Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/16/2014

This news feed was actually posted about eleven hours late, due to yesterday’s lengthy outage. Our hosting service had serious router issues at one of its major server farms, and it took the techies most of yesterday and part of this morning to resolve the problem. As I understand it, a lot of their other customers’ sites were down as well — Vlad Tepes was one of them.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, DS, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, MC, Papa Whiskey, 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
» Italy: MPS Considering Five-bn Euro Capital Increase: Sources
» It’s Official: America is an Oligarchy and Not a Democracy
» Out of Ammo? The Eroding Power of Central Banks
» Yield on Italian 10-Year Bond Hits New Euro-Era Low
 
USA
» ACLU Challenges Arkansas Voter ID Law
» Alice in Wonderland in Nevada
» Brandeis Feminists Fail the Historical Moment
» Defense Dept Confiscating Apache Helicopters From States, National Guard
» Feds Accused of Leaving Trail of Wreckage After Nevada Ranch Standoff
» Google’s Buyout of Drone Firm Titan Aerospace Sparks Spy Fears
» Judge Napolitano “Fearful” of What’s Coming Next in Bundy Dispute
» NYPD Stands Down on Anniversary of Boston Marathon Bombing
» Report: FBI Visiting Gun Shops to Investigate “People Talking About Big Government”
» Satanic Temple Launches Campaign to ‘Protect’ Children and Permit Them to Pray to Satan
» US Postal Service Stocks Up on Guns and Ammo
» Veterans and White Supremacy
 
Canada
» An Imam’s View: Why Some Young Muslims Feel Disgruntled
 
Europe and the EU
» Britain First Invades Mega Mosques Across the North West
» EC Accuses Italy of New Infractions With ILVA Steel Plant
» EU to Slash Plastic Bag Use by 80 Percent by 2019
» Italian Senator Calls for Declassification of Chemtrail Documents
» Italy: Grillo Blames Press for Being Called an Anti-Semite
» Italy: Renzi Shores up Berlusconi Reform Pact Amid PD Dissent
» Italy: ‘Bunga Bunga Movement’ Among Parties in European Elections
» Italy: Rome Budget Chief Quits After Clash With Mayor — Update
» Star Dust Casts Doubt on Recent Big Bang Wave Result
» UK: ‘Segregated’ Annual Dinner at UEL Features Extreme Preachers
» UK: Five Dogs Poisoned in North London Park
» UK: GCSEs and A-Levels ‘Scheduled to Take Account of Ramadan’
» UK: Iraqi Claimants ‘Conspired’ To Win Compensation Hand-Outs, Hears Inquiry
» UK: Lutfur Rahman and Police Denials Fall Apart: There is a Criminal Investigation of Tower Hamlets
» UK: More Giant Rats ‘The Size of Small Cats’ Pictured by Worried Homeowners
» UK: Police Have Dismissed Evidence of Alleged Criminality in Tower Hamlets LBC Which Was Passed to Them by Eric Pickles.
» UK: Tower Hamlets Bails Out 2,500 Families Hit by ‘Bedroom Tax’
» Wales: Caught on CCTV: Brazen Burglar Walks Along Street Trying Cars and Front Doors
 
North Africa
» Egypt Jails More Than 100 Muslim Brotherhood Supporters
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Dozens of Palestinians Injured in Temple Mount Clashes
» Hadas Mizrahi: ‘With the Shriek of a Bullet, I Lost the Love of My Life’
 
Middle East
» 36 Killed, 53 Wounded in Violent Attacks Across Iraq
» Iraq: At Least 16 Killed in Falluja
» Jordan Destroys Vehicles Crossing Over From Syria, Amman Says
» KSA Toughens Stance on Illegals
» Saudi Court Shuts Down Liberal Forum
 
Russia
» I’m Confused, Can Anyone Help Me?
» Pro-Russian Militants ‘Disarm Ukraine Tanks’
» Putin Says Ukraine ‘On Brink of War’ As Kiev Evicts Separatists
» Six Ukrainian Armored Vehicles Seized in Kramatorsk, Kyiv Says
» Those Who Don’t Lay Arms, Will be Destroyed — Ukrainian Military Op Commander
» Ukraine: Investors Not Warming Up to Future War Bonds Issue
» Ukraine on the Brink of Civil War, Putin Warns Merkel
» Ukraine Troops Sent to Fight Anti-Government Activists Switch Sides & Join Pro-Russians
 
South Asia
» Pakistani Taliban End Truce With Government But Vow to Continue Peace Talks
 
Far East
» Adverse Weather Threatens Day Two of South Korean Ferry Rescue Efforts
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria: Abuja Blast Linked to UK White Widow
» Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Borno Monarch, 19 Others in Fresh Attacks
» Nigeria: 15 Feared Killed in Fresh Violence in Wukari, Taraba
 
Latin America
» Brazil 2014: Al-Azhar Grand Imam to Speak at World Cup Ceremony
 
Immigration
» About 127,000 to Immigrate to Sweden in 2014
» Six Killed as Refugee Boat Sinks Off Aegean Sea of Turkey
» Study Finds More Immigrants Equals More Democrats — — And More Losses for GOP
» ‘The Five’: Why Do Liberals Hate Bundy for Dodging Taxes When Illegal Immigrants Do the Same?
 
Culture Wars
» Ireland: Journalist Describes Threats, Nightmare for Christian View of Traditional Marriage
» Man Who Murdered British Teenager Cannot by Deported Because He is Gay, Judge Rules
» White Babies Just 15 Months Old Show Racial Bias When Picking Playmates, Study Found
 
General
» 1240 Scientists Demand Seralini GMO Study be Republished, Will Not be Suppressed
» Importance of the Prophet’s Sunnah
» New Wind, Solar Power Cheaper Than Nuclear Option, Study Shows
 

Italy: MPS Considering Five-bn Euro Capital Increase: Sources

Share value in troubled bank fall on rumours of large offering

(ANSA) — Rome, April 15 — Management at troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) are considering boosting a capital increase plan to five billion euros from a previous planned increase of three billion euros, sources said Tuesday.

MPS confirmed that a capital increase beyond the initial plan is under consideration and media reports said the maximum could reach five billion euros.

Shares in the world’s oldest operating bank fell by more than 9% during trading on the Milan stock exchange Tuesday amid the rumoured capital increase, which reports say is needed to repay a government bailout of 4.1 billion euros made in late 2012.

Failure to repay that loan could see MPS nationalized, the bank’s chairman warned last December.

Any capital increase would need to be approved by shareholders in MPS, Italy’s third largest bank.

MPS recapitalized in 2012 and again in January 2013, when news circulated that top management had entered into secret derivatives contracts with Deutsche Bank and Nomura in order to hide estimated losses of between 500 million euros and 750 million euros in two of its divisions.

MPS has also been at the center of a judicial investigation into its acquisition of smaller rival Antonveneta in 2008 as well as the derivatives trades the bank allegedly used to conceal losses.

Former chairman Giuseppe Mussari and former director general Antonio Vigni, who left in early 2012, are both under investigation on allegations of market manipulation, false statements to the market and regulatory obstruction in relation to the Antonveneta deal and the derivatives trades.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

It’s Official: America is an Oligarchy and Not a Democracy

We noted last year:

American democracy — once a glorious thing — has devolved into an oligarchy, according to two leading IMF officials, the former Vice President of the Dallas Federal Reserve, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Moody’s chief economist and many others.

But don’t take their word for it …

A new quantitative study by Princeton’s Martin Gilens and Northwestern’s Benjamin Page finds that America is not a democracy … but is an oligarchy.

Here’s a quick visual overview from the study:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Out of Ammo? The Eroding Power of Central Banks

Since the financial crisis, central banks have slashed interest rates, purchased vast quantities of sovereign bonds and bailed out banks. Now, though, their influence appears to be on the wane with measures producing paltry results. Do they still have control?

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Yield on Italian 10-Year Bond Hits New Euro-Era Low

BTPs trade at 3.09%, well below 2011 peak rates of 7.17%

(ANSA) — Rome, April 16 — The yield on Italian 10-year bonds touched a new low of 3.095% during trading Wednesday, levels not seen since the birth of the euro in 1999.

The falling yield on the 10-year BTP helped to reduce its spread with the equivalent German Bund to 161 basis points early Wednesday afternoon.

The spread soared above 500 basis points in November 2011 as the yield at that time on Italian BTP peaked at about 7.17%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

ACLU Challenges Arkansas Voter ID Law

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas is asking a judge to strike down a state law requiring voters to show photo identification before they can cast a ballot, arguing the new requirements violate the Arkansas constitution.

The ACLU on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County court on behalf of four voters seeking to overturn the law, which was approved by the Republican-led Legislature last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Alice in Wonderland in Nevada

Did you know that we have a remarkable number of militarized, non-law enforcement agencies in government?

Agencies like the Department of Education, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the IRS, and even the Bureau of Land Management have been arming themselves to the teeth for years.

The Obama administration wouldn’t even send in one soldier to protect our ambassador in Benghazi, but it has sent in over 200 agents, including snipers, to harass and intimidate a rancher in Nevada!

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Brandeis Feminists Fail the Historical Moment

by Phyllis Chesler

The Brandeis professors who demanded that Ayaan Hirsi Ali be “immediately” dis-invited wrote that “we are filled with shame at the suggestion that (Hirsi Ali’s) above-quoted sentiments express Brandeis’s values.” The professors also castigated Hirsi Ali for her “core belief of the cultural backwardness of non-western peoples” and for her suggestion that “violence toward girls and women is particular to Islam.” The professors note that such a view “obscure(s) such violence in our midst among non-Muslims, including on our own campus.”

This is exactly what these professors are teaching the more than four thousand Brandeis students who signed a petition to rescind Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s award. (Read it here.)

Are eight year-old girls being genitally mutilated at Brandeis or forced into polygamous marriages with men old enough to be their grandfathers? Are they being forcibly face-veiled or honor murdered for refusing to marry their first cousins? Perhaps they are being executed because they have been raped, for leaving an abusive marriage, or for daring to express an independent opinion?

[Return to headlines]
 

Defense Dept Confiscating Apache Helicopters From States, National Guard

by Rick Wells

To most even the most casual observer, the advantage that air power provides in an armed combat situation was undeniably demonstrated in the “shock and awe” of the attacks by U.S. forces on Baghdad in the opening nights of the Iraq War. There are countless other examples, but against that backdrop alone, it is difficult to make a rational argument denying the value of air supremacy.

That supremacy can take on many forms, depending upon the situation. In a civil uprising in response to domestic tyranny, the Apache helicopter makes for a formidable weapon. 192 of them which currently are in possession of various state governors across America are about to be transferred to active duty military. That number represents every Apache which is currently assigned to National Guard units.

They will be taken out of the hands of local elected officials and placed into those of the increasingly less representative and more oppressive federal government.

In exchange for the Apaches, 111 of the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopters will be offered as replacements. Not only are the states left with a less offensively powerful aircraft, they are also seeing their number significantly reduced.

The justification for the reassignment is financial. The selection process of what are the best means through which to achieve meaningful spending cuts needs recalibrating. Perhaps better recognition of the growing dissent within the ranks of the American public has something to do with this decision. Could it be that the federal government is concerned of possible state rebellions?…

           — Hat tip: DS [Return to headlines]
 

Feds Accused of Leaving Trail of Wreckage After Nevada Ranch Standoff

The federal agency that backed down over the weekend in a tense standoff with a Nevada rancher is being accused of leaving a trail of wreckage behind.

Fox News toured the damage — allegedly caused by the Bureau of Land Management — which included holes in water tanks and destroyed water lines and fences. According to family friends, the bureau’s hired “cowboys” also killed two prize bulls.

“They had total control of this land for one week, and look at the destruction they did in one week,” said Corey Houston, friend of rancher Cliven Bundy and his family. “So why would you trust somebody like that? And how does that show that they’re a better steward?”

The BLM and other law enforcement officials backed down on Saturday in their effort to seize Bundy’s cattle, after hundreds of protesters, some armed, arrived to show support for the Bundy family. In the end, BLM officials left the scene amid concerns about safety, and no shots were fired.

The dispute between the feds and the Bundy family has been going on for years; they say he owes more than $1.1 million in unpaid grazing fees — and long ago revoked his grazing rights over concern for a federally protected tortoise. They sent officials to round up his livestock following a pair of federal court orders last year giving the U.S. government the authority to impound the cattle.

The feds, though, are being accused of taking the court orders way too far.

On a Friday night conference call, BLM officials told reporters that “illegal structures” on Bundy’s ranch — water tanks, water lines and corrals — had to be removed to “restore” the land to its natural state and prevent the rancher from restarting his illegal cattle operation.

However, the court order used to justify the operation appears only to give the agency the authority to “seize and impound” Bundy’s cattle.

“Nowhere in the court order that I saw does it say that they can destroy infrastructure, destroy corrals, tanks … desert environment, shoot cattle,” Houston said.

Bundy’s friends say the BLM wranglers told them the bulls were shot because they were dangerous and could gore their horses. One bull was shot five times.

But Houston said the pen holding the bull wasn’t even bent. “It’s not like the bull was smashing this pen and trying tackle people or anything,” he said. “The pen is sitting here. It hasn’t moved. No damage whatsoever. Where was the danger with that bull?”

Plus he said BLM vehicles appear to have crushed a tortoise burrow near the damaged water tank. “How’s that conservation?” he asked.

The BLM has not yet responded to a request for comment on these allegations.

Bundy has refused to pay the grazing fees or remove his cattle, and doesn’t even acknowledge the federal government’s authority to assess or collect damages.

The bureau has said if Bundy wasn’t willing to pay, then they would sell his cattle.

However, there was a problem with that plan — few in Nevada would touch Bundy’s cattle for fear of being blacklisted.

“The sale yards are very nervous about taking what in the past has been basically stolen cattle from the federal government,” Nevada Agriculture Commissioner Ramona Morrison said.

Documents show the BLM paid a Utah cattle wrangler $966,000 to collect Bundy’s cattle and a Utah auctioneer to sell them. However, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert refused to let Bundy cattle cross state lines, saying in a letter: “As Governor of Utah, I urgently request that a herd of cattle seized by the Bureau of Land Management from Mr. Cliven Bundy of Bunkerville, Nevada, not be sent to Utah. There are serious concerns about human safety and animal health and well-being, if these animals are shipped to and sold in Utah.”

That letter was sent three days before the BLM round-up, which is why the cattle were still being held Saturday in temporary pens just a few miles from Bundy’s ranch. Morrison says BLM was sitting on cattle because it had no way to get rid of them — setting up a potential tragedy as orphaned calves were not getting any milk and feed costs were about to skyrocket.

The showdown is far from over. The BLM says it will “continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially,” though Bundy still doesn’t recognize federal authority over the federal lands that he continues to use in violation of a court order. The federal judge who issued that decision says Bundy’s claims “are without merit.”

That order from October 2013 says Bundy owes $200 per day per head for every day he fails to move his cattle. That amounts to roughly $640 million in damages owed to the federal government for illegally grazing his cattle.

[Return to headlines]
 

Google’s Buyout of Drone Firm Titan Aerospace Sparks Spy Fears

Fears have been raised that Google’s £36m buyout of Titan Aerospace will allow the internet giant to snoop on people from great heights.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Judge Napolitano “Fearful” of What’s Coming Next in Bundy Dispute

Judge Andrew Napolitano told Fox News today that he was “fearful” of what might happen next in the Cliven Bundy dispute, noting that Senator Harry Reid’s assertion that the situation is “not over” could be an ominous sign.

“I’m actually a little fearful because although the government appears to have backed down now, their local mouthpiece Senator Harry Reid said it’s not over,” said Napolitano, referring to comments Reid made yesterday.

Napolitano again criticized the federal government’s heavy handed methods in the dispute, choosing to steal Bundy’s property rather than file a lien against him in order to claim the grazing fees they claim he owes.

The judge sees Reid inserting himself into the saga as a troubling indication, suggesting it’s a sign that the feds will “probably will move back in,” with a new “show of force,” but that they will be met by “ a lot of resistance from a lot of patriotic Americans who don’t like the federal government using guns to do what they should be doing with paper and pencil.”

Napolitano also pointed out that Reid’s former advisor Neil Kornze is now director of the Bureau of Land Management and that Reid “obviously has a personal and political relationship” with the dispute.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

NYPD Stands Down on Anniversary of Boston Marathon Bombing

By Robert Spencer

The New York Police Department announced Tuesday, the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon jihad attack, that it was disbanding a special unit that had been dedicated to watching for jihad terror threats in Muslim communities.

That’s good; after all, who ever heard of a Muslim staging a terror attack? And what better day to announce such news than the first anniversary of what New York officials evidently think is the last Islamic jihad attack ever on American soil?

[…]

Unless there is a massive change in both parties in Washington on how they think the jihad threat should be dealt with, this will not end well.

[That’s putting it gently. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Report: FBI Visiting Gun Shops to Investigate “People Talking About Big Government”

FBI counterterrorism agents are visiting gun shops in South Carolina to investigate “suspicious purchases” made by people who talk about “big government,” according to a new report.

Author Brandon Turbeville says he was approached by an individual who works in a Columbia, South Carolina gun shop to relate the story of how an FBI agent entered the store on Monday, showed his credentials, before proceeding to ask a series of stunning questions.

Telling the gun store worker he was tasked with visiting all the firearms outlets in the local area to check on “suspicious purchases” for counterterrorism purposes, the agent then began discussing what in actual fact were “completely normal transactions,” such as, “paying with cash, purchasing long guns, and other similarly innocuous behavior.”

The FBI agent then reportedly made a shocking remark that almost seems too chilling to believe.

“If you see some Middle Eastern guy come in, you don’t have to be so worried about that. What we’re really looking for are people talking about being sovereign such as sovereign citizens or people talking about big government,” the agent reportedly stated.

Before the agent left the store, he handed the employee a flyer which lists paying with cash, buying in bulk, along with other seemingly innocuous behavior as suspicious activity.

While there’s little chance of verifying the story since the FBI would almost certainly deny the claim, the notion of FBI agents charactering innocuous activity as a potential indication of terrorism is firmly established in the federal agency’s own literature and training procedures.

The FBI has also repeatedly labeled those who identify as “sovereign citizens” to be domestic terrorists.

In 2012, we reported on how the FBI’s Communities Against Terrorism (CAT) program was instructing businesses that banal activities conducted by millions of Americans on a daily basis were potential indications of terrorist activity.

Flyers for the program being handed out to businesses such as Internet cafes even listed paying for a cup of coffee with cash as a suspicious activity.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Satanic Temple Launches Campaign to ‘Protect’ Children and Permit Them to Pray to Satan

Satanists want in on the right to pray in school — as long as they can pray to the devil.

The Satanic Temple states that they are fighting for the rights of public school students to learn in a cruelty-free classroom.

In a press release, the NYC organisation declares May 15 as “Protect Children Day,” and describes a goal of ending physical and mental abuse in public schools.

After students register on Satanic Temple’s ProtectChildrenProject.com, “the Temple will then notify their respective school boards that their deeply held beliefs oppose physical and psychological abuses, including the use of corporal punishment, physical restraints, and isolation rooms as forms of punishment,” a press release states.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

US Postal Service Stocks Up on Guns and Ammo

Earlier this year Kit Daniels reported that the U.S. Postal Service is joining other alphabet federal agencies in stocking up on ammunition and firearms. It’s an alarming trend that has swept the nation over the last several years and one that Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Washington-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, calls “highly unusual.”

Conspiracy theories abound over the stockpiling of some two billion rounds of ammunition to date, leaving many wondering what the US government has in store for the American people.

Just last week, in the wake of the most recent Fort Hood shooting, mainstream media issued a report claiming that shooter Ivan Lopez was stockpiling weapons and ammo, when in fact he had purchased a single firearm and perhaps a few hundred rounds for it over a couple of visits to the gun store.

If his meager purchases are supposed to raise concerns with the American public and instill a sense of fear, then should we not be absolutely terrified of what our government is doing?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Veterans and White Supremacy

By Kathleen Belew

When Frazier Glenn Miller shot and killed three people in Overland Park, Kan., on Sunday, he did so as a soldier of the white power movement: a groundswell that united Klansmen, neo-Nazis and other fringe elements after the Vietnam War, crested with the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, and remains a diminished but potent threat today.

Mr. Miller, the 73-year-old man charged in the killings, had been outspoken about his hatred of Jews, blacks, Communists and immigrants, but it would be a mistake to dismiss him as a crazed outlier.

[…]

Vietnam veterans forged the first links between Klansmen and Nazis since World War II. They were central in leading Klan and neo-Nazi groups past the anti-civil rights backlash of the 1960s and toward paramilitary violence.

[…]

Before his 1979 discharge for distributing racist literature, Mr. Miller served for 20 years in the Army, including two tours in Vietnam and service as a Green Beret.

[…]

The report singled out one factor that has fueled every surge in Ku Klux Klan membership in American history, from the 1860s to the present: war. The return of veterans from combat appears to correlate more closely with Klan membership than any other historical factor.

[…]

That Mr. Miller was able to carry out an act of domestic terror at two locations despite his history of violent behavior should alarm anyone concerned about public safety. Would he have received greater scrutiny had he been a Muslim, a foreigner, not white, not a veteran? The answer is clear, and alarming.

[Yes, keep a close eye on those vile white veterans, and leave the poor innocent foreign Muslims alone! Trust the Old Grey Whore to run a hit piece like this one. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

An Imam’s View: Why Some Young Muslims Feel Disgruntled

Many Western Muslims feel they are straddling two worlds, says Shaykh Omar Subedar

Toronto-area imam Shaykh Omar Subedar knows young Muslims in Canada can become emotional when they see their fellow Muslims under attack in other countries. Maybe they watch video footage or news reports of drone strikes hitting people who have nothing do with the political unrest unfolding around them…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Britain First Invades Mega Mosques Across the North West

The latest “Day of Action” in the North West of England has seen our units visit multiple mega mosques as part of our campaign against Muslim grooming gangs.

Our fightback team visited mosques in Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale and Burnley as our campaign to raise awareness and pressure the Muslim community gathers pace.

Hundreds of items of literature were distributed to imams and residents of Muslim areas by our brave and resolute activists.

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]
 

EC Accuses Italy of New Infractions With ILVA Steel Plant

Brussels says nothing yet stopping pollution in south Italy

(ANSA) — Brussels, April 16 — The European Commission gave notice to Italy Wednesday of further infraction procedures involving the troubled steelmaker ILVA and the environmental-health scandal in the southern city of Taranto, an EC spokesperson said.

There are high levels of pollution in the region, and nothing has been done to stop it, the spokesperson said. Italy now has two months to respond to the EC’s new complaint.

The Taranto ILVA plant has been accused of violating directives on industrial emissions. The latest letter follows on Italy’s response late last year to EC concerns from September 2013.

That’s when the EC raised serious concerns about the troubled steelmaker ILVA, and apparent inaction on earlier directives and conditions it imposed on the plant, which has been blamed for a major environmental and health disaster over a number of years.

The EC warned then that it was opening an infraction procedure against Italy, and evaluating if Rome failed to apply European laws in the case.

ILVA has faced enormous problems in the past two years, leading to a decision by the Italian government to appoint a commissioner to take over management of the company’s ill-fated Taranto plant — the largest steel producer in Europe.

ILVA has been at the centre of political and legal battles since July 2012 when local magistrates ordered the partial closure of the Taranto plant due to serious health concerns.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

EU to Slash Plastic Bag Use by 80 Percent by 2019

The European Parliament has passed a directive aimed at cutting the use of thin, single-use plastic bags by 80 percent by 2019. Roughly eight billion of these bags end up as litter each year, polluting the environment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Senator Calls for Declassification of Chemtrail Documents

Have you noticed increased cases of Alzheimer’s and Autism? The CDC recently admitted that autism numbers have doubled in a decade and more than 5 million Americans have a form of dementia. While there are multiple contributors to these phenomenon, including the increased use of pesticides and herbicides, the decline of real food, and the degradation of our environment as a whole, it is likely chemtrails play a significant part in the cognitive decline of our nation as well.

Our politicians, however, refuse to comment on the subject, with the exception of a rogue informant often put swiftly back into his place by mainstream media and their puppeteers. Now, an Italian senator is demanding that important state secrets be declassified so that the world can understand what is really happening in the sky above.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Grillo Blames Press for Being Called an Anti-Semite

Urges Italians to dodge taxes like Berlusconi

(ANSA) — Rome, April 15 — Gadlfy comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo on Tuesday blamed the press for painting him as an anti-Semite, after he outraged Jewish leaders on Monday with a blog post in which he borrowed from a classic Holocaust memoir to attack opponents including Premier Matteo Renzi and President Giorgio Napolitano.

“Thanks to Italian media, I was dubbed a fuhrer by German papers,” the leader of the anti-establishment, anti-euro 5-Star Movement (M5S) told a Lower House press conference.

Grillo, whose blog is the fulcrum of his Internet-based political movement, titled his post ‘If This Is a Country’ — a play on Holocaust survivor Primo Levis’s classic work, If This Is a Man.

Levi, a Jewish-Italian writer, wrote his masterpiece memoir about the year he spent in the Nazi’s Auschwitz death camp after his arrest as a member of the Italian anti-Fascist Resistance during the Second World War.

Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, slammed Grillo’s post as an “infamous provocation…an obscenity about which one cannot be silent”.

The vitriol-tongued M5S leader proceeded to lash out at journalists, whom he blames for publishing what he calls “government lies”.

“How can you be asking such stupid questions? Newspapers are living on borrowed time: you’ll be looking for another job,” he promised them.

In a reference to the saga of tax-fraud convict and billionaire ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, who is being allowed to serve the remainder of his four-year suspended sentence doing community service, Grillo went on to urge Italians to dodge taxes.

“He dodged millions in taxes, and all he has to do is spend half an hour a week at a senior center. I tell everyone: go ahead and dodge as much as you can, it’s a good investment,” Grillo said.

“Berlusconi is banned from public office, but gets to meet with the president of the Republic (Giorgio Napolitano) anyway,” added the comedian, who is also banned from running for office after a 1980 vehicular manslaughter conviction for a car accident in which he was the driver and three passengers died. In spite of his conviction, Grillo has himself met with Napolitano after his M5S movement was catapulted to being the number-two party in the last general elections. Grillo also said the government’s proposed new election law, which is designed to produce a clear winner in the next national vote, is stillborn.

The so-called Italicum bill, stemming from an agreement between then-centre-left Democratic Party (PD) chief Matteo Renzi, now premier, and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, is slated to go to the Senate for scrutiny.

“The Italicum is a non-starter, because they know the M5S will vote it down,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, the leader of the anti-immigrant National Front (FN) party in France, Marine Le Pen, said she had approached Grillo about forming an alliance because he is among “those who are sincerely aware of the dramatic situation of our peoples thanks to the EU, and who want their country to return to sovereignty”.

Grillo turned the proposal down.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Renzi Shores up Berlusconi Reform Pact Amid PD Dissent

But split over PD minority’s blueprint played down

(ANSA) — Rome, April 15 — Premier Matteo Renzi on Tuesday shored up an electoral and Constitutional reform pact with ex-premier and conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi despite continued dissent from a minority faction in his Democratic Party (PD).

Renzi’s pact with Berlusconi for reforms to overhaul Italy’s slow-moving, costly political apparatus was described as “solid” by both sides after the pair met for talks late on Monday.

Renzi won the agreement of ex-premier Berlusconi for the reforms at a meeting in January, a month before he toppled Enrico Letta, his colleague in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), to become Italy’s youngest-ever premier at 39.

But in recent weeks there has been speculation that Berlusconi, the leader of the opposition centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party, could break the agreement.

Earlier this month the 77-year-old media magnate said parts of the government’s bill to change the Constitution to transform the Senate into a leaner assembly of local-government representatives with minimal lawmaking powers were “unacceptable”.

FI has also been grumbling about the fact that a bill for a new election system, which was also the result of an agreement between Renzi and Berlusconi, has not made progress in the Senate after clearing the Lower House.

But Berlusconi said that “the pact is solid” during a call to an FI fund-raising event after his meeting of over two hours with Renzi Monday.

He added that “there is an excellent personal relationship” between the men.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘Bunga Bunga Movement’ Among Parties in European Elections

Fourteen lists of candidates in northwest constituency

(ANSA) — Milan, April 16 — As many as 14 slates of candidates have registered to contest the European Parliament elections in Italy’s northwest constituency including a self-styled “Bunga Bunga Movement”, officials said Wednesday.

The ruling center-left Democratic Party’s list is led by Alessio Mosca, while the opposition center-right Forza Italia’s list will be spearheaded by Giovanni Toti, in competition with candidates from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the anti-immigrant Northern League.

The slates in the contest also include the New Centre Right, whose list is led by Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi and includes Milan provincial head Guido Podestà.

The rightist FdI party candidates include Alberto Torregiani, son of a jeweller, Pierluigi Torregiani, who was murdered during Italy’s turbulent “Years of Lead”.

Also a candidate, for the ‘Io cambio’ (I change) party is Davide Vannoni, creator of the discredited Stamina stem-cell therapy.

Candidates for the Bunga Bunga Movement, named after the wild sex parties reputedly enjoyed by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, are competing also with hopefuls from a pensioners’ party.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Rome Budget Chief Quits After Clash With Mayor — Update

Half a billion ‘hole’ partly filled by govt

(ANSA) — Rome, April 16 — Rome budget chief Daniela Morgante on Wednesday quit after weeks of squabbling with Mayor Ignazio Marino over a half-a-million-euro hole in the city’s finances. Marino blames the previous administration of right-winger Gianni Alemanno for the financial chasm but ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party says it dates back to a string of centre-left mayors.

The government was forced to step in to fill some of the hole after Marino warned the Italian capital would grind to a halt, menacing the canonisation of two popes later this month, unless it got a key capital injection. Last week the government passed its so-called ‘Save Rome’ decree after putting it to a confidence vote Thursday. The cabinet of Premier Matteo Renzi on February 28 approved the decree granting provisions for basic services in Rome after Marino’s warning.

Without the injection of funds Rome risked losing bus service, crucial road repairs, and even the ability to host the April 27 canonisation of popes John XXIII and John Paul II, according to Marino.

Renzi’s showdown with Marino, a member of his ruling Democratic Party, was one of his first big tests as premier since ousting PD colleague Enrico Letta in February.

Marino said Morgante’s departure will have no affect on the government’s 2014 budget. When asked if he now planned to restructure his administration, Marino had no comment.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Star Dust Casts Doubt on Recent Big Bang Wave Result

An imprint left on ancient cosmic light that was attributed to ripples in spacetime — and hailed by some as the discovery of the century — may have been caused by ashes from an exploding star.

In the most extreme scenario, the finding could suggest that what looked like a groundbreaking result was only a false alarm. Another possibility is that the stellar ashes could help bring the result in line with other cosmic observations. We should know which it is later this year, when researchers report new results from the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: ‘Segregated’ Annual Dinner at UEL Features Extreme Preachers

Last month Student Rights reported how ‘Annual Dinner’ events held by students from the University of Westminster and Brunel University had given platforms to extreme or intolerant speakers.

On Thursday this will be repeated at the University of East London, where the Islamic Society’s ‘Annual Dinner’ will feature Uthman Lateef and Murtaza Khan…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Five Dogs Poisoned in North London Park

Police are appealing for information after five dogs were poisoned in a north London park last month, resulting in the deaths of two of the animals. The dogs consumed discarded meat placed on the grass in Salmon Street, near Fryent Country Park in Brent last month…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: GCSEs and A-Levels ‘Scheduled to Take Account of Ramadan’

The umbrella body for exam boards confirms it is considering scheduling next year’s exams to take account of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, with tests taking place in the morning to benefit fasting pupils

Exam chiefs are considering scheduling GCSEs and A-levels to accommodate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, it was announced today. The Joint Council for Qualifications, which represents exam boards, said it could run large-entry tests in the morning to prevent Muslim pupils being forced to take them when they are hungry…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Iraqi Claimants ‘Conspired’ To Win Compensation Hand-Outs, Hears Inquiry

Ministry of Defence lawyers urges Al-Sweady inquiry to dismiss allegations of unlawful acts by British troops in Iraq, as it emerges key evidence was with-held by claimants’ lawyers

Iraqis who accused British troops of taking part in torture and unlawful killing were part of a conspiracy to win compensation payments and pervert the course of justice, a public inquiry has heard.

Lawyers for the Ministry of Defence and British personnel in the long-running Al-Sweady inquiry said nine Iraqis who made the claims had “exaggerated” their accounts and were driven by financial motives…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Lutfur Rahman and Police Denials Fall Apart: There is a Criminal Investigation of Tower Hamlets

by Andrew Gilligan

The Metropolitan Police today stated that there was “no credible evidence” in files about Lutfur Rahman’s Tower Hamlets Council supplied by the BBC’s Panorama programme “to suspect that fraud or any other offence has been committed at this stage. Therefore the MPS will not be investigating at this point in time.”

Rahman, the extremist-linked mayor of Tower Hamlets, and his council have understandably been crowing about this statement today. The statement “is to be welcomed,” the council said. Rahman tweeted that there was “no evidence” of fraud. Rahman-friendly media outlets such as The Guardian newspaper have been carrying the statement prominently.

There’s only one problem — it’s not true. There is a criminal investigation. And the BBC files do form part of it…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: More Giant Rats ‘The Size of Small Cats’ Pictured by Worried Homeowners

Fears are growing that the UK is headed for an epidemic of monstrous rodents as pictures of giant rats continue to emerge.

One image, reportedly reportedly taken in Cornwall, shows a giant rat being held up by its tail — and the man holding it is 6ft 1in, giving a sense of its horrifying scale.

It comes as a giant rat was caught in Liverpool, measuring two feet long from its nose to its tail…

Mr Whelan said: ‘The rats that we’re seeing in the city used to be the ones roaming round the countryside, in agriculture, out on farms, but they’ve migrated to towns — now they live in the city.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Police Have Dismissed Evidence of Alleged Criminality in Tower Hamlets LBC Which Was Passed to Them by Eric Pickles.

The communities secretary sent material to the Metropolitan Police Service following allegations of impropriety by the administration of elected mayor Lutfur Rahman (Ind), made by the BBC’s Panorama programme earlier this month…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Tower Hamlets Bails Out 2,500 Families Hit by ‘Bedroom Tax’

Thousands of families in London’s deprived East End have lost an average of £1,000 since the government’s controversial ‘Bedroom Tax’ was brought in a year ago.

The reduction of housing allowance for every spare bedroom has hit 2,510 households, according to latest figures from the Department of Works and Pensions. Tower Hamlets Council has spent almost £3 million protecting the most vulnerable from the impact of welfare reform and soften the blow.

The local authority has made sure 1,157 of the most affected households could avoid rent arrears, which can lead to evictions. Residents losing an average of £84 a week from the Benefit Cap were also supported with £800,000 from the Town Hall. Up to £1 million has been made available to help homeless families in temporary accommodation who were hit by the Benefit Cap…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Wales: Caught on CCTV: Brazen Burglar Walks Along Street Trying Cars and Front Doors

A brazen burglar was captured on CCTV trying car doors and attempting to walk into houses in a Cardiff street.

Moments later Lewis Evan Wood got lucky when he walked through the front door of an unlocked home and snatched a handbag, wallet and mobile phone as the owners slept.

The 24-year-old then fled in the homeowners’ green Ford C Max car — which he later flipped during a 70mph police chase after being spotted at the wheel of the stolen vehicle.

Wood, from Rumney, Cardiff, is now behind bars for three years and eight months after being rescued from the car and later convicted of offences including burglary and dangerous driving.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt Jails More Than 100 Muslim Brotherhood Supporters

Legal sources in Egypt say a court in Cairo has jailed at least 119 members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group was convicted in relation to violence after the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Dozens of Palestinians Injured in Temple Mount Clashes

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, APRIL 16 — Dozens of Palestinians were injured on Wednesday in clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, according to Palestinian news agency Maan. Police closed the site after the riots.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hadas Mizrahi: ‘With the Shriek of a Bullet, I Lost the Love of My Life’

Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi, who was killed by gunfire in a terror attack near Hebron while en route to a family Passover Seder, was laid to rest Wednesday afternoon at the Mount Herzl military cemetery.[…]

Hadas Mizrahi, the late officer’s pregnant wife, who was moderately injured in the attack, was released from the hospital for the funeral.

“Instead of growing old together and watching the seasons pass, with the shriek of a bullet, I lost the love of my life,” the bereaved Hadas eulogized.[…]

“The children are crying and cannot believe it,” she added.

“Who will teach them dedication and perseverance? Who will provide them with the personal example, which, even in your last moments, you gave them?”

[Religion of peace my A*** — MC]

           — Hat tip: MC [Return to headlines]
 

36 Killed, 53 Wounded in Violent Attacks Across Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 16 (Xinhua) — Thirty-six people were killed and 53 others wounded in separate attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medical source said.

In Anbar province, two suicide bombers blew up their explosive- laden cars into two checkpoints at the entrance of a compound including Anbar Operations Command in the northern part of the provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blasts killed five soldiers and three policemen, and wounded seven others, the source said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq: At Least 16 Killed in Falluja

Army pounds Sunni militia

(ANSA) — Baghdad, April 16 — At least 16 people were killed and 19 wounded by Iraqi army mortar fire in the Iraq city of Falluja Wednesday, hospital sources said.

The mortars fell on civilian parts of the city occupied by Sunni insurgents for over three months, they said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Jordan Destroys Vehicles Crossing Over From Syria, Amman Says

Jordan’s army and state television say warplanes have destroyed a number of vehicles crossing over the border from Syria. Arms smuggling across the border has risen sharply over the past year, according to Amman.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

KSA Toughens Stance on Illegals

Saudi Arabia on Monday announced tough punishment for expats violating the country’s residency, labor and business regulations. Punishment includes fines up to SR100,000, a jail term for up to two years, a recruitment ban and deportation.

The move targets foreigners who have come to the Kingdom on work, visit, Haj and Umrah visas, and have overstayed their visas, the Interior Ministry said. “Punishment will be increased depending on the number of violations and individuals involved, while violating expats will be deported and prevented from entering the Kingdom for a specific period,” the ministry said in a statement. “Those arrested for violations will not be released, even on bail.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Court Shuts Down Liberal Forum

Forum founder Raif Badawi is already purging a seven-year sentence for violating Islamic teachings and criticising prominent religious figures. Meanwhile, King Abdullah continues to push for reforms to the country’s legal system and greater transparency in sentencing.

Jeddah (AsiaNews/Agencies) — A court in Jeddah has ordered a liberal internet forum shut down permanently for publishing what it described as anti-Islamic material.

The court’s decision comes less than nine months after the editor of the Free Saudi Liberals website, Raif Badawi, was sentenced to seven years in jail and 600 lashes for setting up a forum that violated Islamic values.

International human rights groups and activists inside Saudi Arabia reacted to the decision saying that the kingdom’s authorities are seeking to curb domestic political, religious and social dissent. The government denies there is a crackdown.

A number of Saudi news websites attributed the Jeddah court’s ruling due to “the subjects and comments that had been published in the past in violation of the teachings of the religion (Islam) and which had stirred controversy.”

Back in July, Saudi media reported that Badawi, who was arrested in June 2012, was convicted for setting up an internet forum that violated Islamic values and propagated liberal thought.

His website had included articles that were critical of senior religious figures like the Grand Mufti.

In recent years, Saudi King Abdullah has pushed for reforms to the legal system, including improved training for judges and the introduction of precedent to standardise verdicts and make courts more transparent.

Saudi Arabia strictly adheres to the Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Sharia (Islamic law).

Judges traditionally base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law rather than on a written legal code or on precedent.

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

I’m Confused, Can Anyone Help Me?

I’m confused. A few weeks ago we were told in the West that people occupying government buildings in Ukraine was a very good thing. These people, we were told by our political leaders and elite media commentators, were ‘pro-democracy protestors’.

The US government warned the Ukrainian authorities against using force against these ‘pro-democracy protestors’ even if, according to the pictures we saw, some of them were neo-Nazis who were throwing Molotov cocktails and other things at the police and smashing up statues and setting fire to buildings.

Now, just a few weeks later, we’re told that people occupying government buildings in Ukraine are not ‘pro-democracy protestors’ but ‘terrorists’ or ‘militants’.

Why was the occupation of government buildings in Ukraine a very good thing in January, but it is a very bad thing in April? Why was the use of force by the authorities against protestors completely unacceptable in January, but acceptable now? I repeat: I’m confused. Can anyone help me?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pro-Russian Militants ‘Disarm Ukraine Tanks’

Six vehicles in eastern Ukraine seized says defence ministry

(ANSA) — Rome, April 16 — Pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday seized six Ukrainian armoured vehicles, the defence ministry in Kiev announced. Ukraine soldiers manning the vehicles were reportedly disarmed after the tanks were blocked in the city of Kramatorsk. The incident cames a day after Kiev began an “anti-terrorist” operation to remove pro-Russian secessionists from public buildings across eastern Ukraine. NATO is increasing activity in member states bordering Russia, which has massed troops on its neighbour’s borders.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Putin Says Ukraine ‘On Brink of War’ As Kiev Evicts Separatists

Tensions ran high in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as the government launched what it called an “anti-terrorist operation” to evict pro-Russian separatists who had seized several local administration buildings in the region in recent days.

Ukraine’s acting President Olexander Turchinov announced the start of an “anti-terrorist operation” against separatists in the eastern Donetsk region.

Gunfire was reported at the local air base Kramatorsk, one of about 10 towns and cities where pro-Russia factions have occupied government buildings. The town’s mayor later said that Ukrainian forces were now in control of the base.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the escalation of the conflict has put Ukraine “on the verge of civil war”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Six Ukrainian Armored Vehicles Seized in Kramatorsk, Kyiv Says

According to Ukraine’s defense ministry, six armored vehicles were taken by pro-Russian militants in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. There are also reports of defections to the separatists’ side.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Those Who Don’t Lay Arms, Will be Destroyed — Ukrainian Military Op Commander

Kiev authorities launched a military operation against anti-government protesters in the East of the former Soviet republic.

The military operation is a “huge mistake” committed by the interim government in Kiev, a political commentator from London, Aleksandr Nekrassov, believes. He argues that negotiations between authorities and Kiev and leaders of the protest movement in the east of Ukraine are the only way to prevent the crisis from escalating into a civil war.

“Unfortunately the people in Kiev at the moment are listening to the advice given to them by CIA agents and people from the EU, they are not listening to reason,” Nekrassov told RT. “They have been very vocal in blaming president Yanukovich for ordering his police to clash with demonstrators and claiming that he ordered to shoot people. Well, now, they’re on the receiving end. Now they are doing things they were accusing Yanukovich of. They should realize they will be held responsible.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine: Investors Not Warming Up to Future War Bonds Issue

In addition to Defense Ministry’s fundraising drive that has raised Hr 100 million as of April 15, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance is about to issue internal war bonds worth Hr 1.1 billion to support the nation’s military.

During World War I, Austro-Hungary and Canada issued special military bonds to finance their armies.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine on the Brink of Civil War, Putin Warns Merkel

(AGI) Moscow, April 16 — Ukraine is on the brink of civil war, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a telephone call. Although the German government emphasised that the two countries took different views, both leaders underlined the importance of the four-party talks to be held in Geneva tomorrow between Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States. A Kremlin press service official said: “Hope has been expressed that the parties at the meeting in Geneva will manage to convey a clear message that helps to steer the situation onto a peaceful course.” .

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

Ukraine Troops Sent to Fight Anti-Government Activists Switch Sides & Join Pro-Russians

The personnel of six armored transport vehicles sent to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk have switched sides and have joined the pro-federalist activists, witnesses told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

Image: Ukraine Troops (Wiki Commons).

“We found them at a square near the railway station. A group of women surrounded them, we started telling them we were peaceful residents who are just fighting for their rights and that there are no terrorists here,” the witness said, adding: “They won’t shoot us.”

“The main armored transport vehicle had a Russian flag on it and they left together with our [protesters] towards Slaviansk,” the witness said.

The number of personnel from the transport vehicles was not specified.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistani Taliban End Truce With Government But Vow to Continue Peace Talks

The Pakistani Taliban have refused to extend a ceasefire with the government, introduced to help peace negotations. However they insist talks will continue.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Adverse Weather Threatens Day Two of South Korean Ferry Rescue Efforts

South Korean coastguards and navy divers are scrambling to search for nearly 280 people missing after a ferry’s sudden capsize. Forecasts of rain, strong winds and fog could hamper their race to locate any survivors.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Abuja Blast Linked to UK White Widow

British international terrorist, ‘White Widow,’ real name Samantha Lewthwaite, may be the mastermind behind the horrific Monday attack in Nyanya, near Abuja.

While nobody has officially claimed responsibility 48 hours after the blast, UK security sources, according to reports, fear the bombing may have been a revenge attack for the death of Lewthwaite’s mentor — al-Shabaab terror chief Makaburi, A. K. A. Sheikh Abubakar Shariff Ahmed — two weeks ago…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Borno Monarch, 19 Others in Fresh Attacks

About 20 villagers including a monarch were killed after gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists, attacked two villages in different parts of Borno state on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, security sources and witnesses said.

In one of the attacks, the gunmen on Wednesday morning at about 7 a.m. stormed Wala Village, killing 18 villagers and injuring several others. Wala Village is in Gwoza Local Government Area, some 130 km southwest of Maiduguri, the Borno capital…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: 15 Feared Killed in Fresh Violence in Wukari, Taraba

About fifteen persons were killed in a fresh round of violence in Wukari Town of Taraba State while several property were also destroyed, residents have said. A known resident, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES over the phone but sought anonymity for security reasons, said sporadic gunshots were heard from Monday night to early Tuesday morning…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Brazil 2014: Al-Azhar Grand Imam to Speak at World Cup Ceremony

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb has received an invitation from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to give a speech on peace and violence at the 2014 World Cup opening ceremony, taking place in Brazil in July. El-Tayeb was handed the invitation on Tuesday by Brazil’s ambassador in Cairo, Marco Brando.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

About 127,000 to Immigrate to Sweden in 2014

STOCKHOLM, April 15 (Xinhua) — The Swedish Central Statistics Bureau on Tuesday said an estimated 127,000 immigrants were expected to come to Sweden this year, mainly due to conflicts in Syria.

“The high rate of immigration in recent years is expected to continue, mainly due to the political instability in different parts of the world,” the report read. “The civil war in Syria is, above all, expected to affect migration to Sweden in the near future,” it added…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Six Killed as Refugee Boat Sinks Off Aegean Sea of Turkey

ANKARA, April 16 (Xinhua) — Six Syrian migrants were killed and seven others were missing on Wednesday when a boat illegally carrying 16 Syrian nationals to Greece sank off the Aegean Sea of western Turkey, local Dogan News Agency reported…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Study Finds More Immigrants Equals More Democrats — — And More Losses for GOP

“The enormous flow of legal immigrants into the country — 29.5 million from 1980 to 2012 — has remade and continues to remake the nation’s electorate in favor of the Democratic Party,” concludes a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes comprehensive reform proposals like the Senate “Gang of Eight” bill. “As the immigrant population has grown, Republican electoral prospects have dimmed, even after controlling for alternative explanations of GOP performance.”

In the report, author James Gimpel, a University of Maryland professor, looks at the immigrants who have come to the United States in recent decades and those likely to come in the future. Through a lot of complicated statistical analysis and close reading of previous studies, he comes to the same conclusion as anyone who has looked through exit polls in the last 30 years: Immigrants tend to vote Democratic.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘The Five’: Why Do Liberals Hate Bundy for Dodging Taxes When Illegal Immigrants Do the Same?

The left has furiously attacked Bundy since the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrew their forces from the Nevada rancher’s land following a tense standoff that nearly resulted in armed conflict between police officers and militia members.

“I don’t feel sorry for the guy at all,” liberal co-host Bob Beckel said. “He’s a tax dodge. He oughta be indicted.”

“Do you feel the same about Al Sharpton?” Perino replied. “Al Sharpton owes $1.9 million, and the president did an event with him praising him just last Friday.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ireland: Journalist Describes Threats, Nightmare for Christian View of Traditional Marriage

The once-predominately Christian nation of Ireland has now become stridently intolerant of Christian views, according to a nationally known columnist who supports traditional marriage.

The Emerald Isle’s free speech has come under increasing attack by the militant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — to the point where gay marriage opponent John Waters may be forced to leave, according to Breitbart News London.

Obscene verbal attacks against Waters began soon after he threatened to sue state-owned broadcaster RTE after a drag queen named “Panti Bliss” called him and other conservative commentators “homophobic.”

Although the network settled the matter out of court, it refused to say its statements made were “without foundation.” Apparently, the point is that those who object to gay marriage must be against gays.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Man Who Murdered British Teenager Cannot by Deported Because He is Gay, Judge Rules

An illegal immigrant who murdered a British teenager less than a year after he arrived in the UK cannot be deported — because he is gay — a senior judge has ruled. The 29-year-old killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been released from jail, after Lord Justice Maurice Kay said that sending him back to Jamaica would violate his human rights as a homosexual…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

White Babies Just 15 Months Old Show Racial Bias When Picking Playmates, Study Found

Toddlers show racial bias when picking playmates, a study reveals. They also take account of how fairly others behave. Researchers tested the reaction of white 15-month-olds as toys were distributed.

The researchers say this implies that babies can take into account both race and social history when deciding which person would make a better playmate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

1240 Scientists Demand Seralini GMO Study be Republished, Will Not be Suppressed

Over 1240 scientist signatories have demanded that a study previously published on the toxic effects of GMO maize and RoundUp that was retracted by the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT) be reinstated. This is a massive backlash against an industry that has tried to silence well-qualified scientists from publishing the truth about GMOs.

These scientists and others plan to boycott Elsevier -a ‘world-leading provider of scientific information — until the journal, FCT, reinstates a study carried out by Gilles Eric Séralini et al., which was been debated throughout scientific and non-scientific circles alike.

Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini is a biologist at the University of Caen. He published a study on GMOs which clearly showed how damaging they were to health, and pointing out that “Agricultural GMOs do not exist independently of pesticides.” That study can be found here.

One scientist said:

“The suppression of scientific evidence for commercial gain should be punishable by criminal charges. The tobacco companies got away with this for nearly 30 years before the world woke up to the problem, and even then the response was insufficient. The risks posed by the epigenetic response of plant DNA to foreign genes is potentially catastrophic, and the precautionary principle should apply. Censoring science is playing with peoples lives.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Importance of the Prophet’s Sunnah

As the Qur’an is revelation of Allah to Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Sunnah likewise — not a third of it; not half of it; not two-thirds of it; not three-fourths of it; and not nine-tenths of it — all of it is the second revelation of Allah to His Messenger (peace be upon him). The Most High has said: “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it), and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment.” (Qur’an, 59:7)

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

New Wind, Solar Power Cheaper Than Nuclear Option, Study Shows

New wind and solar plants generate cheaper low-carbon electricity than the latest nuclear reactors, a study shows, indicating they will lead a global push for green energy.

Newly built wind and solar with natural-gas as a backup can make power a fifth cheaper than nuclear backed by gas, the study by consultant Prognos AG shows. Excluding the backup generation, renewables produce power 50 percent cheaper than nuclear, according to the study. Gas-fired power may be used when demand exceeds generation available from wind and solar.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/16/2014

  1. Newly built wind and solar with natural-gas as a backup can make power a fifth cheaper than nuclear backed by gas, the study by consultant Prognos AG shows. Excluding the backup generation, renewables produce power 50 percent cheaper than nuclear, according to the study. Gas-fired power may be used when demand exceeds generation available from wind and solar.

    Absolute, total, b.s.

    One day if I ever find the time, I will get a copy of that study and give it a good Fisk treatment. I work in the energy field (in particular commercial energy efficiency improvements) and will tell everyone here.. if it wasn’t for the subsidies (which includes mandated green energy use, which drives electrical rates to the moon), wind and solar would be dead overnight.

    In addition, the variability of wind and solar is playing hell with the grid. An example from Germany:

    http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/instability-in-power-grid-comes-at-high-cost-for-german-industry-a-850419.html

    • And this despite Germany’s importing (nuclear) electricity from France (as do we in the UK, but we’re not hypocritical about it).

      • This is not my area of expertise, but I wonder about the long-long range costs of nuclear, e.g., the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants when they have exceeded their useful age (are they very “hot” at that point?), the costs–not to mention the safety–of storing the spent fuel, etc. (Regarding the latter, who knows what the landscape will look like thousands of years from now and whether or not anyone will know or remember where the nuclear wastes are stored? Are we creating massive problems for our descendants?) Just wondering.

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