President Obama is seeking congressional approval for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to help the federal government deal with the crisis on the southern border. The money would be used to hire more border guards, increase surveillance at the border, and help agencies cope with the flood of unaccompanied illegal child immigrants until they can be deported.
In other news, a British peer in the House of Lords says that more people should marry Muslims as a practical method of combating Islamophobia.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, Wulf Kurtoglu, 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.
French Jobs Summit Hit as Unions Walk Out
French President François Hollande’s hopes of thrashing out a deal to create more jobs were scuppered when two unions said they would boycott an annual jobs summit on Tuesday. The labour groups accused Hollande of siding with employers.
A summit aimed at creating half a million badly needed jobs in France got off to a rocky start on Monday, with two major labour organisations saying they would boycott the event.
President François Hollande opened the two-day conference, where he hopes to hammer out a deal to create more jobs to lower France’s record unemployment in return for corporate tax and benefit cuts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italians Eat Less Meat and Go to Discount Stores
(AGI) Rome, July 8 — The food expenditure of Italian households in 2013 fell slightly to 461 euros a month from 468, reported statistics agency ISTAT. Workers on low incomes and couples with children tightened their belts most. The number of households reducing the quality and amount of food purchased rose to 65 percent in 2013 from 62.3 percent in 2012 and numbers going to hard discount outlets rose to 14.4 percent from 12.3 percent. Meat consumption was particularly hard hit, with households spending 3.2 percent less.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Nearly 7 Million Pensioners Have Less Than 1000 Euro Monthly
Italian pension system ‘sustainable’ INPS report says
(ANSA) Rome, July 8 — As many as 6.8 million pensioners have to survive on gross pre-tax pensions of less than 1,000 euro a month and 2 million of those live on less than 500 euro monthly, Italy’s INPS pension agency disclosed Tuesday.
In its annual report for 2013 INPS also disclosed that the number of pensioners cashing in their pension entitlement for a lump sum of cash has fallen dramatically following changes in the rules under the Fornero reforms.
Cashing in of pensions by private pension scheme holders fell by 32% in 2013 compared with 2012 for people taking early retirement and by 57% by people entitled to old age pensions.
Inps itself registered a negative balance of 9.9 billion euros for 2013 due in large part to the financial woes of Inpdap. Inps net wealth was registered at as much as 7.5 billion euro, however, an improvement thanks to the stability law.
Therefore, the Inps report said, “the sustainability of the pension system” is not at risk in Italy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Businesses Stay Open Later for Fasting Muslims
DEARBORN & DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Ramadan restricts Muslims from enjoying their favorite restaurants and cafes during their 17-hour daily fasts. However, Muslims in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights have the convenience of several businesses that offer extended hours…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
by Diana West
The incorrect review was gone, or so they thought.
But Ruth King, the early bird at Ruthfully Yours, had already posted it, unknowingly saving it for posterity.
I mention this to mark the beginning of the Rado-Horo eruptions against American Betrayal. Like an active volcano, the two men still spew, as evidenced by the statements awkwardly appended to a recently attempted exegesis of their beef with my book. It’s all bitter ash and smoke at this point, but it does continue to draw the curious eye. Oh, and that’s “cockamamie” with two m’s, guys.
In honor of the day, then, the review that went Ka-Boom:…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Verruckt: Designer of Tallest Slide Takes the Plunge
The countdown continues for the opening of Verrückt — the world’s tallest water slide — in Kansas City, Kansas, at Schlitterbahn water park. After multiple delays and test runs, the ride is still undergoing refinements, and at this point there is no scheduled opening date.
Verrückt, which means “insane” in German, towers 17-stories above the ground at 168 feet, 7 inches, and is taller than both Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty from toes to torch. It promises to be a daredevil blockbuster.
“John and I were the first people down; I’m still recovering mentally,” says Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts co-owner Jeff Henry, who created Verrückt with Schlitterbahn senior designer John Schooley. “It’s like jumping off the Empire State Building. It’s the scariest thing I’ve done.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Boots Out SA’s ‘White Refugee’
The South African man who sought refuge in Canada by saying he feared persecution from blacks, has lost his latest bid to remain in that country.
The Canadian Federal Court has upheld the decision of the Immigration and Refugee Board which refused to grant Brandon Huntley refugee status.
He had claimed he could not return to South Africa as whites were “targeted, attacked and killed because of their skin colour”. He also said he did not trust the South African judiciary and that legislation only “theoretically” provided recourse for addressing persecution, hence his application for refugee status.
Judge Catherine Kane ruled this week that refugee protection is considered a substitute protection in the event of a country failing to provide protection and that Huntley had failed to provide evidence that he would not get such protection in his home country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
British Jihadists Caught After Parents Inform Police
Mohammed Nahin Ahmed and Yusuf Zubair Sarwar arrested after fighting in Syria after concerned family asked police for help
Two British jihadists who fought in Syria were caught on their return after their parents alerted the police. Childhood friends Mohammed Nahin Ahmed and Yusuf Zubair Sarwar, both 22, spent eight months in the war-torn country last year fighting with a notorious terror group…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: Wife-Carrying Title Goes to Vantaa, Britons Score Silver
The tongue-in-cheek contest has been held annually since 1992 in the North Savo town of Sonkajärvi, just north of Iisalmi. This year it attracted competitors from as far afield as Mexico and Australia.
A new couple has won the Wife-Carrying World Championships in eastern Finland for the first time in half a dozen years. The new titleholders are the husky Ville Parviainen and the petite Janette Oksman from Vantaa. They vowed to win next year’s 20th anniversary race as well.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: 45% of Reports on Would-be Jihadists Concern Women
More men end up in Syria due to ‘cultural tendencies’
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, JULY 8 — A hotline set up by the French government in late April to collect reports on would-be jihadists seeking to join the battle in Syria received over 200 calls in its first two months, with over 45% of the tip-offs concerning women. Most of the women were French nationals. According to French intelligence experts quoted by Le Figaro, there are between 100 and 150 French women among the ranks of extremist jihadists fighting in Syria, accounting for a third of total combatants from France. However, almost one half of the reports were on women, possibly due to ‘cultural tendencies’. “The parents of these families”, most of which Muslims from disadvantaged areas, “are more careful about their daughters than they are about their sons,” said former internal secret services chief Alain Chouet. Boys in these communities enjoy “broader freedoms”, he noted, enabling them to more easily end up close to radical Islamic factions and arrange a trip to Syria.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Governor Errani Resigns After Fraud Conviction
(ANSA) — Bologna, July 8 — Emilia-Romagna Governor Vasco Errani resigned Tuesday after an appeals court convicted him of fraud, sentencing him to a year in prison. Errani proclaimed his innocence and said he will appeal to the supreme Cassation Court. Emilia-Romagna will now have to elect a new governor.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Meet the Next President of the European Commission
by Soeren Kern
“When it becomes serious, you have to lie.” — Jean-Claude Juncker.
“We decide on something, leave it lying around, and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don’t understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back.” — Jean-Claude Juncker.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Schiphol Enhances Checks for Electronic Devices
Passengers flying direct to the US will from Tuesday have to show their electronic devices can be switched on during security checks, Amsterdam Schiphol airport has announced.
The extra security check includes all battery-operated equipment such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, cameras, e-readers and games consoles.
If the device cannot be switched on — perhaps because the battery is empty — then it cannot be taken on board, Schiphol said.
It comes at the request of the US authorities who want devices switched on to show they do not contain explosives.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Police Want to Know How to Down Mini-Drones
The justice ministry and the national police force are looking for a way of taking mini-drones out of the air from a distance.
A ministry spokesperson told Dutch media that these small unmanned aerial vehicles could pose a threat to aviation and the police need a way of overriding their controls and landing them.
There is also a fear they could be used by terrorists to transport explosives and detonate them.
To this end, they are inviting companies to come up with solutions.
Mini-drones are mainly used to take aerial photos or film but they could also be useful for instance for transporting certain goods and for farmers wanting to survey their farmland.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Polar Bear Death Camp Accused of Poor Safety
An inquest, investigating the case of an English schoolboy mauled to death by a polar bear during an Arctic Circle trek in Norway, found the organizers used a paper clip to secure trip wire that may have caused the tragedy.
Horatio Chappie, 17, was on an adventure holiday in Svalbard, northern Norway, when a bear came into the camp, took him from his tent while he slept, and killed him.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian FM in Slovenia to Discuss Gas Pipeline
(AGI) Moscow, July 8 — Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has arrived in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, for talks with local authorities on the future of South Stream, the gas pipeline project. The pipeline supplies methane gas from Russia to Europe, avoiding Ukraine. However, its construction clashes with European laws and political directions.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Barcelona Debates Turning an Abandoned Bullring Into a Mosque
Many European cities have managed to restrict large worship spaces for Muslims, and this plan is also likely to be controversial.
One of Spain’s largest bullrings could soon start an unlikely new life as a mosque. That might sound like a strange metamorphosis, but the city of Barcelona is currently considering plans suggested last month by the Emir of Qatar to convert Barcelona’s Plaza Monumental into a place of prayer for up to 4,000 worshippers…
[JP note: Forty thousand congregants not four thousand.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: 20 Establishment Figures ‘In Elite Paedophile Ring’
Former child protection manager says there are up to 20 prominent public figures in alleged paedophile ring covering Parliament and judiciary
Judges, peers and MPs are among 20 prominent public figures who abused children for decades, a former child protection manager has said. Peter McKelvie, who worked on the conviction of paedophile Peter Righton, said there was a “powerful elite” of paedophiles who carried out “the worst form” of abuse. There is evidence linking the former politicians to an alleged paedophile network, he said.
Lord Warner, the former health minister, said the allegations were credible…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Christians Should Marry Muslims to Tackle Islamophobia, Says Peer
CHRISTIANS should be encouraged to marry Muslims as a way of tackling Islamophobia, a senior peer claimed today.
Lord Scott, a former Supreme Court Judge, cited his own family — in which two of his four children married Muslims — as an example of how interfaith families can thrive.
The peer, who sits as a crossbencher in the Lords, made the comments during a debate on how to improve relations between the Muslim community and other faith groups in the UK.
He said: “Of my two sons one has become a Muslim and of my two daughters one of those has become a Muslim, and I have 12 lovely grandchildren, seven of whom are little Muslims.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: How Treachery Has Changed Since the Fifties
The threat now comes from radical mosques and the Islamist societies of provincial universities, not dissolute communist dreamers from Cambridge at the Foreign Office
The Cambridge Five were no master spies, we learn; the Mitrokhin files from Soviet intelligence reveal that they were wary of some of them for being unreliable drunks. Guy Burgess was careless with files he had removed from the Foreign Office for copying; Donald Maclean was given to speaking rashly when in liquor…
[Reader comment by nonono on 8 July 2014.]
How about Mr Heath who gave away the country after telling lies — Oxbridge
How about Clarke, Heseltine and Howe — Oxbridge.
Oxbridge has caused more damage to Britain than have all of the world’s mosques combined.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamic Threat is Exaggerated by ‘Oxygen of Publicity, ‘ Says Former MI6 Chief
The former head of British intelligence warned that the threat of ‘pathetic’ British jihadis is being given undue attention in the government and media, a message that is at variance with that of UK PM David Cameron.
Addressing the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defense think-tank, Sir Richard Dearlove, the former MI6 director, said the problem of Islamist extremism today has only “marginally affected” the West, yet the government and media were exaggerating the threat of Islamic fundamentalism by vilifying “misguided young men, rather pathetic figures,” who were gaining free publicity beyond “their wildest dreams.”
“It is surely better to ignore them,” he advised…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Mosque Vandalised in Suspected Racial Attack
Yobs have damaged a mosque in a suspected racially motivated act of vandalism. Cheshire Police confirmed they are investigating the “racially aggravated criminal damage” which was committed at the Mosque on Arpley Street in Warrington town center.
At around 11.30pm on Monday, police received a call that two men “were shouting racist abuse and smashing windows at the mosque” while the occupants were inside…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslims and Jews Host Ramadan Meal to ‘Inspire Peace’
In what’s believed to be the first event of its kind, Muslims in North West London have been invited to break their Ramadan fast at a Jewish synagogue.
The meal, known as the “iftar” took place at sunset in a Golders Green synagogue.
BBC Radio 5 live’s Victoria Derbyshire heard from Muslims and Jews who attended the meal, who told her they hoped the event would inspire peace around the world.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Appeal in Port Talbot Mosque Trainer Theft
POLICE are appealing for help after two pairs of trainers were stolen from a Mosque.
Port Talbot officers need information about a suspect’s identity and have released a CCTV image of a man in the Oakwood Lane building. The incident happened at the religious building between 3am and 4am on Sunday, June 29, when two pairs of trainers were stolen.
Two suspects were seen to enter the building and take the trainers while members of the Mosque were in the prayer hall…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Westminster Paedophile Ring Allegations: Home Office Ordered to Hand Over More Details
Home Affairs Select Committee demands titles of 114 missing files as retired senior judge appointed to lead major new inquiry
MPs have ordered the Home Office to hand over the titles of the missing 114 child abuse files by the end of the week, as it emerged the original documents have almost certainly been destroyed.
It emerged at the weekend that a Home Office internal investigation had been unable to trace the files which are thought to contain allegations of child abuse by politicians and other high-profile figures…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
EU-Morocco: A Step Further in the Mobility Partnership
A project to support the Mobility Partnership between the EU and Morocco was launched last week in the Moroccan capital Rabat. The ceremony was the occasion to present the innovative approach of the project, which provides technical support to government policies aimed at mobilising Moroccans living abroad for development, through a stronger cooperation between European and Moroccan public administrations. The project will last three years and benefits from a €5 million grant from the EU.
The project’s methodology, based on peer exchange, will strengthen synergies between Moroccan and European public policies and will seek to optimize the positive effects that migration brings to Morocco and to the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Arab Football Fans Turn to Israel TV for World Cup
With the World Cup in faraway Brazil coming at a time of unprecedented sectarian violence and soaring tension in the Middle East, some Arab football fans have been reduced to watching matches in secret or even — and this is where it gets complicated — on a TV channel owned by Israel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Rockets Land Deep in Israel as it Bombards Gaza
(Reuters) — At least 20 people were killed across Gaza on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, by a bombardment Israel said may be just the start of a lengthy offensive against Islamist militants whose rockets reached hit unprecedented depths of its interior…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
IDF Foils Palestinian Terror Attack Launched From Sea Near Gaza
Israeli army forces interdicted and foiled a Palestinian terror squad trying to infiltrate the Kibbutz Zikim area just north of Gaza, Tuesday evening.
IDF troops killed five gunmen in the bid to carry out a terror attack under cover of a heavy rocket barrage overhead, according to the IDF Spokesman…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iron Dome Intercepts Rocket Over Tel Aviv
Code Red siren sounds in central Israeli cities, including Petah Tikva, Lod and Givatayim for first time since 2012 Gaza escalations; no injuries or damage reported.
The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted a projectile over Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening. No injuries or damage were reported.
The Code Red siren sounded in all of Gush Dan, including the central Israeli cities of Petah Tikva, Lod and Givatayim.
It was the first Gaza rocket that reached Tel Aviv since Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Tel Aviv Municipality was instructed to inspect and open public bomb shelters in the city in order to “provide an optimal response for residents if necessary” in the event that escalations in the South reach the Center.
The Home Front Command also instructed Tel Aviv residents to prepare for utilizing protected rooms and shelters in their private homes.
Under the same instruction, the division responsible for civil security ordered for bomb shelters in Tel Aviv schools to be opened.
The IDF launched Operation Protective Edge in the early hours of Tuesday morning in order to quell the ongoing barrage of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Since midnight Tuesday, more than 30 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have exploded in Israel.
Terrorists in Gaza have launched more than 250 projectiles at Israel in recent weeks.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Combats Another Hamas Rocket War in Gaza
In June 2005, I wrote a piece for the American Thinker entitled Gaza Disengagement: Balagan ! Balagan is Israeli military slang for “chaos” in Hebrew. The article was a warning about the insecure future for Israel following the unilateral withdrawal of 9,000 Israelis from the north Gaza settlements of Gush Katif ordered by the late PM Ariel Sharon. That withdrawal was followed by the Hamas Gaza takeover in 2006, Palestinian Legislative Council elections and rout of Fatah in 2007. Since 2006 nearly 13,000 rockets launched from Gaza have struck Israel.
Hamas is now an armed terrorstan in Gaza equipped with an estimated 50,000 rockets and missiles, threatening Israel with daily deadly barrages. Hamas operatives in Hebron kidnapped and murdered three Jewish yeshiva students in what some deemed a failed attempt to exchange them for release of Israeli held terrorist prisoners. Given that failed opportunity, Hamas is now risking another rocket war with Israel to achieve the same objective. Israel must deal firmly with another Hamas rocket war. At 1:00 AM Jerusalem Time on July 8th , the IDF announced Operation Protective Edge after more than 100 rockets rained down within 24 hours on Israeli population centers from the Western Negev to Central Israel. The choice of which option to pursue is complicated by a coalition cabinet split between PM Netanyahu of Likud versus Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beteinu. Some observers believe the split may be more over politics than differences on how to conduct an action in Gaza. Despite the split between Netanyahu of Likud and Liberman of Yisrael Beteinu, Israel has to demonstrate resolve and vigorously defeat both its near and far Islamist threats…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Israel and Hamas Exchange Missile Fire as New Gaza War Looms
A key Hamas commander and several civilians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli rocket attacks
It was at the corner of Wehada Street that the missile hit Mohammed Shaaban’s car — and almost certainly propelled Israel’s phoney war with Hamas into an all-out conflict.
Shaaban, a senior commander in the Islamist movement’s military wing, was killed along with three other occupants in the precise strike that sent the entrails of his vehicle flying in all directions…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Considers Ground Troops in Gaza as Attacks Continue
After a series of airstrikes overnight that targeted militants in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has announced it is preparing for the possible use of ground troops. Israeli attacks on Gaza are likely to increase.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Where is the Outrage Over the Bombardment of Civilians in Israel?
by Arsen Ostrovsky
Hundreds of rockets have been fired and a million citizens are forced to run for cover. Imagine if London suffered this bombardment
You see, as most people in the UK were waking up this morning, and those in Europe, United States and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel over one million people were running for cover from a hail of rockets being rained down by Palestinian Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
In the last 24 hours alone, over 120 rockets have been fired on southern Israel. That’s approximately five rockets per hour. By the time I finish this article, odds are that count will have risen to 125 rockets…
Arsen Ostrovsky is an international human rights activist and freelance journalist living in Israel.
[Reader comment by downunder432 on 8 July 2014.]
those who fail to understand that Israel must go into Gaza to stop Hamas from targeting its civilian population with daily rocket bombardment will be the first ones to demand that the UK government acts when they start firing rockets out of Tower Hamlets onto Hampstead Garden suburbs
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
As Presidential Elections Loom, Turkish Police Launch Investigation Into Gulen
The Hizmet movement of Erdogan’s great opponent is accused of working to forcibly take control of the state by distorting the existing constitutional order. Police asked to investigate if Hizmet is an armed group or had a role in a series of murders that have rocked Turkey in recent years.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) — On the eve of presidential elections, the Turkish police have launched a thorough investigation into the Hizmet movement of Fethullah Gulen, one-time ally and now staunch opponent of Prime Minister Erdogan. The former supporter of the ruling party, in self-imposed exile in the United States, is accused of plotting to overthrow the government and the secular state.
The daily newspaper Hurriyet reports that a written order has been sent to police departments in 30 provinces, to investigate whether the movement is working to forcibly take control of the state by distorting the existing constitutional order. The order, which bears the date of June 25, also calls on the police to investigate whether Hizmet is an armed group or had a role in a series of murders that have rocked Turkey in recent years, including the 2007 murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
The inquiry is a step up in judicial pressure against Hizmet ahead of presidential elections next August in which Erdogan formally launched his candidacy last week — and is considered the favorite — despite the scandals and allegations of corruption that have dogged the last year and the frequent protests against his rule.
The police have also been asked to gather information on members of associations affiliated to the movement, including students of schools Gulen owns and academics who do research with Hizmet.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Two British terrorists who fled the UK to fight in Syria ordered books Islam For Dummies, The Koran For Dummies and Arabic For Dummies from Amazon ahead of their trip.
Mohammed Nahin Ahmed also told his childhood friend Yusuf Zubair Sarwar, both 22, ‘I cannot tell anyone I’m going to jihad. Lol. I’ll get arrested’ before they left Birmingham and joined rebels in Aleppo, a court heard today…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Caliphate Dreams: Eternal Muslim Ideal — And Non-Muslim Nightmare
by Andrew Bostom
The jihad terror organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) formally declared a “re-creation” of Islam’s traditional solidary religio-political entity, the “Caliphate” in a pronouncement issued June 29, 2014.
Here the flag of the Islamic State, the flag of tawhid (monotheism), rises and flutters. Its shade covers land from Aleppo to Diyala.
ISIL’s rhetoric extolled its triumph over all infidels, with a particular emphasis on non-Muslims, and the attempted imposition of the totalitarian Sharia, in all its liberty-crushing, and dehumanizing barbarity. The jihad terror organization also claimed ISIL’s rule was restoring not only Sharia-mandated Islamic “justice” (for example, the destruction of Christian crosses, and extraction of the humiliating jizya, per Koran 9:29), but also local “stability,” and Islamic pride.
The Muslims are honored. The kuffar (infidels) are disgraced. Ahlus-Sunnah (the Sunnis) are masters and are esteemed. The people of bid’ah (heresy) are humiliated. The hudud (Sharia penalties) are implemented — the hudud of Allah — all of them. The frontlines are defended. Crosses and graves are demolished.
The people in the lands of the State move about for their livelihood and journeys, feeling safe regarding their lives and wealth. Wulat (plural of wali or “governors”) and judges have been appointed. Jizyah (a tax imposed on kuffar) has been enforced. Fay’ (money taken from the kuffar without battle) and zakat (obligatory alms) have been collected. Courts have been established to resolve disputes and complaints. Evil has been removed. Lessons and classes have been held in the masajid (plural of masjid) and, by the grace of Allah, the religion has become completely for Allah. There only remained one matter, a wajib kifa’i (collective obligation) that the ummah sins by abandoning. It is a forgotten obligation. The ummah has not tasted honor since they lost it. It is a dream that lives in the depths of every Muslim believer. It is a hope that flutters in the heart of every mujahid muwahhid (monotheist). It is the khilafah (caliphate). It is the khilafah — the abandoned obligation of the era.
Despite subsequent dissatisfaction with ISIL, and its newly minted “Caliphate”—already emerging just 3-weeks after the regular Iraqi army and police forces of the al-Maliki central government were crushed, or fled—in the immediate aftermath of the Sunni takeover, 81.5% of Mosul’s predominantly Sunni residents felt more secure after the Sunni insurgents seized control of the city.
Hollow proclamations have followed suit from Muslim leaders claiming ISIL’s Caliphate “vision” somehow distorted this idyllic historical Islamic institution. Sheikh Khaldoun Oraymet, secretary-general of Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Council opined, …
| — Hat tip: Andy Bostom | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Journalist Sentenced to Two Years and 50 Lashes
Iranian journalist and blogger Marzieh Rasouli reported to Evin prison on Tuesday to serve a two-year sentence and receive 50 lashes over charges of spreading anti-government propaganda, sources close to the journalist said.
On Monday she wrote on her Twitter account that she was convicted of publishing “propaganda against the establishment and disruption of public order through participation in gatherings,” in a case that dates back to January 2012.
Shortly after she was arrested that year, the Islamic Republic’s state television accused her of having ties with foreigners, according to a Facebook page dedicated to her case.
Rasouli had previously worked for reformist daily newspapers, including Shargh and Etemad, where she covered arts, music and wrote book reviews.
The case has angered some Iranian journalists, who had hoped that the election of a moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, last year would bring greater political and cultural freedoms at home, a development that has yet to materialise.
Rouhani has been preoccupied with trying to shore up the Iranian economy, in part by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West to lift crushing financial sanctions, as well as civil wars raging in Tehran’s regional allies Syria and Iraq.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Islamic State Claims Baghdad Bombs; Parliament to Meet on Sunday
(Reuters) — Islamist militants claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Baghdad, and there were signs the deadlock paralysing Iraq’s parliament might finally be loosening in the face of the threat from the “Islamic State” that has seized much of the country.
The Sunni Muslim group, which has taken over large areas of Syria and Iraq, posted web photos of two men with scarves covering their faces, posing in front of its black and white flag and machineguns. It identified them as the Baghdad bombers and said they were Lebanese and Libyan.
Five people were killed in the first blast at a cafe in the Washash district on Sunday night. Four police and three civilians were killed the next day at a checkpoint in Kadhimiya, a northern neighbourhood…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Issues Orders in Mosul: Give Over Girls for ‘Sex Jihad’
Posters in public places told residents to bring their girls to ‘fulfill their duty in sex jihad’ or feel the full force of the sharia consequences.
The militant Islamist group ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) put up posters calling on the people of Mosul to bring them their unmarried girls to participate in “jihad al-nikah,” or sex jihad. The reports came from Al-Masryalyoum, a well-respected Egyptian daily newspaper as well as other sources in the Arab press.
Reports in Mosul indicate that ISIS fighters have been going door-to-door, entering houses, killing the men and raping the women.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Khamenei Says Iran ‘Needs More Centrifuges’
Iran’s supreme leader revealed Tuesday that it ultimately wants 190,000 nuclear centrifuges — a figure he said was 19 times higher than world powers want to allow under a deal being discussed in Vienna.
The comments, published on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website on Tuesday, represent a dramatic intervention in the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.
The talks have been taking place behind closed doors and Khamenei’s remarks are the most open declaration yet of Iran’s demands.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Security Forces Prepare for Offensive in Salahudin Province, Battles Continue in Iraq
BAGHDAD, July 8 (Xinhua) — Iraqi security forces prepare for major offensive to retake control of the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahudin province, as the troops continued to battle insurgent groups across the country, security sources said on Tuesday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Shiite Mosque Set on Fire Amid Claims of Sectarian Discrimination
A mosque belonging to Istanbul’s Shiite community set on fire after community allegedly received sectarian threats
A group of unidentified people set alight a mosque attended by Shiite Turks in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district on 8 July, after the mosque’s imam received threats over the past week, Turkish media reported.
Police and firefighters rushed to the scene after passersby informed them about the fire. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Rebel Leader Says Separatists to Go on Offensive in Ukraine
A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine has warned Kiev that pro-Russian rebels would take the offensive again after regrouping forces in the region’s biggest industrial hub of Donetsk. “We are not preparing ourselves for a siege, we are preparing ourselves for action,” Alexander Borodai said in an interview in Moscow with Gazeta.ru.
Militants fled the rebel stronghold of Slovyansk over the weekend, following months of fighting, in a victory for Kiev that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called a “turning point” in its fight against the separatists.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Soyuz to Launch Scotland’s First Space Satellite
GLASGOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst — Scotland’s first ever space satellite will be launched today aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that will blast off from the historic Baikonur cosmodrome.
“A lot of the team are aware of the great history of that [Baikonur] launch site,” Robin Sampson of Clyde Space told RIA Novosti.
“It has a great atmosphere and is clearly a place steeped in space exploration history and we were very much in awe of the launch site there,” he added.
UKube-1, built by Glasgow Company Clyde Space, is a “cubesat”, a miniature lightweight satellite with a payload of just three litres.
The launch will take place from the same site where Sputnik 1 and Yuri Gagarin took off, a legacy that has not gone unnoticed by the team behind the Scottish satellite.
“There is a healthy dose of nervousness and excitement at Clyde Space, probably more excited than nervous,” Sampson said. “We have performed extensive checks and tests. We’re now just looking forward to the launch.”
Blast off is expected at 15:58 UTC, and once deployed in space the satellite will conduct a yearlong mission trialling a number of new and potentially ground-breaking experiments.
“There are a number of innovative payloads on there that will push the technology envelope a little bit,” Sampson told RIA Novosti “There are some new experiments being trialed, one of which is a random number generator that will use radiation events to create true random numbers.
“It is almost impossible for a computer to generate a random number but using the space environment we can generate true random numbers from radiation,” Sampson added.
“These genuinely random numbers can then be used to securely encrypt communications,” Sampson said.
Although the mission will last 12 months the satellite will remain in orbit for at least another 15 years during which ground based scientists will carry out a range of additional experiments and tests.
As well as the UKube-1 the Soyuz will also launch eight other satellites from the Baikonur launch site.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
18 Die in Afghan Suicide Attack
Including 11 students, four U.S. soldiers
(ANSA) — Rome, July 8 — A suicide bomb attack near an Afghan school on Tuesday killed 18 people including 11 students and four US soldiers who were giving out pens and exercise books.
The Taliban claimed responsibility.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Abdullah Claims Victory as Afghan Election Crisis Deepens
Presidential contender ignores American pleas to exercise restraint as supporters chant “Death to Ashraf Ghani,” his rival, and a key former warlord urges civil unrest amid disputed results
Abdullah Abdullah, one of two Afghan presidential contenders, on Tuesday defied mounting international pressure to declare himself winner of last month’s election, despite provisional results giving the lead to his bitter rival…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: Fifty People Holed Up Catholic Church in Boldipukur
With the help of local elements, thieves rounded up PIME priests and nuns and took everything of value. In the past, a group of Muslims tried to seize Church land by force. At that time, the attack by Islamic extremists against the same parish left 50 people wounded.
Dinajpur (AsiaNews) — A mob of some 50 robbers attacked the Catholic Church in Boldipukur on Sunday. The village is located in the Diocese of Dinajpur, some 440 km northwest of Dhaka.
With the help of local elements, the thieves rounded up the priests and nuns and then seized anything of value, like computers, laptops, cash, furniture, worth a million Bangladeshi taka (approximately US$ 13,000). After the robbery, priests and nuns were let go free.
Yesterday Bishop Sebastian Tudu (pictured), PIME Fr Livio Priest, and TOR Fr Jarom Rozario visited the parish church along with Robuil Islam, local deputy chief of police.
“It is a typical attack against us,” a sad Mgr Sebastian Tudu, bishop of Dinajpur told AsiaNews. “Muslims are trying to put pressure on Christians because we are a minority. We want security from local authorities. We want peace and justice.”
As priests and nuns now live in fear, scared after what happened, local police have been looking for the culprits, but so far, no one has been arrested.
The latest incident is nothing new. On 20 March 2010, a group of Muslims tried to seize Church land by force.
At that time, other attacks by Islamic extremists against the parish left 50 people injured, ten of them seriously. This caused panic and tensions in the area. In one case, the matter has lasted since 2010.
The parish includes about 2,000 people, mostly tribal Santal, Oraon and Mahali. From a social and financial point of view, most of them are poor, illiterate and do not have the papers to prove they own their ancestral lands. As local Muslims occupied their lands, disputes ensued.
The parish is served by diocesan priests and PIME nuns.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Suicide Bombing Rocks Afghanistan’s Parwan, Causing Casualties
KABUL, July 8 (Xinhua) — A powerful blast hit Afghanistan’s eastern province of Parwan on Tuesday morning, causing casualties, an official said.
“We still cannot provide details on causalities. There is fear of possible causalities, both civilian and police,” a provincial security official told Xinhua.
More than 10 people were killed, many of them were school children, citing provincial sources, local media Pajhwok Afghan News reported on its website…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Afro-Chinese Marriages Boom in Guangzhou: But Will it be ‘Til Death do us Part’?
Guangzhou is witnessing many Afro-Chinese marriages, but the mainland’s lack of citizenship rights for husbands and a crackdown on foreign visas means families live in fear of being torn apart, writes Jenni Marsh
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China: Xinjiang Entrepreneurs Publish Anti-Terrorism Open Letter
URUMQI, July 8 (Xinhua) — A total of 354 representatives for entrepreneurs and staff belonging to ethnic minority groups in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have published an open letter to denounce terrorism.
“The terrorists’ criminal acts have wronged us and made us unable to operate at ease,” said the letter, titled “Lofty obligations and responsibilities along the glorious Silk Road — a letter to fellow Uygurs.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tibetan Altitude Gene Inherited ‘From Extinct Species’
A gene that allows present-day people to cope with life at high altitude was inherited from an extinct species of human, Nature journal has reported.
The variant of the EPAS-1 gene, which affects blood oxygen, is common in Tibetans — many of whom live at altitudes of 4,000m all year round.
But the DNA sequence matches one found in the extinct Denisovan people.
Many of us carry DNA from extinct humans who interbred with our ancestors as the latter expanded out of Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Eight Hurt in Bomb Attack on Restaurant in Tanzania
(AGI) Arusgha (Tanzania), July 8 — At least eight people were hurt in a grenade attack on Tuesday on an Indian restaurant in the tourist district of Arusha in Tanzania on the border with Kenya, police reported. Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, was the scene of the first major al Qaeda attack on Aug. 7, 1998. when 11 locals were killed in a bomb attack on the U.S. embassy. At the same time another bomb devastated the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 201 people, including 12 Americans.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Heavy Gunfire as Islamic Militants Storm Somali Presidential Palace
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamic militants stormed the presidential palace in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Tuesday, sparking heavy gunfire as government troops and guards tried to repel them.
Loud explosions could be heard inside the heavily fortified compound, which has been the subject of many attacks by al-Qaida-linked militants over the years…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Boko Haram Members Parading as Herders — Aliyu
Niger State Governor Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has charged Fulani herdsmen to be conscious of their environments to avoid being branded as terrorists as Boko Haram members now parade as herdsmen.
Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of a training programme for teachers in nomadic schools in Minna, the governor said it was necessary for nomads to be conscious of the present security situation…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Host Brazil Stunned, 7-1, By Germany in Semifinal
Brazil was humiliated by Germany in a defeat of historic proportions.
Germany ruthlessly dismantled Brazil in the semifinal, 7-1. It was the most goals ever scored by a team in a World Cup semifinal.
The scoring began in the 11th minute when Thomas Müller tallied his fifth goal of the Cup after being left unmarked in the box. But it was the brief period from Minute 23 to Minute 29 that devastated Brazil.
First Miroslav Klose scored his record-breaking 16th career World Cup goal, surpassing the former Brazilian great Ronaldo. Then in rapid-fire succession came two goals from Toni Kroos and one by Sami Khedira. Just like that, it was 5-0.
Brazil, playing without its star Neymar, who broke a vertebra in the quarterfinal, looked livelier in the second half. But the sixth and seventh goals also went to Germany, as substitute Andre Schurrle added to Brazil’s misery. Oscar scored a late consolation goal that was little consolation to Brazil.
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‘Asylum System EU Squeaks and Creaks’
“Pressure on the European asylum system is increasing”, writes Trouw. In the first five months of 2014 there were 20 per cent more asylum demands than in the same period last year. In 2013 the 28 member states already had 100,000 more applications to process than in 2012. Most applications are made in Germany.
According to Dutch newspaper these figures, published by European Asylum Support Office (EASO) on 7 July, “cause Brussels headaches”. European foreign and justice ministers will talk about this today in Milan.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fortress Europe Puts Migrant Lives at Risk, Says Amnesty
Brussels (AFP) — EU efforts to seal off Europe’s borders to illegal migrants have also shut off access to refugees from conflict, thus putting their lives at risk, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Forced to take to flimsy boats in perilous journeys across the high seas because land routes have been sealed, many die at sea, the rights group said in a report titled “The human cost of Fortress Europe.”
“The effectiveness of EU measures to stem the flow of irregular migrants and refugees is, at best, questionable,” said Amnesty’s John Dalhuisen.
“Meanwhile, the cost in human lives and misery is incalculable and is being paid by some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gangs and Poverty Triggering Mass Child Exodus From Central America to US
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are in the eye of the storm. The wave of underage migrants trying to reach the United States has put the Obama administration in a tight spot, but it has also uncovered the desperation of thousands of people.
The massive exodus is being fueled by poverty and violence, which is intensified by the presence of the maras, the Central American street gangs.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Growing Influx: Germany Caught Off Guard by Surge in Refugees
The German government is expecting around 175,000 people to file applications for asylum this year, the highest number in two decades. Regional politicians are acting surprised, but there have been signs of this development for years now.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Migrants in Calais Are Using Channel Tunnel Chaos to Try and Get Into Britain
HUNDREDS of illegal migrants have been accused of taking advantage of traffic chaos in the Channel Tunnel to try and get into Britain from France
Riot police were called to deal with disturbances in the Calais area as truckers fought to stop stowaways getting on board their vehicles. It follows serious problems with overhead power cables on Monday which led to a Eurotunnel car shuttle grinding to a halt 7.5 miles out of the UK…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Navy Rescues 228 Migrants Off Lampedusa
(AGI) Palermo, July 8 — Another 228 immigrants were rescued by the Italian navy in the waters off Lampedusa on Monday night.
The migrants initially boarded the amphibious ship San Giorgio, which transferred them to Chimera on Tuesday morning.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Seeks Nearly $4 Billion for Immigration Crisis
President Obama is requesting almost $4 billion in emergency funding from Congress to confront an immigration crisis from a wave of unaccompanied children surging across the southern border of the United States, White House officials said Tuesday.
The financial request, which is almost twice as much as officials had previously signaled might be necessary, would boost spending on border patrol agents, immigration judges, aerial surveillance, and new detention facilities. Nearly half of the money would be used to improve care for the children while they are moved through the deportation process.
“We are taking steps to protect due process but also to remove these migrants more efficiently,” a White House official said Tuesday morning. “We are taking an aggressive approach on both sides of the border.”
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Returned Sri Lanka Migrants Vent Fury at Australia
Australia has come under fire over the transfer, with experts warning that repelling migrants after screening them as potential asylum-seekers at sea appeared to be inadequate under international law.
Some of the group told AFP they had been trying to reach New Zealand where they hoped to find work, while some of their relatives said they were heading to Australia — the confusion perhaps prompted by people smugglers, who have been known to mislead migrants about their final destination.
L.A. Nilantha accused Australian customs officials of locking them up and giving them little food and water after they were picked up at sea by the Australian navy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Petitioning the Scottish Government …
The uniforms [for the Scottish team in the Commonwealth Games] being used are truly horrendous. Please step in and prevent them being used while there’s still time for an emergency Plan B — before our poor, brave-faced athletes are subjected to parading around in them. These uniforms are an embarrassment to our athletes and to Scotland. …
[A modern textile artist has been commissioned to produce a uniform for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games team and has come up with something utterly ghastly. There’s a grammar to tartan design and this is ungrammatical. The colours don’t belong in the tartan palette. The socks are the colour of diarrhoea. It’s an assault on Scottish culture and there’s a petition to stop it.]
| — Hat tip: Wulf Kurtoglu | [Return to headlines] |
“In other news, a British peer in the House of Lords says that more people should marry Muslims as a practical method of combating Islamophobia.”
Just as we thought: Something like this bright idea won’t come but from Britain. Not from an alien, not even a donkey would excrete such a brilliant idea. Well you should import more muslims to facilitate that even more. Mr peer in case you don’t know every year 50 000 white women and bright men with stiff upper lip convert and marry Muslims.
“In other news, a British peer in the House of Lords says that more people should marry Muslims as a practical method of combating Islamophobia.”
Just as we thought: Something like this bright idea won’t come but from Britain. Who else would produce such a brilliant idea. Well peer, you should import more muslims to facilitate that even more. Mr peer in case you don’t know every year 50 000 white women and bright men with stiff upper lip convert and marry Muslims. Mr peer deal with the rapes that take place in Britain first.
Has anyone asked the Pope about his thoughts on feeding the poor and mostly Catholic people of Central America? These countries obviously can’t feed their people. Can he bend a little about the Church’s ban on contraception?
Just curious.
I have no idea what the pope is about. Does he really expect the US to take in every single person that gets their toe across the US border?
It will bankrupt us; it will drive the quality of our education, medical care and community into the gutter.
Is that what the pope hopes for?