central Cairo
» Egypt: Demonstrators Flock to Cairo Police HQ, Chant Against Terrorism
» Egypt: Cairo’s Islamic Art Museum Hit in Blast
» Egypt: 6 Dead After Bombings Targeting Police Rip Through Cairo
» Official: Egyptian Diplomat in Libya’s Capital of Tripoli Kidnapped From Home
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Canada Takes Its Place at the Table
» See the First Photographs Ever Taken of Jerusalem
» U.S. Names Palestinian Group Leader Terrorist
» UNESCO Boycott of Show on Israel Sparks Controversy
 
Middle East
» European Jihadists in Syria: More and Younger
» Gordon Ramsay Busted for Trying to Smuggle Dom Pérignon Into Qatar
» Iraq Executes 11 Prisoners for Terror Crimes
» Israel Warns of Rising Jihadi Threat From Syria, Rethinks Neutral Policy in Bloody Civil War
» U.S. Drone Strike Kills Four in Central Yemen
» United Arab Emirates: Hefty Fines on People Smoking in a Car With a Child Present
 
Russia
» Expert: Area Around Sochi Olympics Almost as Dangerous as Iraq
» Safety or Good Fashion Sense? Olympians Told Not to Wear Colors Around Sochi
» Ukraine Urges Foreign Crisis Mediation as Unrest Spreads
» Ukrainian President Reportedly Offers Concessions to Protestors After Violent Clashes
 
South Asia
» British Man Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan
» British Schizophrenic Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan
» Former Afghan Minister Survives Bomb Attack
» Russian Rubbish? India Reportedly Disappointed With Stealth Fighters From Moscow
 
Far East
» China: Three Dead, Two Injured in Xinjiang Explosions
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Christians in the Sudan Face Travel Restrictions, Cardinal Says
» Gambia: Imam of Dimbaya Mosque Appeals for Assistance
» Liberia to be Finland of Africa? — High Level Delegation Hosted by Finn Church Aid Met With President Sirleaf
» Zimbabwe Asks Britain for Funds to Educate a Million Children
 
Latin America
» Women Lead Way for First Mosque for Natives in Panama
 
Immigration
» Amid Debate on Migrants, Norway Party Comes to Fore
» Greek Minister Claims Migrant Boat Sinking Survivors Changed Their Account of Fatal Incident
» Michigan Seeks Visas to Lure Immigrants to Detroit
 
Culture Wars
» Of Bare Breasts and Now Vaginas: Will Swedish PC Madness Ever End?
» Vatican Urges Ex-Swiss Guard to Detail Gay Threat to Pope Security
 

ECB Stress Tests May Trigger Italy Bank Mergers, Says Visco

Bank of Italy chief says central bank won’t be interventionist

(ANSA) — Davos, Switzerland, January 24 — The upcoming European Central bank stress tests could trigger mergers among Italian banks, according to Italian Central Bank Governor Vincenzo Visco in an interview with Reuters Television at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Visco added the central bank he heads will pursue a hands-off approach in relation to possible mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector.

The Bank of Italy does not intend to “draw a map of the mergers or decide how the market should act,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Spain’s Unemployment: Seven Shocking Facts

1) Spain has now seen six straight years of job destruction. Some 198.900 jobs disappeared in Spain last year, and 3.5 million have vanished since the country’s crisis began in 2008.

2) There are 1.832.300 households in Spain where nobody has a job. That is 1.36 percent more than a year earlier.

3) Some 686.600 households in Spain have no income at all — not even social security. That is twice the figure seen in 2007, or before the crisis struck.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US Stocks Slammed; Dow Falls 300-Plus Points in Worst Week Since 2011

U.S. stocks fell sharply and Treasuries rallied on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling triple-digits for a second session and posting its worst week since November 2011, as investors pulled money from emerging markets and other assets viewed as risky.

As Wall Street’s faith in some of the world’s largest developed countries unraveled, currencies of those nations were hit, with Turkey’s lira falling to a record low against the dollar, and Argentina’s peso down sharply against the U.S. currency.

“We’ve touched off by what’s going on around the world, so to speak, and are reallocating assets from some of the emerging markets into what is thought of as more reliable,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. “It’s a safe parking spot,” Kinahan added of fixed income.

“It appears this is a wait-and-see equity market that lacks near-term conviction, which is understandable after the strong returns of 2013. The market priced in a lot of positive economic news in 2013, and we recently have seen readings that point to some uncertainty,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

“Emerging-market currencies have been coming under pressure causing some to erroneously point out it is because of the Fed taper. It is more because of political instability in countries like Argentina and Turkey, which is just another reason to stay underweight EM,” Nick Raich, CEO at the Earnings Scout, wrote in emailed research…

[Return to headlines]
 

2nd Mosque is Point of Contention in Lackawanna as Variance is Sought

Lackawanna’s 1st Ward has long been considered the Muslim part of town — home of a bustling mosque and school, Arab-owned corner stores and the first native of Yemen to serve on the City Council. But increasingly, Muslims are dispersing across all of Lackawanna…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook Will Lose 80% of Users by 2017, Say Princeton Researchers

Forecast of social network’s impending doom comes from comparing its growth curve to that of an infectious disease

Facebook has spread like an infectious disease but we are slowly becoming immune to its attractions, and the platform will be largely abandoned by 2017, say researchers at Princeton University (pdf).

The forecast of Facebook’s impending doom was made by comparing the growth curve of epidemics to those of online social networks. Scientists argue that, like bubonic plague, Facebook will eventually die out.

The social network, which celebrates its 10th birthday on 4 February, has survived longer than rivals such as Myspace and Bebo, but the Princeton forecast says it will lose 80% of its peak user base within the next three years.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

From US Helpers in Iraq to Sex Criminals in Colorado

by Diana West

Two Iraqi men in their 20s have been convicted of a bloody sex crime in Colorado that left the victim, a woman in her 50s, in need of immediate surgery and a colostomy bag. Three other Iraqi men, also in their 20s,were convicted on lesser charges as accessories.

Four points set this case apart. First, there is its brutality: Law enforcement officers describe the July 2012 assault as “rare” and “horrific” and “one of the worst in Colorado history.” Second, all of these men once assisted U.S. military forces in Iraq as informants and interpreters. Third, every one of them received permanent residency status in the U.S., due in part to efforts made by U.S. military members on their behalf. Fourth, this extraordinary case and the ties that bind it to the U.S. military and the war in Iraq have received little coverage.

Most of what the public knows comes from The Colorado Springs Gazette. The Gazette has reported that one of Iraqi men used to live with a sergeant and his family on a North Dakota farm. Another received help with his visa from a U.S. colonel. Then there is the final defendant, whose case came to trial this month. His name is Jasim Ramadon, and he is the central character, known as “Steve-O,” in a war memoir published in 2009 by 1st Sgt. Daniel Hendrex. The book’s title is “A Soldier’s Promise: The Heroic True Story of an American Soldier and an Iraqi Boy.” Ramadon is that “Iraqi boy.” Forever young and smiling on the book’s cover and once a guest on “Oprah,” Ramadon, the Gazette reported, racked up a record of violent behavior in the U.S. He was convicted this week of multiple counts of sexual assault, and faces up to life in prison.

We don’t know what Hendrex, or that other sergeant, or that colonel, or the other unspecified military members who helped bring the Iraqis here now think of their proteges, but I wonder. I also wonder whether there are other veterans of Iraq (and Afghanistan) who are concerned about their own sponsorees.

Hendrex writes in his book that after Ramadon came to the U.S. in 2004, the teenager lived with Hendrex and his wife in Colorado Springs — a few years later the scene of this crime. But then Ramadon went on to live with another family. Had there been trouble?

In 2012, following Ramadon’s arrest, The Gazette sounded a note of disharmony: “At home, things weren’t going as well as the publicity indicated, Hendrex said in 2006, especially after he redeployed and the boy was left in his wife’s care. Because of cultural differences, Ramadon had difficulty being in a house run by a woman…

           — Hat tip: Diana West [Return to headlines]
 

Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Life Support From Pregnant Woman

A Texas judge ruled on Friday that a Fort Worth hospital must remove the life support of a pregnant, brain-dead woman, siding with the husband and family in a case that has drawn national attention.

The judge, R.H. Wallace Jr. of State District Court in Tarrant County, ordered John Peter Smith Hospital to pronounce the woman, Marlise Muñoz, dead, and remove her from life support by 5 p.m. on Monday, which gives the hospital a chance to appeal.

Ms. Muñoz has been on life support since Nov. 26, when she collapsed on her kitchen floor from what appeared to be a blood clot in her lung. She was 14 weeks pregnant.

[Return to headlines]
 

Trailblazing Mars Rover Celebrates 10 Years on Red Planet

NASA’s Opportunity rover marks 10 years of Mars exploration today (Jan. 24), an extraordinary milestone that adds to the robot’s growing legend.

The golf-cart-size Opportunity rover landed on the night of Jan. 24, 2004, three weeks after its twin, Spirit. Though both robots were originally tasked with 90-day missions, Spirit explored the Red Planet until 2010 and Opportunity keeps rolling along to this day, gathering more and more clues about Mars’ warmer and wetter past.

“It’s a well-made American vehicle,” Spirit and Opportunity deputy principal investigator Ray Arvidson, of Washington University in St. Louis, told reporters Thursday (Jan. 23) when asked to explain Opportunity’s amazing longevity.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

What Reviewers Said About the First Mac When it Debuted 30 Years Ago

They nitpicked the hardware, but reviewers appreciated the groundbreaking features that would redefine the personal computer.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jewish Students Fight Back on Canadian Campus

by Phyllis Chesler

Jewish students are standing their ground and fighting back.

It’s Gaza in the Canadian Rockies on campuses.

While Canadian PM Harper, a true friend of Israel, “gets it,” the politically correct students at the University of Calgary do not. They believe that Jewish students deserve to be heckled, silenced, and demonized for trying to tell the truth about Israel.

One of the founders of “Calgary United with Israel” and “Canadians for Human Rights in the Middle East”, shared a letter with me that the editor of the student newspaper, The Gauntlet, refused to printin full—even though each and every claim was or could be substantiated.

I am enormously gratified that young Jewish students have begun to find their voices and can more than hold their own against the Big Lies. I have always said that the Al Aqsa Intifada escalated the war against the Jews, not only in Jerusalem, but also on campuses all across the West.

But at last, the Jewish students are standing their ground and fighting back. Here is the letter in its entirely that The Gauntlet refused to print. Kudos to “Calgary United with Israel” and to letters-writers, Michael Z. and Jake B…

[Return to headlines]
 

Austria: Vienna ‘Far-Right’ Ball Condemned in Mass Protests

Thousands of people have taken part in marches in Vienna against an annual ball that was expected to be attended by foreign far-right leaders. The protesters are opposed to Austria’s opposition Freedom Party (FPOe) holding its so-called Academics Ball in the city’s imperial Hofburg palace.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Beer: The Women Taking Over the World of Brewing

Brewing is coming full circle, say historians. The earliest evidence of beer in Britain dates back roughly 4,000 years and women were the primary brewers from the start, says Jane Peyton, alcohol historian and author of Beer O’Clock: Craft, Cask and Culture.

“Beer was food and food preparation was the domain of females. Ale was traditionally made in the home and brewed for the family. It was part of the daily diet for everyone — children included. It provided nutrition and was a safe source of drinking water. Anything left over was usually sold, often providing a valuable income for households.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France Summons Ukraine Ambassador Over Killings

Days after riot police in Ukraine fatally shot five protesters, France on Friday again condemned the violence. The Ukranian ambassador to France has been summoned by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for a meeting as a gesture of disapproval.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Two Murder Suspects Killed in Court Attack

Two murder suspects were killed on Friday morning while on trial at a Frankfurt court, police said. The men were allegedly killed by a man whose brother was murdered by them seven years ago.

A 47-year-old Afghan man from Eschborn, near Frankfurt, was arrested shortly after the incident. Initial reports suggest that he was armed with both a gun and a knife. The two men killed are reportedly car dealers Barellay A. aged 50, and Mohammad P. aged 45, who were on trial accused of murder and two attempted murders in a case known as the Bloodbath of Steinbach.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Frankfurt Killings: Two Die at State Court Building

Two men have been killed in a shooting and stabbing attack at a court complex in Frankfurt.

The suspected attacker fled the scene on foot but was arrested nearby. The incident happened at about 0845 (0745 GMT) at the state court in Germany’s financial capital. The two victims were aged 45 and 50, one of whom died at the scene and the other later in hospital, according to police. They were on trial for murder after allegedly attacking three men with knives in a car-park in 2007 in Steinbach, an industrial area west of Frankfurt.

Police spokesman Ruediger Reges told N24 television that the attacker was believed to have fired shots in a courtyard at the courthouse, killing one of the victims. The other apparently fled inside the building, but the assailant followed and stabbed him.

A police statement said the suspect was a 47-year-old Afghan national and lived in Eschborn, a town near Frankfurt. The court was sealed off by the police as a murder investigation began.

There was no immediate word on any possible motive.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: 2 Men Dead in Frankfurt Court Building Attack

FRANKFURT, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — One man was killed instantly in an attack in a court building in Frankfurt on Friday, and another man was seriously injured and died on his way to hospital. The perpetrator was arrested right after the attack, said local police.Police told Xinhua that the 47-year-old perpetrator was an Afghan national living in Frankfurt, adding that “the two victims also seem to be foreigners.”

The motive of the attack is not yet clear and investigations are under way.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Decorated Army Veteran Killed in Helicopter Crash Near Rome

Former ISAF coordinator and student die in training accident

(ANSA) — Rome, January 23 — The veteran head of the Italian army air force, who had served in hotspots around the world, was killed Thursday while conducting a training flight. Firefighters suspect the helicopter sheared a power line outside the city of Viterbo and crashed near Mount Martha, killing General Giangiacomo Calligaris, 57, and student Paolo Lozzi, 25.

Calligaris, a native of Naples, had taken command of army aviation in March 2013 and had previously served in numerous international theatres, from Lebanon to Kosovo to Iraq.

He served as coordinator of operations for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and in Chad, and assisted in Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 100,000 people.

He also coordinated the evacuation of Italian nationals from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya during the Arab Spring revolutions as well as other military operations within Italy. Calligaris has been awarded numerous national and international honours and medals.

Twice married, he had two children, a daughter aged 20 and a four-year-old son.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: State Commissioner Contests 70% of Sicily Budget Law

Norms challenged include poverty subsidies, unmarried couples

(ANSA) — Palermo, January 23 — The highest state official for Sicily, the Commissioner of State, has contested more than two thirds of the contents of the new budget law passed by the regional assembly of the Southern Italian island, a move which effectively blocks its execution.

Among the 70% of the norms that have been challenged are some of the ones that were personally supported and promoted by Sicily Governor Rosario Crocetta, including a law that recognizes unmarried couples as forming a family, as well as one that would assist poor families guaranteeing them a minimum subsidy of 400 euros a month that would have involved some 15 million euros of state funding. In addition, a project aiming to restructure abandoned real estate in historic centres for the use of poor families and individuals has been contested.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Mafia Pondered Bombing Pisa’s Leaning Tower

The Sicilian mafia discussed bombing one of Italy’s most famous landmarks, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, an informant has claimed in court.

While Pisa’s famous tower still stands, the mafia did carry out a number of other bomb attacks in the early 1990s. In May 1993 a car bomb went off next to Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, killing five people and injuring 37. The same year car bombs hit two churches in Rome.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Momentum Grows for Swedish Rape Law Reform

As two major political parties threw their weight behind a proposal to write consent into Sweden’s legal definition of rape, critics said a rewrite would not necessarily lead to more convictions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norway Chess Star Beats Bill Gates in 1 Minute

Norwegian chess phenomenon Magnus Carlsen took just one minute and eleven seconds to checkmate Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist, when the two met on the Skavlan chat show on Thursday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Roubini Doom Scenario: It Looks Like 1914 Again

With many parts of the world gearing up to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the First World War, Nouriel Roubini has solidified his hold on the title “Dr. Doom” by suggesting parallels between 2014 and 1914. There may be no Austro-Hungarian empire or Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but Roubini tweeted this from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos today.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Spain: Pope’s Intervention Sought in Madrid ‘Tapestry War’

107,000 signatures against cardinal, in favour of S.Rita group

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 23 — Pope Francis has been asked to intervene in a decade-long dispute between the cardinal-archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, and the association ‘Santa Rita da Cascia’ over the ownership of 23 Flemish tapestries from the XVI and XVII centuries estimated to be worth over 2 million euros.

Two Spanish courts have issued opposite rulings on the case but the president of the association, Rosa Barranco, wants the pope to have the final say on the matter and has gathered 107,000 signatures in an online petition. The document has been handed over to the Vatican’s Prefecture for the Economic Affairs.

‘The church’s money must be used for charity’, said Barranco, openly accusing the cardinal of trying to get his hands on the tapestries to decorate the cathedral of Almudena.

The treasures instead belong to the religious association which received them as a gift in 1836 from a Spanish aristocrat, said Barraco, noting that the cardinal needs them to decorate the cathedral while her association wants them to fund charity work also to support abused women.

Meanwhile the treasure is kept in the rooms of the royal tapestry factory to be restored with public money. Nine of the 23 tapestries have been restored already.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Ahmadiyya Moderation Not All It’s Cracked Up to be

by Anne Marie Waters

I really hate to be a party pooper but there are some questions that need to be asked. There appears to be a growing consensus that the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam is one that should be encouraged and promoted as a welcome representation of moderation within that religion. Even Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the English Defence League, frequently expresses admiration.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Conference on Peace at Bradford Mosque

The Bradford branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association has its annual Peace Conference this weekend. The conference, which will be held on Sunday at the Al Mahdi mosque in Rees Way, Undercliffe, is aimed at bringing together people from different communities and faiths. The theme of this year’s event is based on Blessed Are The Peacemakers and will be urging people to work for peace…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Jack Straw Opposes Mosque in Blackburn House

JACK Straw has called on councillors to dismiss a new bid for a mosque in a Blackburn terrace house. In 2011, Farooq Mohammed applied for retrospective planning consent for the place of worship above his Ashrafi Study Centre Madrassah, in Accrington Road, Audley…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Three Muslim Women Tried to Kidnap and Rob Their Sister’s Lesbian Lover During Row Over Arranged Marriage

These dramatic images show three Muslim siblings attempting to kidnap and rob their sister’s lesbian lover after they found out about the relationship. Sarah Harrison, 35, was targeted as she left work in Blackburn, Lancashire. As she was attacked, one of the siblings shouted: ‘you’ve messed with the wrong Muslims.’ The women’s sister Nazma Ditta, 27, one of six sisters and three brothers, had been due to enter into an arranged marriage.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Four Bombs Strike Central Cairo

At least five people are killed as a car bomb on Friday hits the police headquarters before two smaller blasts are detonated, a day ahead of the third anniversary of the revolt against Hosni Mubarak

Cairo was struck by four blasts including a suicide car bomb on Friday morning, leaving five dead and prompting fears of a descent into prolonged Islamist terror. Angry crowds gathered at the scene of the first explosion, outside the main police headquarters in the city’s Downtown, and attacked foreign journalists trying to report on the scene. They chanted anti-Islamist slogans, including “The people call for the execution of the [Muslim] Brotherhood”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Demonstrators Flock to Cairo Police HQ, Chant Against Terrorism

Cairo — Groups of demonstrators have begun flocking to Cairo Security Directorate to denounce the suicide bombing that took the lives of four and injured scores.

The demonstrators chanted against terrorism and the Muslim Brotherhood…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Cairo’s Islamic Art Museum Hit in Blast

Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art has been badly damaged in a suicide car bomb attack on nearby police headquarters. The museum is on the other side of Bab el-Khalq Square from the city’s main security headquarters.

All the windows on the facade of the museum, which was built in 1903 and houses tens of thousands of artefacts, were blasted out. It recently underwent an eight-year, multimillion-dollar renovation.

Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said artefacts inside were also damaged, including a rare collection of Islamic art objects, and that the museum would have to be rebuilt.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: 6 Dead After Bombings Targeting Police Rip Through Cairo

At least six people were killed in four bombings targeting police in Cairo Friday, including a car blast that ripped through the Egyptian capital’s main security headquarters and wrecked a nearby museum of Islamic artifacts.

The coordinated attacks were the most significant yet in Egypt’s capital, at a time of mounting confrontation between Islamists and the military-backed government.

The attacks fueled fears of an increasing militant insurgency in retaliation for the military’s July 3 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the subsequent crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Official: Egyptian Diplomat in Libya’s Capital of Tripoli Kidnapped From Home

A spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says one of its diplomats has been kidnapped in Libya. Spokesman Badr Abdelattie told The Associated Press late Friday that the Egyptian Embassy’s administrative attaché was kidnapped in Tripoli, Libya’s capital. Abdelattie said the ambassador was trying to ascertain what happened.

Libyan authorities could not be immediately reached for comment. Kidnappings happen frequently in Libya, which has been plagued by turmoil since its 2011 civil war that toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Prime Minister Ali Zidan himself was even kidnapped last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Caroline Glick: Canada Takes Its Place at the Table

During a press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, an Israeli reporter asked visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, “Is Canada paying a price for being so supportive of Israel? Is it possible to support Israel and still have ties to the Arab world?”

This question goes to the heart of what is generally perceived as Israel’s greatest weakness. The Arab boycott of Israel and of companies doing business with Israel has served as one of the most potent weapons in the anti-Israel arsenal for over a generation. Indeed, since the OPEC oil embargo in 1974, it has been the Arabs’ single most powerful weapon in their unceasing campaign for the destruction of the Jewish state.

It was Arab economic bullying that forced African nations to cut their ties with the Jewish state.

It was the Arab use of the oil weapon after the 1973 Yom Kippur War that convinced Western Europe to end its diplomatic support for Israel and throw in with the PLO.

More than anything else, it is the Arab economic boycott of companies that do business with Israel that has eroded Israel’s diplomatic standing over the past two generations and transformed the only human rights respecting democracy in the Middle East into an international pariah.

And yet, under Stephen Harper, as the noose of international isolation is drawn around Israel’s neck more tightly every day, Canada has emerged as an outspoken supporter and defender of the Jewish state.

So in essence, the Israeli reporter’s question to Harper could easily be rephrased as, “Are you crazy?”…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

See the First Photographs Ever Taken of Jerusalem

Since 1844, millions of photographs have probably been taken of Jerusalem. But these blurry snaps are the very first.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Names Palestinian Group Leader Terrorist

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — The United States on Thursday named a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as a global terrorist for his alleged role in attacks on Israel. The State Department’s move against Ziyad al-Nakhalah entails sanctions barring American citizens from doing business with him and freezing all of his assets under U.S. jurisdiction…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UNESCO Boycott of Show on Israel Sparks Controversy

At request of Arab countries. Criticism from Netanyahu, US

(by Aurora Bergamini) (ANSAmed) — PARIS — The decision of Unesco director general, Irina Bokova, to cancel at the last minute an exhibit on Israel in Paris has sparked a major controversy. The inauguration of “Les gens, le Livre, la Terre”, ‘an analysis on the relationship between the Jewish people and the holy Land which has been ongoing for the past 3,500 years’, organized in cooperation with the Simon-Wiesenthal Centre, was scheduled to open last Monday at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization but was postponed to June following a protest by 22 Unesco Arab country members. The reason for the postponement, according to Bokova, is the fear that the show could have ‘a potential impact on the peace process and ongoing negotiations in the Middle East’.

The incident comes at a time when relations between Unesco and Israel are particularly tense after Palestine was admitted as a member state of the UN organization in October 2011. As a sign of protest, Washington and Israel decided to cut funding.

Unesco subsequently suspended the two States’ right to vote.

Israeli Premier Benyamin Netanyahu criticized the move saying that ‘truth can never hurt’ while the US State Department said it was deeply disappointed by the decision.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Powers, said Bokova had made the wrong move which could be perceived as a boycott and thus considered a political stance. In a statement, the French association against anti-Semitism denounced Unesco’s ‘scandalous decision’ and asked the organization ‘not to give in to pressure exercised by the Group of Arab countries which are clearly allergic to the historic truth’.

If Bokova will not change her mind, the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) will ask ‘all Jewish communities, institutions and friends of Israel not to take part in the ceremony marking the anniversary of the liberation of Nazi camps organized by Unesco on January 27’.

‘The theme of the exhibit clearly shows that Jewish presence in the Holy Land was constant’, explained Robert Wistrich, of the Jewish University in Jerusalem, who curated the show for the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. ‘The annulment is a slap on the face, an insult to the Jewish people’.

According to an Arab ambassador to Unesco interviewed by Le Monde, ‘the exhibit denies the Arab presence: it is a revision of history’.

Addressing the controversy, Bokova stressed in a letter Unesco’s engagement ‘in the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of negationism’.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

European Jihadists in Syria: More and Younger

by Soeren Kern

European security officials say that in recent weeks they have noticed an “alarming acceleration” in the number of European jihadists traveling to Syria to obtain combat experience with Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda.

“France, Germany and the U.K. may have the largest foreign fighter contingents in Syria, but Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Austria have contributed a much higher proportion of their population… (and) may have a larger problem on their hands than do their bigger European neighbors.” — Thomas Hegghammer, Norwegian political scientist.

Two teenagers from the southern French city of Toulouse have run away from home to become jihadists in Syria. The youths—both aged 15—are believed to be the youngest-ever European jihadists to join the fighting in Syria since the war there began in March 2011.

The boys are part of an influx of up to 2,000 Europeans—including 700 from France alone—who have traveled to Syria in the hopes of overthrowing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and replacing it with an Islamic state.

European security officials say that in recent weeks they have noticed an “alarming acceleration” in the number of European jihadists traveling to Syria to obtain combat experience with Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda. They say their primary concern is about the potential threats these battle-hardened “enemies from within” will pose when they return to Europe.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gordon Ramsay Busted for Trying to Smuggle Dom Pérignon Into Qatar

Even bad boy chef Gordon Ramsay isn’t immune to Qatar’s alcohol restrictions. Ramsay, who owns two restaurants at the St. Regis hotel in Doha, was stopped by security staff who confiscated the Champagne the chef was carrying in his luggage, according to Arabian Business.

“The alarm went off and I got called into a little room. So it’s been confiscated — the first time I’ve ever lost a bottle of Dom Pérignon! It was a birthday present from a dear friend,” he said at a press conference this week.

Alcohol sales are closely monitored in Qatar and last November officials there banned the sale of alcohol in swimming pool areas and on the beach.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Executes 11 Prisoners for Terror Crimes

BAGHDAD, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — The Iraqi Ministry of Justice said it executed 11 convicts for terror crimes Thursday, two days after it announced the execution of 26 convicts, despite international calls for Baghdad to abolish the death penalty…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Warns of Rising Jihadi Threat From Syria, Rethinks Neutral Policy in Bloody Civil War

A sharp increase in the number of al-Qaida linked fighters joining the fight against President Bashar Assad in Syria is threatening to spill over the borders and prompting the Jewish state to re-evaluate its policy of neutrality in the civil war next door, a senior Israeli intelligence official warned on Friday.

The Israeli official estimated that just two years ago there were only about 2,000 jihadis in Syria but claimed the number has mushroomed to more than 30,000 as the conflict has dragged on, presenting the Middle East with a far more dangerous threat.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Drone Strike Kills Four in Central Yemen

SANAA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — A U.S. drone strike hit a group of people driving a car in Yemen’s central province of Marib on Thursday night, killing at least four people and injuring several others, a Yemeni interior ministry official told Xinhua…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

United Arab Emirates: Hefty Fines on People Smoking in a Car With a Child Present

This is one of the penalties included in a new anti-tobacco law that came into effect today in the United Arab Emirates. From now on, shops located near schools will not be allowed to sell tobacco. Newspapers, radio and television stations will not be able to advertise cigarettes. Smoking in closed public places like restaurants and shopping malls will be more difficult.

Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Smoking in cars if there is a child who is 12 years or younger carries a 500 dirhams fine (US$ 135), this according to a regulation included in a new anti-tobacco law that came into effect today in the United Arab Emirates.

As of today, shops located near schools will not be able to sell tobacco, and newspapers, radio and television stations will not be able to advertise cigarettes. Smoking in public places such as restaurants and shopping malls will also be more difficult.

“This law intends to make it difficult for smokers to light up,” Dr Widad Al Maidour, head of tobacco control at the Ministry of Health, told Gulf News.

However, for the doctor the law has to be widened to stop people smoking near shopping malls. In fact, “Municipalities need to ensure that smokers light up at least 25 metres from the entrance to protect non-smokers,” Dr Al Maidour added.

“In essence, people who find others smoking in public places should be able to complain to authorities about this harmful practice. The implementation of these standards, however, depends on regulatory authorities. For example, the traffic police should apprehend people found smoking in cars if they are with a child who is 12 years or younger,” she explained.

This is especially important because passive smoking causes serious harm to young people.

In order to ensure that residents’ complaints are heard, Dr Al Maidour hopes to establish a toll-free number where people can call in and report establishments that flout the rules.

“Most importantly, the new regulation is a message to people that smoking is not acceptable,” said Dr Shamil Wanigaratne, consultant clinical psychologist at the National Rehabilitation Centre in Abu Dhabi.

To make the health risks of smoking more evident, a proposal has also been forwarded to the Ministry of Health Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council to make the warning images on cigarette packs more graphic.

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

Expert: Area Around Sochi Olympics Almost as Dangerous as Iraq

Sochi, Russia will play host to the 2014 Winter Olympics from February 7 through February 23. Security measures have been put into effect around the Olympic village, including the so-called “ring of steel,” but doubts still persist whether the venue is safe.

In an interview with Fox News National Security Analyst KT McFarland, former FBI officer Bill Daly called the threat of an attack in or near Sochi “credible.” “They are out there … the to and from routes are vulnerable,” Daly said of Sochi’s remote location. “They (athletes) can be as vulnerable as some of our troops who were traveling in Iraq on some of these more remote routes,” said Daly.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Safety or Good Fashion Sense? Olympians Told Not to Wear Colors Around Sochi

The State Department issued a stark warning to U.S. Olympians, telling those who are traveling to the Sochi Winter Games to refrain from wearing their team gear — and accompanying national identifiers — outside of their competition venues.

The warning comes amid heightened concerns of terrorist attacks at the games. Two separate suicide bombings in Volgograd that left dozens dead and injured set the nation on edge. Videos of reported terrorists warning Russian President Vladimir Putin to expect more of the same at the Olympic Games subsequently set the world on edge.

The State Department’s warning also comes as the United States has promised to put ships on standby status near Russian borders in case of attack, to evacuate American citizens.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Urges Foreign Crisis Mediation as Unrest Spreads

Ukraine’s premier and the opposition seeking to topple him called for foreign mediation as anti-government unrest that turned deadly this week spread from Kiev.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said today that he’s speaking to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, while opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged an international presence at talks that have so far failed to quell the protests. As activists took over regional-government headquarters in six cities, European Union justice chief Viviane Reding warned of the risk of civil war.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukrainian President Reportedly Offers Concessions to Protestors After Violent Clashes

News agencies are reporting that President Viktor Yanukovych has promised a government reshuffle, an amnesty to detained activists and other concessions, after protests against his rule engulfed Ukraine.

At a meeting with religious leaders Friday, Yanukovych vowed that a special parliament meeting next Tuesday will push through changes to the Cabinet, grant amnesty to dozens of jailed activists and change harsh-anti-protest legislation, the Interfax and other news agencies reported.

At least two protesters were killed this week in clashes with police, and protesters seized government offices in scores of cities in the pro-Western part of Ukraine. The two-month-long crisis turned violent after the passage of anti-dissent legislation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

British Man Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan

A Pakistani court has passed the death sentence on a British national with mental health problems

A court in Pakistan has sentenced a British man to death for blasphemy for claiming to be a prophet of Islam, a prosecutor and police said Friday. Mohammad Asghar, a British national of Pakistani origin, was arrested in 2010 in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for writing letters claiming to be a prophet, police said.

The special court inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where Asghar is being held, rejected defence claims that the 65-year-old has mental health problems. “Asghar claimed to be a prophet even inside the court. He confessed it in front of the judge,” Javed Gul, a government prosecutor, told AFP. “Asghar used to write it even on his visiting card.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

British Schizophrenic Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan

A 71 year man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia faces execution after claiming he was the Prophet Mohammed

An elderly paranoid schizophrenic man from Edinburgh has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy after he claimed he was the Prophet Mohammed. Mohammad Asghar, 71, who was convicted and sentenced on Thursday, is currently in Rawalpindi’s high security Adiala Jail where his lawyers said he has attempted suicide and suffered a stroke…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Former Afghan Minister Survives Bomb Attack

HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Mohammad Ismail Khan, former Afghan minister of power and water, escaped an assassination attempt in the country’s western province of Herat on Friday, sources said. “A suicide bombing occurred at the entrance of a mosque where Ismail Khan was offering Friday’s prayer,” a security source told Xinhua anonymously…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Rubbish? India Reportedly Disappointed With Stealth Fighters From Moscow

Is the Russian arms industry getting soft?

Despite initial high expectations, the Indian Air Force appears to be souring on a joint development deal with Russia for a new fifth-generation fighter jet, according to the Business Standard, a major Indian business publication. The Russian prototype is “unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered,” said Indian Air Force Deputy Air Marshall S Sukumar at a Jan. 15 meeting, according to minutes obtained by the Business Standard.

That contrasts sharply with high hopes voiced by the Indian government when the joint project, to which the Indian government has contributed $6 billion, began.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China: Three Dead, Two Injured in Xinjiang Explosions

URUMQI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Three people were killed and two injured in three explosions in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Friday, local authorities said.

Two explosions took place at a hair salon and a vegetable market in the county seat of Xinhe in the Aksu prefecture at about 6:40 p.m., killing one person and injured two, the region’s publicity department said in a statement.

Shortly after the explosions, police arrested three suspects and later a suspect vehicle exploded itself while being besieged by police and two people inside were killed. The injured have been sent to hospital.

An investigation into the explosions is underway.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Christians in the Sudan Face Travel Restrictions, Cardinal Says

For Christians living in predominantly Muslim Sudan, travel restrictions are making life more difficult each day, a Roman Catholic cardinal said. Sudanese Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako highlighted the challenges at a Catholic Bishops Conference in Juba, the Republic of South Sudan’s capital. His auxiliary bishop could not attend the Jan. 21-30 meeting because his passport was seized by security agents, along with those of eight priests.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gambia: Imam of Dimbaya Mosque Appeals for Assistance

The Imam of Dimbaya Mosque Modlamin Jarjue has appealed to the Muslim ummah for assistance to complete the construction of their mosque. Imam Jarjue made this appeal on Monday, in an interview with this reporter, shortly after the Zuhr prayers…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Liberia to be Finland of Africa? — High Level Delegation Hosted by Finn Church Aid Met With President Sirleaf

Monrovia — Finn Church Aid (FCA) hosted a high level delegation from Finland last week, including two former ministers Ms. Elisabeth Rehn (Defense) and Ms. Heidi Hautala (International Development & Ownership Steering Issues). The visiting delegation represented FCA-run networks of experts in education and women’s entrepreneurship…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Zimbabwe Asks Britain for Funds to Educate a Million Children

Robert Mugabe’s regime is facing another economic crisis and is asking for help

Britain is considering a request by Zimbabwe for funds to cover school fees for one million impoverished children — around a third of the country’s pupils.

The government of Mr Mugabe, a teacher himself by training, inherited one of Africa’s best education systems.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Women Lead Way for First Mosque for Natives in Panama

Approximately 24,000 Muslims are believed to be residing in Panama today, comprising 1% of the overall population.

The people of the Central American Republic of Panama have began construction work on the country’s first ever official mosque for natives, as more and more Panamanians turn to Islam. The first bricks of the Al Haqq Mosque are now being laid, after a 9 year campaign led by Muslim converts Josefina Bell-Munajj and Khadijah Jackson to get building permission…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Amid Debate on Migrants, Norway Party Comes to Fore

Mr. Hylland Eriksen says the massacre committed by Mr. Breivik has regrettably had little lasting impact on Norway’s politics. “Immediately after the terrorist attack, some of us were hoping that it would serve as a loud and clear reminder of the need to accept that we live in a culturally diverse society, since the attack was motivated by a wish to cleanse Norway of alien cultural elements,” he said. “Instead, the political dimensions of the attack have been consistently dodged.”

It is almost more difficult now “to criticize Islamophobic and xenophobic attitudes, since those defending such positions may retort that it is unbecoming to associate them with Breivik,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Minister Claims Migrant Boat Sinking Survivors Changed Their Account of Fatal Incident

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s merchant marine minister said Friday the survivors of the sinking of a migrant boat changed their accounts of the incident, initially saying the Greek Coast Guard saved them but later accusing it of badly mishandling the rescue operation.

Twelve people, mostly children, are believed to have perished in Monday’s sinking. Only two bodies have been found.

The small fishing boat crammed with 28 people had entered Greece illegally from Turkey and the Coast Guard said it was towing the boat to a nearby Greek island when it capsized. The survivors said they were being taken back to Turkish waters.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Michigan Seeks Visas to Lure Immigrants to Detroit

Mich. governor seeks 50,000 work visas over 5 years to entice immigrants to bankrupt Detroit

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked the federal government Thursday to set aside thousands of work visas for bankrupt Detroit, a bid to revive the decaying city by attracting talented immigrants who are willing to move there and stay for five years.

The Republican governor has routinely touted immigration as a powerful potential force for growing Detroit’s economy, saying immigrant entrepreneurs start many small businesses and file patents at twice the rate of U.S.-born citizens.

“Let’s send a message to the entire world: Detroit, Michigan, is open to the world,” Snyder said at a news conference.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Of Bare Breasts and Now Vaginas: Will Swedish PC Madness Ever End?

Breasts that offend adult women and Muslims are not fit for the Swedish parliament’s dining room. But smiling vaginas are perfectly ok for school kids. We promise we are not making this stuff up

by Robin Shepherd

If Sweden didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent it: if only to keep the spirits up as the Western world swirls its way down a politically correct toilet, which brings me closer to the latest round of madness to engulf every Leftist’s favourite European country.

Regular readers of The Commentator will remember the bare breasts in the Swedish parliament fiasco from late last year. To recap, the Social Democratic Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, Susanne Eberstein, ordered the removal of a baroque painting featuring a (barely) naked woman —see the picture in the article here — from the parliamentary dining room where it had been hanging for 30 years.

That was on the grounds that a pair of baroque breasts could cause offence to women in general and visiting Muslim dignitaries in particular. But if bare breasts are too much for grown men and women, vagina art is apparently perfectly ok for school kids.

Sweden’s English language website The Local is reporting that there was uproar when local authorities decided to paint over a mural of a smiling vagina on the school staircase in what, under the circumstances, is the unfortunately named town of Nyköping (pronounced — Knicker-ping).

“The backlash was not merciful; news that the mural was to be covered was shared extensively on social media. On [the artist] Carolina Falkholt’s Facebook page, her fans sent her notes of support. “Isn’t art supposed to stir emotion?” wrote one, while others said her work had contributed to an important dialogue.

“Others questioned the sanity of those who found the mural offensive in the first place.”

The school is for 13-15 year olds and the principal was at his politically correct best in defending the mural and the artist on the grounds that he saw “many pedagogic advantages to having her art in the school.”

The principal was immediately supported by local Left Party politician, Conny Jakobsson who — in stark, as it were, contrast to the bare breasts in the Swedish parliament affair — said he was against censorship.

“Should we censor this just because it depicts female genitalia?” The Local quoted him as asking. “Maybe the students think this is a really cool thing, that they have a school that dares!”

Oh dear. In conclusion, here’s another thing politically correct Sweden dared to do.

Last November, Swedish authorities allowed a man in his 60s, a convicted paedophile who had molested a five year old girl and had committed more than 90 other crimes, to adopt a child of his own on the grounds he no longer posed a threat and had been rehabilitated, even though, reports said, the man was still “known to chat to young girls on the internet”.

It’s not quite so funny when you put this all together, is it?

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]
 

Vatican Urges Ex-Swiss Guard to Detail Gay Threat to Pope Security

A senior Vatican official has urged a former Swiss Guard commander to come forward with details about accusations that the gay culture in the Vatican posed a security threat to the pope.

Elmar Maeder, who headed the Swiss Guards from 2002-2008, told the Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag that he didn’t doubt that predatory gays worked at the Vatican. He was quoted as saying that in his experience, “many homosexuals tend to be more loyal toward each other than toward other people or institutions.” He said he wouldn’t promote gay guards out of fear they might be disloyal.

In an interview with La Repubblica, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, No. 2 in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, urged Maeder to provide names to back his accusations. His office confirmed his quotes Friday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

2 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/24/2014

  1. I don’t spend much time in pubs, but was in a large pub in London yesterday. All the staff were Spanish. In one of my previous rare forays to a large pub, all the staff were French. And the time before that in another pub, all the staff were Spanish.

    It’s clear what happens in our egalitarian, diverse, multicultural Britain — once a few people from a country get jobs in a business, they ensure that only their fellow countrymen get jobs there. It’s not unusual to see a very large team of sub-contractors on building work, where every single member of the team is a foreigner from the same country. The diversity and equality industry show no interest in pursuing these organisations for racial discrimination.

  2. Yes! Non-white racial preferment is precisely how the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice has become ‘owned’ by people who represent non-whites who believe that 1) only white people can be racist, 2) all white people are inherently racist (consciously or subconsciously), 3) every success of white people is due to white privilege based on exploitation of non-white people, 4) every failure of non-white people is due to white bias against non-white people, 5) white people must share their racist ill-gotten gains with non-white people, 6) non-white people cannot be racist against white people because white people deserve to be punished for their endemic racism, 7) non-white people should rule over white people, and 8) the world will be better off without white people.

    http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/01/08/obama-nominates-racist-cop-killer-defender-debo-adegbile-to-head-doj-civil-rights-division-n1773332

    Ten Point Program (of Black Panther Party)

    The original “Ten Point Program” from October, 1966 was as follows:[43][44]

    1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our black Community.

    We believe that black people will not be free until we are able to determine our destiny.

    2. We want full employment for our people.

    We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every man employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the white American businessmen will not give full employment, then the means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.

    3. We want an end to the robbery by the white man of our black Community.

    We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules was promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of black people. We will accept the payment as currency which will be distributed to our many communities. The Germans are now aiding the Jews in Israel for the genocide of the Jewish people. The Germans murdered six million Jews. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of over 50 million black people; therefore, we feel that this is a modest demand that we make.

    4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.

    We believe that if the white landlords will not give decent housing to our black community, then the housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that our community, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for its people.

    5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.

    We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in society and the world, then he has little chance to relate to anything else.

    6. We want all black men to be exempt from military service.

    We believe that black people should not be forced to fight in the military service to defend a racist government that does not protect us. We will not fight and kill other people of color in the world who, like black people, are being victimized by the white racist government of America. We will protect ourselves from the force and violence of the racist police and the racist military, by whatever means necessary.

    7. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of black people.

    We believe we can end police brutality in our black community by organizing black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all black people should arm themselves for self defense.

    8. We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.

    We believe that all black people should be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a fair and impartial trial.

    9. We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

    We believe that the courts should follow the United States Constitution so that black people will receive fair trials. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical, environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court will be forced to select a jury from the black community from which the black defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by all-white juries that have no understanding of the “average reasoning man” of the black community.

    10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. And as our major political objective, a United Nations-supervised plebiscite to be held throughout the black colony in which only black colonial subjects will be allowed to participate for the purpose of determining the will of black people as to their national destiny.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party

Comments are closed.