A boatload of illegal migrants capsized off the coast of Libya. It is feared that up to 200 people may have drowned. However, an estimated 100,000 refugees have successfully made it to Italy so far this year.
In other news, civil aviation authorities in Iceland have issued a red alert for air traffic over the country due to the Bardarbunga volcano, which has begun to erupt under the ice sheet of the Vatnajokull glacier.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, DS, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, LH, RR, Vlad Tepes, 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.
Spanish Public Debt Tops One Trillion Euros
14 August 2014: Spain’s public debt has topped one trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) for the first time, despite years of government-imposed austerity. The nation’s accumulated public debt mushroomed to 1.007 trillion euros at the end of June from 996 billion euros a month earlier, the Bank of Spain said in a report. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government has struggled to contain annual deficits by raising taxes, freezing public salaries and curbing spending on services such as education and health care despite angry street protests.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
CA State Senate Passes Bill Requiring Schools to Teach About President Obama
8 Aug 2014: A new, unprecedented bill passed by California’s State Senate on Thursday will encourage public schools to teach students about the historical significance surrounding Barack Obama’s status as the first African-American president of the United States of America…
Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) says the bill would require the Instructional Quality Commission (which facilitates much of California’s Common Core framework) to consider teaching students about Obama’s election within the context of past voter discrimination… .
Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) was the only senator who voted to strike down the bill. He said, “We’ve never done this for any previous president,”… .
Mitchell reportedly placed great emphasis on the importance of learning about “overcoming our nation’s past to elect our first black president.”
[Check comment below the article by Jackcandobutwont: lists dozens of Obama’s lies.]
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Colgate Total Ingredient Linked to Hormones, Cancer Spotlights FDA Process
11 August , 2014: The chemical triclosan has been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Consumer companies are phasing it out. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products.
At the same time, millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top-selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease — Colgate-Palmolive’s Total.
Total is safe, Colgate says, citing the rigorous Food and Drug Administration process that led to the toothpaste’s 1997 approval as an over-the-counter drug. A closer look at that application process, however, reveals that some of the scientific findings Colgate put forward to establish triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white — and weren’t, until this year, available to the public.
Colgate’s Total application included 35 pages summarizing toxicology studies on triclosan, which the FDA withheld from view. The agency released the pages earlier this year in response to a lawsuit over a Freedom of Information Act request. Later, following inquiries from Bloomberg News, the FDA put the pages on its website.
The pages show how even with one of the U.S.’s most stringent regulatory processes — FDA approval of a new drug — the government relies on company-backed science to show products are safe and effective. The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on triclosan, raise questions about whether the agency did appropriate due diligence in approving Total 17 years ago, and whether its approval should stand in light of new research, said three scientists who reviewed the pages at Bloomberg News’s request. …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Electric Sparks May Alter Evolution of Lunar Soil
The moon appears to be a tranquil place, but modeling done by University of New Hampshire (UNH) and NASA scientists suggests that, over the eons, periodic storms of solar energetic particles may have significantly altered the properties of the soil in the moon’s coldest craters through the process of sparking—a finding that could change our understanding of the evolution of planetary surfaces in the solar system.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
21 August 2014: President Barack Obama teed off again on Thursday, just 24 hours after pictures of his wide grin on the golf course drew condemnation in the wake of the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley.
‘Admit it,’ a White House pool reporter emailed the press corps. ‘You all made small-dollar bets that POTUS would be playing golf today. And … you would be right!’
[…]
The president drew fire Wednesday after reacting to Foley’s on-camera slaying for just five minutes, and then gripping his driver.
He had told a global audience minutes earlier that ‘when people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done.’
Then he was seen laughing with friends and fist-bumping them during a five-hour round at Farm Neck on Martha’s Vineyard.
Thursday’s round is his eighth in 11 days. Wire photos of the president and his playing partners depict a more serious commander-in-chief with none of the yukking that characterized photos a day ago.
His high-fiving on Wednesday has brought a chorus of condemnation from TV commentators, journalists, conservative partisans and Twitter users.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters could hardly contain his anger Wednesday night on the Fox News Channel as he discussed Obama’s reactions to the ISIS terror network’s beheading of Foley, an American who had been missing since 2012.
‘There is no way the president should be stupid enough to go play golf’ after such a somber speech, Peters said.
‘Not only did he insult the Foley family; he sent a message to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (the leader of ISIS) and all of the other jihadi terrorist militants — now soldiers of a jihadi army — that he doesn’t take it all seriously.’ …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Pentagon Says Chinese Fighter Jet Confronted American Navy Plane
WASHINGTON — A Chinese fighter jet flew within 30 feet of a Navy surveillance and reconnaissance plane this week in international airspace just off the Chinese coast, the Pentagon said Friday. The encounter, known as an intercept, was “very, very close, very dangerous,” said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.
The intercept is bound to increase tensions between the Pentagon and the Chinese military, already high because of Beijing’s aggressive actions against Japan and other American allies concerning territory in the East and South China Seas.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sacramento Taxi Drivers Say English Test Requirement is Setting Them Up for Failure
8 August 2014: Taxi drivers required to pass an English test to renew their permits in Sacramento say they’re being set up for failure.
Part of a newly passed ordinance that recently went into effect requires drivers to know a certain level of English. The city says the requirement came from passenger complaints…
The tests, one written and one digital, are required for a driver to renew their permit. In the first week, 18 of the 28 drivers failed at least one portion.
Mohammad Ahsan was one of those drivers…
Drivers were given some sample questions to study …
But Ahmad Mahmoud says some of the questions not on the sample test are really throwing drivers off.
“‘Does this location have desert?’ Well no, it doesn’t have desert; it has water; it has mountains, all that, because it’s talking about hiking. But what’s that has to do with taxi?” he said…
The city says the tests aren’t going away anytime soon, but they aren’t set in stone either.
“I want to talk to people who’ve taken the test and get feedback from them on what was difficult, what didn’t make sense and then we can modify the tests,” Wasson said.
After three failures, the city computer kicks the driver out of the system, but [city revenue manager Brad] Wasson says they’ll likely give the driver another chance.
[Why aren’t Americans driving their own taxis anymore? Isn’t there an unemployment problem in America?]
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Airlines on Alert as Eruption Begins in Iceland
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano began erupting Saturday under the ice of Europe’s largest glacier, prompting the country to close the airspace over the volcano.
Thousands of small earthquakes have rattled the volcano, located deep beneath the Vatnajokull glacier, in the last week. Seismic data indicated that magma from the volcano was melting ice beneath the glacier’s Dyngjujokull icecap, Meteorological Office vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said.
The remote area, 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of the capital of Reykjavik, is uninhabited.
The Civil Protection Department said scientists flew over the ice cap Saturday afternoon but saw no visible signs of the eruption on the surface of the glacier.
Still, authorities raised the country’s aviation alert to red — the highest level on a five-point scale — indicating the threat of “significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.”…
| [Return to headlines] |
American Betrayal: Nuremberg and the Nazi-Soviet Pact
by Diana West
Today is the 75th anniverary of the non-aggression pact between the Hitler and Stalin, the latter becoming (after Hitler attacked Stalin on June 22, 1941) the member of the “Big Three” known as “Uncle Joe.” In the commemorative essays discussing the twin dictators’ earlier alliance of August 23, 1939, which would be followed by Hitler and Stalin’s conquest of Poland the following month, the pact’s secret protocol that divided the nations of central and Eastern Europe between them is also mentioned. I have yet to see, however, any discussion of how that secret protocol became known to the public.
That disturbing story of near-suppression takes us past the war to the trials of the Nazi high command in Nuremberg — widely hailed the model of international justice. But what a morally rotten exercise it was, as war criminals (Soviets) sat in judgment of war criminals (Nazis) while war crimes (British and US) were occurring all around (Operation Keelhaul, the little known British-US-enabled “repatriation” from the West of millions of Soviet-claimed persons to death/the Gulag, was in full swing).
There, in a Nuremberg prison yard, a German defense lawyer by chance overheard top Nazis (von RIbbentrop and Goering) discussing the contents of the still-secret protocol, which offered evidence of Stalin’s guilt in committing “conspiracy to wage aggressive war,” one of the key charges against the German high command. With Stalin trying to blot out his alliance with Hitler from the record — with full support of his British and American allies — how did the secret protocol ever come to the world’s attention?
Here is what happened at Nuremberg, as discussed in Chapter 2 of American Betrayal, pp. 54-58…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Barcelona Residents Protest Against Anti-Social Behaviour
[Gives some insight into postmodern European tourist ‘morality’]
22 August 2014: Barcelona residents took to the streets this week in an impromptu protest against drunken and rowdy tourists who cause a disturbance at all hours of the day.
Rude, crude and lewd alcoholic-fuelled behaviour have pushed locals to the limit, with the final straw being the decision of three Italians to wander around the town naked…
Oriol Casabella, who leads the La Barceloneta neighbourhood association, said: “It’s killing our neighbourhood and dissuading other types of tourists. It’s Magaluf all over again.”
And Magaluf may well be the Catalans’ worst nightmare, after a video was posted recently of a drunken girl giving oral sex to 23 men in the street at the Majorcan party resort in return for a cocktail drink…
Resident Andre’s Antebi said: “Imagine that you’re in a tiny house, with three children, unemployed with no money for vacations and you have to put up with the screams and fiesta of tourists next door. It’s unbearable.”
Mercè Homs, the city councillor for La Barceloneta, sought to calm the situation by promising a policy of “zero tolerance” on antisocial behaviour and said residents would have support from city officials to deal with the situation.
“We’re working to ensure that tourist rentals don’t generate noise problems or bother neighbours,” she said.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Has Been Spying on Turkey Since 1976, Report Says
Germany has been spying on Turkey for close to four decades, according to a report that could further raise tensions between the two nations. The allegations could also embarrass Berlin — a vehement critic of US spying.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s Beheaders — How We Came to Export Jihad
[Excellent article, sums up the nightmare that Britain and the West have created for themselves.]
20 August 2014: … Why did Wednesday morning’s video stand out? Because this time the captive was an American journalist — James Foley — and his murderer is speaking in an unmistakable London accent.
The revulsion with which this latest Islamist atrocity has been greeted is of course understandable. But it is also surprising. This is no one-off, certainly no anomaly. Rather it is the continuation of an entirely foreseeable trend. Britain has long been a global hub of terror export, so much so that senior US government officials have suggested the next attack on US soil is likely to come from UK citizens. … This is not even the first beheading of an American journalist to have been arranged by a British man from London.
In 2002, 27-year-old Omar Sheikh… [a] north London-born graduate of a private school and the London School of Economics…organised the kidnapping and beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl…
As the list of British-born jihadists grew, their activities also got closer to home…
All the while, as the list of jihadists grew, so did the number of places where they could train. Perhaps as many as 4,000 people from Britain are thought to have gone to train or fight in Afghanistan. Estimates of the number of British citizens who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq range from just over 500 to 1,500 (a figure from Khalid Mahmood, a Birmingham Labour MP). If the larger figure is correct, it would be significantly higher than the number of Muslims currently serving in Britain’s armed forces. Some of these jihadists have returned; some have been killed fighting. But it is now obvious that whether we like it or not, this is Britain’s problem.
Involvement in Syria spreads across Britain. … [A] British man who in [one] video berates British Muslims for not providing enough support to the jihad. ‘You know who you are,’ he says, ‘from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it’s a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando’s.’
The list [of British engaged in jihad] goes on. … Earlier this month, Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary from west London appeared in a photo he himself posted on Twitter. He is pictured holding a severed head with the caption ‘chillin’ with my homie, or what’s left of him’. This is all part of the strange juncture that Syria has become for British jihadis — a meld of street cool, Islamic extremism and ultra-violence. Even the register in which these men communicate on social media is familiar. For instance Madhi Hassan, 19, from Portsmouth, sent out a media image of himself holding a jar of Nutella, to reassure Brits coming over that they would not lack all comforts…
[I]t comes ever closer to home. In recent weeks the black flag of jihad as used by Isis has been flown openly in London — supporters of Isis have appeared on Oxford Street — and elsewhere. Just this week, the imam of a leading Welsh mosque resigned after a pro-Isis guest preacher was invited to speak at his mosque.
This battle is going on in households and mosques up and down this country. We fear joining up these dots. And we fear giving offence more than we fear the international opprobrium that is coming our way. …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
22 August 2014: A teenage convert to Islam has appeared in court charged with plotting a hammer and knife attack on either a solider or a member of the government, according to the Daily Mail. Brustchom Ziamani was arrested on Tuesday with a rucksack containing a knife and a hammer wrapped up in an Islamic flag.
Ziamani, who is of Congolese dissent [sic], was arrested in East London amidst allegations that he was going to carry out a gruesome attack, similar to the one against Drummer Lee Rigby. …
Westminster Magistrates Court was told that 19-year-old Ziamani was accused engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. In the dock he wore a black Call of Duty t-shirt. He refused to sit down during the hearing, opting instead to stand with his hands in his pockets.
Prosecutor Mark Dawson said Ziamani had extreme ideological material in his rucksack. He added: “He was arrested at 4.30pm on Tuesday with a knife and a hammer in a bag on his back wrapped in an Islamic flag.
“He is 19 and of previous good character. He said to (a female teenager) he is going to commit a … terrorist atrocity either on troops or members of the government.”
Mr Dawson told the court that officers had scoured Ziamani’s computer and had ‘three disks worth of material’ to analyse. Judge John Zani, told the defendant he would be remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 12th September. There was no application for bail.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
British Jihadists: How Britain Became the Yemen of the West
by Andrew Gilligan
Britain’s role as a chief exporter of terror was made horrifically clear this week. We examine the key failings of government and security forces that allowed home-grown jihadists to flourish
[…]
The vast majority of ordinary British Muslims are not extremists, as every poll shows. But extremists do control, or heavily influence, many of the most important institutions of Muslim Britain: key mosques, large Muslim charities, influential TV stations, university Islamic societies and schools. Until recently, this was done with at best the acquiescence, at worst the support, of the British state. It was acting partly in the naive (and surely now disproved) belief that it could anoint “good” radicals and use them against the “bad” ones, and partly through the loss of moral perspective that seems to overtake some liberals whenever race is involved…
[Reader comment by Jessica Rabbit on 23 August 2014.]
I am sick of all the talk, will somebody take charge and run this Country. It’s a simple rule; you live here by our rules or get out. Cut all benefits to anyone family engaging in terror or indoctrination. Stop all benefits to anyone arriving here that hasn’t paid in to our tax system for at least three years, make people arriving here pay for their healthcare, housing and schools. We have to get tough, really tough and if the Tories can’t do it then bring in the Army to protect us.
School, mosques and demands, tell them no and no again. If you want sharia law then you leave and like choudray is banned from ever entering France, we do the same. If they choose to fight in Syria or Iraq then you are banned from ever coming back.
Calais is full of people waiting for their freebies, cut all benefits and they will not want to come here. France gives them nothing and they are a EU Member, get tougher and stop pandering to this c***. Wave after wave of scroungers and parasites are waiting to live off you and me. God knows what is coming next.
[Reader comment by avi15 on 23 August 2014.]
None of these suggested solutions will work because the problem is Islam itself, which provides a fertile seedbed for terrorism wherever it exists in the world. To face up to this reality would be to confront the awful realization that Britain has all but committed suicide by inviting millions of muslims to reside here. In effect, we have allowed our country to be invaded but refuse to admit it. Almost everyone is in denial about this except the radical maniacs themselves.
[Reader comment by Dagenhamboy on 23 August 2014.]
Our Council has just given planning approval for a former Police Station to be converted into a Saudi extremist woman’s education centre. I expect the money came via Saudi. A few searches on the internet confirm the true nature of the organisation yet the purchase was waved through.
It would not surprise me if this was being repeated up and down the country. The longer this turning a blind eye to what is happening in our cities, the more extreme the eventual reaction will be on both sides of the argument. Remove the centres that preach hate and theocracy and you start the process of integration.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Must Contribute to NATO Missile Defence Shield
22 August 2014: Denmark must provide one or more frigates for NATO’s missile defence shield. Defence Minister Nikolai Wammen emphasizes that the decision to equip Danish frigates with advanced radar equipment is taken to protect the Danes from organizations that wish us harm. This decision has nothing to do with the current conflict in Ukraine, he maintains. This despite the fact that NATO’s missile defense system will be primarily located in Eastern European cities. This despite the fact that NATO’s missile defense system will be primarily located in Eastern European cities.
“The fact that Denmark joins the missile defence radar capability on one or more of our frigates is not an action that is directed against Russia, but to protect us from rogue states, terrorist organizations and others who will have the capacity to fire missiles off from Europe and America,” he says.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
France Will Not ‘Be Pushed Around’ By Germany
French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg on Saturday criticised German austerity measures and warned France would no longer “be pushed around” by the EU’s economic powerhouse.
“You have to raise your voice. Germany is trapped in an austerity policy that it imposed across Europe,” the socialist minister said in an interview with Le Monde newspaper.
Montebourg’s comments follow Germany’s snubbing of a request from French President Francois Hollande earlier this month for an EU-wide shift of economic policy in order to encourage growth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Kurds Protest in Paris Against Islamic State Group
PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of ethnic Kurds are marching in Paris to demand more international support for civilians in Iraq facing assaults by Islamic State militants.
Waving flags, chanting and marching behind a banner, the demonstrators pressed for more humanitarian and military aid for thousands of Yazidi refugees in the Sinjar mountains. Yekbun Eksen, a member of the Federation of Kurdish Associations of France, said the international aid was not yet enough to protect civilians.
The group has led peaceful weekly protests since Islamic State fighters attacked the town of Sinjar earlier this month…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
French Teenage Girls Held Over Syria Jihad Plans
Two French girls, aged 15 and 17, have been detained as part of a police investigation into another 14-year-old girl suspected of travelling to Syria to join jihadist fighters there, judicial sources said Friday.
The two teenagers were arrested Tuesday and held for 48 hours before being placed under formal investigation Thursday night, facing charges of criminal conspiracy in relation to a terrorist organisation, a source close to the case told the AFP news agency.
The younger girl was arrested in the town of Tarbes in southern France, the other in the southeastern city of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Galileo Satellites on Wrong Orbit
Two European Galileo satellites have failed to reach their intended orbit. The two satellites are part of a program which aims to provide a European version of the American GPS satellite navigation system.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gambling Addict Sues Holland Casino for Letting Him Play
A gambling addict from Leerdam is suing the state-owned casino operator Holland Casino for failing to ban him from their premises.
The man claims he was allowed into the casino in Utrecht despite having two banning orders and then lost more than €1m at the tables, the Volkskrant said. The banning orders were issued in 2002 and 2006. Both were relinquished after the man said he learned from his mistakes.
The man, who says he has lost his job and friends and owes large sums of money, is claiming damages from the casino group for allowing him to play again.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gianni Vattimo: Italian Philosopher Uses Language Not Usually Used by a Philosopher
[…]
Instead, noises quite different in character have been voiced in the hostile words and actions of citizens in various European countries. Only a few examples are necessary to make the point. One example came from the lips of the Italian Marxist philosopher and former member of the European Parliament Gianni Vattimo, whose blatantly frank opinion was, in language not usually used by a philosopher, “I’d like to shoot those bastard Zionists.” Fortunately, since he was exempted from military service, he couldn’t really shoot anyone.
Vattimo’s contributions to political wisdom in regards to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were unusual, to say the least. He called for Europeans to raise more money to “buy Hamas more rockets.” He wanted international brigades to fight alongside Hamas. He had already called in 2009 for the European Union to remove Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations. …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
How Britain’s Anti-Terror Laws Compare
The shortcomings of Britain’s laws against terrorism have one common thread — the influence of the Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act, introduced by the former Labour government, has played a crucial role in restricting the scope of counter-terrorism measures in Britain.
It enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights in domestic law for the first time, and came into force in October 2000.
Less than a year later, the Government had to draw up emergency anti-terror laws in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States — and ministers found they were left with one arm tied behind their backs…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iceland Says Subglacial Eruption is Under Way
Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano began erupting Saturday under the ice of Europe’s largest glacier, prompting the country to close the airspace over the volcano.
Thousands of small earthquakes have rattled the volcano, located deep beneath the Vatnajokull glacier, in the last week. Seismic data indicated that magma from the volcano was melting ice beneath the glacier’s Dyngjujokull icecap, Meteorological Office vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said.
The remote area, 200 miles east of the capital of Reykjavik, is uninhabited.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Islamist Militants on Rise in Austria: Government
(Reuters) — Authorities suspect around 130 people resident in Austria — most of them foreign nationals — have allied themselves with Islamist militants fighting abroad, officials in Vienna said on Friday, raising their estimate by nearly a third.
Public safety director Konrad Kogler told a news conference the 130 figure included “people actively participating in combat as well as ones who have returned to Austria, because both groups of people are relevant for us”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Chamois Thriving in Abruzzo National Park
Experts counted 497 specimens, up from 392 last summer
(ANSA) — Rome, August 19 — The Apennine chamois is making a comeback, with some 100 new specimens roaming the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise (PNALM), experts said Tuesday.
A team of 60 experts, forest rangers and volunteers counted 497 specimens (up from 392 last summer), of which 141 were newborns and 57 were yearlings.
“This is comforting news,” said PNALM President Antonio Carrara.
The 496-square-kilometer park plays an important role in the preservation of native species such as the Italian wolf, the Marsican brown Bbear, and the Apennine chamois, which is a goat-antelope species.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
23 August 2014: A man was shot and killed at an Albanian mosque in the Swiss town of St.Gallen on Friday.
Police arrested a man at the scene with a handgun.
Press reports have indicated a family feud may be the reason behind the murder. A former imam at the mosque said there was no political motive.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Pledges Military Support to Baltic States
19 August 2014: Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — former Soviet republics with their own Russian-speaking minorities — are increasingly anxious that the conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea could herald destabilisation in their own region by Moscow. The Baltic states have asked for an increased NATO presence to reinforce Article 5 of the alliance’s constitution, which states that an attack on one of its members is an act of aggression against all, obliging them to react.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Police Say Several People Injured When Swedish Mounted Police Charge Demonstrators
Swedish police say several people were injured, including one seriously, when mounted police charged demonstrators in the southern part of the country.
Police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford said Saturday that officers on horseback chased rock-throwing demonstrators who were “causing violent riots.” Local media had photos of people on the ground as police horses raced over them down a street in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city.
Approximately 1,000 people had gathered in Malmo to protest an election rally by a far-right group, the Party of the Swedes, ahead of the country’s Sept. 14 parliamentary vote.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Greet Dalai Lama in Germany Visit
At the beginning of a four-day trip to Germany, the Dalai Lama spoke out critically of Islamic State (IS) militants fighting in Iraq and Syria. His arrival was met by protests from a fundamentalist Buddhist group.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Red Alert’ In Iceland as Bardarbunga Volcano Starts Erupting
Iceland has raised its aviation alert for the Bardarbunga volcano to red. Scientists at the Scandinavian island nation’s meteorological office said a sub-glacial eruption was already possibly underway.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scandinavian Stockpile: The Pentagon is Stuffing Caves in Norway Full of Tanks
19 August 2014: The Pentagon is sending tanks, armored vehicles and containers full of other military gear to caves in Norway. It’s all for the U.S. Marine Corps, which wants to update and expand its Scandinavian stockpile. Now, the military is adding M-1A1 Abrams tanks and a number of Assault Breacher Vehicles to the bunkers. The Pentagon is also adding M-88 tank retrievers, amphibious assault vehicles, up-armored Humvees and various upgraded trucks to the cache.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Showdown: Scotland Braces for Last TV Debate as Vote for Independence From Britain Draws Near
Scotland’s long debate over whether the country should become independent has proved a bonanza for printers of bumper stickers, posters, balloons and even umbrellas.
Nationwide the words “Yes” and “No” can be found emblazoned on everything from street lights to shopping bags. Posters proclaiming “Proud to be Scots. Delighted to be United” and “Yes to a better, fairer Scotland” adorn the windows of homes sharing the same street.
On Monday, it’s showdown time. Scotland’s pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, leader of the “No” campaign, will face off in their last televised debate before the Sept. 18 referendum.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Silence Over UK’s Muslim Brotherhood Inquiry Raises Questions
The British government is fighting claims that it has delayed publication of a long-awaited report on the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities, and possible links to terrorism, after learning that it opposed a ban on the organisation.
Downing Street, the office of British prime minister, David Cameron, previously said the report would be presented to government, and its findings made public, by the end of the last parliamentary session.
Parliament rose on July 22 and is not due to reconvene until September 1. Mr Cameron’s office now insists it promised only to deliver the report to the prime minister by then and not its publication.
But British media — and The National — were under the impression, on the basis of what officials had said, that the findings would be published at the same time…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
South Stream ‘Plan B’ Opts for Route Through Greece and Turkey
19 August 2014: Russian business newspaper Vzglyad published an article claiming that Gazprom has a “plan B” in case Bulgaria continues to obstruct the construction of the South Stream pipeline. The article quotes Turkish energy Minister Taner Yildiz as saying that Ankara would allow South Stream to reach Turkey under the Black Sea instead of Bulgaria, as originally planned. However, Russian sources are quoted as saying that the Turkish route is not Moscow’s preferred one, as it is longer, and because of the lost possibility of reaching Serbia and Hungary.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
[Follow the link to see a photo of the magnificent vessel.]
7 August, 2014: Spain’s Guardia Civil has discovered 127 kilograms (280 pounds) of cocaine on board the training ship Juan Sebastián Elcano. Regarded as one of the most impressive tall ships in the world, what the Spanish Navy calls their “most emblematic vessel”, Juan Sebastian Elcano found itself amidst the drug trafficking scandal, The Guardian reports. … The vessel was inspected upon arrival from a six-month journey which included a call in Columbia, which is where the authorities suspect the cocaine was loaded.
The authorities are keeping investigation open in an attempt to find out whether the tall ship was used for drug smuggling before, as well as to determine if the three jailed crew members, who if found guilty face up to six years in prison, were the only ones involved in the illicit trafficking.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: 3 Protesters Injured by Mounted Police
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — At least three people were seriously injured Saturday when mounted riot police charged demonstrators in southern Sweden, authorities said.
Police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford said officers on horseback chased rock-throwing demonstrators who were “causing violent riots” in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city. Swedish media published photos of people on the ground as police horses raced over them down a street…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Ten Injured at Malmö Anti-Nazi Demonstration
A planned manifestation against the neo-Nazi Party of the Swedes spiralled out of control on Saturday in Malmö as police and protesters clashed leading to several injuries.
Ten people were taken to hospital, five with serious injuries with one of them requiring treatment in the emergency room. Police arrested six people and took scores more into custody.
An estimated 1,500 people gathered in Limhamn square to protest against a planned appearance by the leader of the Svenskarnas parti (party of the Swedes) who was due to make a speech…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Failure of the E.U and Its Postmodern Foreign Policy
[Good article, highly recommended, follow the link and read the whole thing.]
August 11, 2014: … These days the E.U. acts more and more like a bloated bureaucracy staffed with elites armed with intrusive regulatory power and insulated from citizen accountability. The success of Euroskeptic parties in this spring’s European Parliament elections casts doubt on the whole E.U. project…
The problem with the E.U. is that it was, at its founding, grounded in false assumptions about human nature and the role of the nation in creating a people’s identity. These assumptions have for 200 years been accepted as facts, when actually they are questionable ideas challenged by history.
The E.U. is just the latest example of the powerful Enlightenment idea that human nature and civilization, through the expansion of scientific knowledge, are progressing away from the cruelty, oppression, and collective violence created by irrational superstition, religion, and ethnic or nationalist loyalties. Once liberated from this destructive ignorance, people can create political and social orders that will promote peace, social justice, political freedom, and prosperity. Most important will be what Immanuel Kant, in his influential 1795 essay “Perpetual Peace,” called a “federation of free states” that would form a “pacific alliance . . . different from a treaty of peace, . . . inasmuch as it would forever terminate all wars.” Kant predicated the possibility of such global peace on “the uniformity of the progress of the human mind.” A universal human nature progressively becoming more rational and possessing more knowledge about itself and the world can craft a global order that would lessen if not eliminate the evils that had afflicted the human race for all of its previous history.
In the nineteenth century, transnational treaties, conventions, and institutions were created to realize the dream “of establishing and securing international peace by placing it upon a foundation of international understanding, international appreciation, and international cooperation,” …
The assumption behind such internationalism was that the national and ethnic differences underlying people’s collective identities were not as important as the new universal, transnational identity created by the expansion of scientific knowledge, globalized trade, and globe-shrinking technologies such as the steamship, railroad, telegraph, and telephone. More important, this belief in a unified human identity assumed that all people everywhere desired the same things as Westerners — — political freedom, human rights like equality, and prosperity. The other aims that peoples historically have more often pursued — — obedience to their gods, exclusionary ethnic or tribal loyalty, land and resources violently appropriated from others, unequal social hierarchies and roles, revenge for injuries or dishonor inflicted by others — — were deemed remnants of our barbaric past soon to be left behind by the progress of the human mind and the improvement in peoples’ material and political circumstances.
The unprecedented carnage of World War I … [n]or … the even greater horrors of World War II [and the failure of the UN] disabuse[d] the West of its idealism… .
This record of failure would not have surprised political theorists from Thucydides to the American framers. In that tradition, human nature is permanently flawed by … “passions and interests” that necessarily conflict with those of other people or nations, and often lead to violence between them. … Nor did these realists believe that better education or prosperity could permanently rein in these flaws of human nature, for … the tragic contingencies of human existence, would always create stresses
[…]
Equally suspect is the assumption that national identity should be weakened and marginalized because it is irrationally exclusionary and parochial, and as such incites zero-sum conflicts between peoples…
This tarring of nationalism with the brush of fascism and Nazism was one of the mechanisms for selling the transnational European Union and the weakening of national sovereignty it required.
But this assault on national identity was not just historically dubious, but blind to the role the nation-state played in creating the collective identity and solidarity that made liberal democracy possible… “The sovereign state and representative government are the two great artifices that have allowed us to accommodate huge masses of human beings within an order of civilization and liberty.” Shared language, history, mores, folkways, cultures, values, political virtues, and landscapes give people — bound as they are to a particular, concrete place and time in which they pass their daily lives — — the foundations of their shared existence that transcend their individual differences. … Without those complex “ties that bind,” a people cease being a coherent political community, and become instead a congeries of fragmented, discrete groups with irreconcilable interests and aims.
The tiny elite of … may live in a postmodern, post-national world, but the mass of ordinary Europeans do not. This stubborn nationalist sentiment becomes vocal at times of crisis, … .
Moreover, Europeans still have to live with neighbors who are passionate about their nationalism, none more so than Russia. The EU “postmodern” foreign policy based on “supranational constraints on unilateral policies and the progressive development of community norms,” as Oxford’s Kalypso Nicolaides puts it, has so far been impotent in the face of Vladimir Putin’s irredentist ambitions… .
The growing strength of frankly nationalist, Euroskeptic political parties … testifies to the continuing hold national identity has on millions of Europeans. … . How it will manifest itself in the future — — through peaceful political change, or through violent reaction — — is still an open question. … .
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Theresa May Pledges New Measures to Tackle British Jihadis
New powers to tackle extremist groups are being looked at by the government, the home secretary has said.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Theresa May said what have been dubbed “Asbos for terrorists” could be introduced for those who try to radicalise others.
Groups believed to be inciting terrorism could also be banned under new orders, even if they “fall short of the legal threshold”, she said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Join Human Chain Across the German-Polish Border to Protest Brown Coal Mining
Several thousand people have formed a human chain across the German-Polish border to protest the expansion of open-cast mining for brown coal in the region.
Organizers said more than 7,500 people linked up in an 8-kilometer ( 5-mile) chain between Kerkwitz, Germany, and Grabice, Poland — two villages that activists fear will be evacuated to make way for further brown coal mines, also known as lignite.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Three Steps to Combating Islamic Extremism in UK
Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Ajmal Masroor says the government needs to be “more consistent with their foreign policy” and in order to deter British citizens fighting with Islamic extremists in Iraq
[…]
Spokesman Ajmal Masroor said he believed there needed to be a three ponged approach to deter British citizens from fighting with Islamic extremists in Iraq.
“First we need to inculcate the spirit of solidarity, togetherness and our unique identity, and that is we live in this country and it is our home,” he said
He emphasised the need to tell young Muslims, that whatever their grievances that there was no justification for picking up the gun, and “that it cannot be done in the name of Islam”.
Finally the government needed to be “more consistent with its foreign policy”, not support dictatorships and encourage the spread of democracy in the Middle East.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UEFA Opens Probe Into Tavecchio ‘Banana’ Remark
FIGC chief says will explain ‘mistake’
(ANSA) — Paris, August 20 — UEFA on Wednesday opened a probe into an alleged racist slur by new Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) President Carlo Tavecchio, who said there were some ‘banana-eating’ players in Serie A. Tavecchio made the alleged remark, for which he has apologised, during his campaign to replace Giancarlo Abete as FIGC chief.
There were calls for him to be disqualified because of it and former integration minister Cecile Kyenge condemned the alleged remark.
In response to the probe news, Tavecchio said he would explain “my mistake and my real intentions” to UEFA, saying he was “serene and respectful of UEFA’s decision”.
Tavecchio said the FIGC had been expecting the probe as a “due act”.
“I am certain I will be able to explain, also in the UEFA forum, both my mistake and my real intentions.” Italian soccer has had historic problems with racism and players including Italy star Mario Balotelli have faced monkey chants and thrown bananas.
Starting his new job Monday, Tavecchio said he had apologised for what he described as a “gaffe” and had been instrumental in letting thousands of extra-EU players into the Italian game at all levels.
Seeking to calm the row, on August 13, Tavecchio named black retired Italian Olympic medalist and former long jump world champion Fiona May as his anti-racism advisor.
She will advise Tavecchio on integration in sport and come up with anti-discrimination campaigns aimed at schools and youth.
The British-born athlete competed in the long jump, winning two World Championships and two Olympic silver medals.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Twerking’ Police Expected at Notting Hill Carnival
Ahead of The Notting Hill Carnival in London, Met Police Chief Inspector Robyn Williams, suggests visitors may get to see “police twerking” but also warns people to stay safe and make a plan for the day
The Notting Hill carnival, an annual two-day celebration of Caribbean culture that usually draws about 1 million people, is due to get under way on Sunday in West London…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Anti-Israel Protesters Defend Hitler, Police Eject Pro-Israel Man
LONDON, United Kingdom — Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters lined the streets of Westminster today in yet another show of ‘solidarity’ with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Breitbart London was present to document the scenes as demonstrators defended Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, wearing t-shirts with his face on them, and stated that there should be ‘no two state solution’ to the crisis in the Middle East.
One man turned up with an Israeli flag and attempted to peacefully counterprotest on the opposite side of the road to the Gaza demonstrators. He was quickly surrounded, telling Breitbart London he felt “physically intimated”. Police refused to allow the man to protest, possibly in fear of his safety.
They then escorted him to Westminster Tube station where Breitbart London cameras were told to “do one” (an aggressive way of telling us to leave).
WATCH THE SCENES ON LONDON’S STREETS
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron Needs Stamina and Will for the Battle Ahead
by Matthew d’Ancona
The PM pondered the mystery that connects the murder of Foley to the chimneys of Auschwitz: how does a fellow citizen become the murderer in a mask?
One question above all others gripped the Prime Minister after he watched the James Foley video last week. As Chris Martin, David Cameron’s principal private secretary, Craig Oliver, his communications director, and representatives of the counter-terrorist agencies absorbed the horror of what they had seen, the PM reflected with his colleagues upon the mystery that (one might say) connects the murder of Foley to the blood-stained blades of Rwanda to the smokestacks of Auschwitz: how, and at what point, does one human being stop seeing the person he is about to slaughter as a fellow human being?…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Jewish Man Arrested After Chasing Off ‘Anti-Semitic’ Pro-Palestinian Protesters in London
A Jewish man has been arrested for common assault after he drove away socialist, pro-Palestinian protestors who were menacing a kosher delicatessen in Bushey, just north of London.
Jewish News is reporting that witnesses described how a group of around 15 men, who had been taking part in a socialist ‘March for jobs’ unfurled Palestinian flags outside Flax’s Kosher Deli, at about 5.20pm last Tuesday. Some of the customers went out to confront the men, chasing them down the street where the scene escalated into violence.
Hertfordshire Police confirmed the arrest; the man has now been bailed and will have to appear in court…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Mosque Distances Itself From ‘Female Jihadi’ Who Worshipped There
Khadijah Dare, from Lewisham, who moved to Syria in 2012, says she wants to be first UK woman to kill a western prisoner
A London mosque has distanced itself from one of its former worshippers after she vowed to become the first female jihadi to kill a western prisoner in Syria. Khadijah Dare, from Lewisham in south-east London, said she wanted to carry out a copycat killing following the brutal murder of American journalist James Foley…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: We Must Give Ourselves All the Legal Powers We Need to Prevail
by Theresa May
The fight against terrorism will last decades and we must confront and defeat the extremist ideology, writes Theresa May
The cowardly murder this week of James Foley, a man who was working to highlight the suffering of the Syrian people to the world, has demonstrated once again the very deadly threat we face from terrorism at home and abroad…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Vandals Target Jewish School in Denmark
(JTA) — A Jewish school in Denmark’s capital city was vandalized this week — its windows broken and anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on the building.
Scrawled on the walls of the historic Caroline school in Copenhagen were the words “No peace in Gaza” and “No peace to you Zionist pigs,” AFP is reporting…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mercenaries, Extremists Become Major Balkans Export
16 August 2014: On August 8, a Bosnian citizen named Emrah Fojnica, 23, blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Iraq during an attack by the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIL. Just days later, police in Kosovo arrested 40 suspected Islamist radicals during a raid of about 60 locations around the country. The men are accused of fighting with extremist militants in Syria and Iraq. And officials in Serbia estimate that dozens of Serbs are fighting on both sides in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
The UAE’s Shadowy Dealings in Serbia
16 August 2014: The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been accused of acting as a proxy for the US and Israel in Eastern Europe while also attempting to exploit a loosely regulated Serbian arms market to distribute weapons across the Middle East. “The UAE may be using its close ties and investment strategies in Serbia to thwart its rival Turkey from establishing a firm foothold and spreading its economic and geopolitical influence in the Balkans,” the source told MEE.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Attacks on Egyptian Churches a Year Later
In an interview, the principal of a Jesuit school in Minya talks about “an anniversary that the world wanted to forget.” Today, “the situation has improved” in the city, especially in the relations between Muslims and Christians. The Islamic community “reassures us of the need of our presence here.”
Minya (AsiaNews) — “Last 14 August marked an anniversary the world would rather forget, namely the destruction of many churches in Egypt. As if we Christians were not human beings and, therefore, did not deserve to live,” said Fr Bimal Kerketta SJ.
The Indian-born Jesuit clergyman has been in Egypt for more than ten years where he is the dean of the school of the Jesuit Fathers in Minya.
In remembrance of the Islamist fury that swept over Christian institutions and places of worship, he celebrated a memorial Mass with his community so that what happened on 14 August 2013 would not be forgotten, asking God for “the opportunity to rebuild what was destroyed.”
In an interview with AsiaNews, Fr Kerketta talked about what has changed with the rise to power of former General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, especially in relations with Muslims.
Today do you live in insecurity?
Although the situation has improved, we must always be careful and cautious. The government is trying to do its best, but given the large numbers, it cannot always do so in a timely manner.
One thing that is being said is that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood managed to do in just two years what Mubarak failed to do in 30 years: fraud, corruption, lies, and more.
Any sign of hope?
Yes, there seem to be some hope with Al-Sisi’s government. Some Muslims are willing to help, but we still cannot count on them, because they are afraid of being considered “khafir”, not “real” Muslims. If a good Muslim speaks against such acts, he can be killed by anyone, without anyone doing anything.
After the destruction of your school, did you receive support from the Muslim community?
Yes, many people have shown love and appreciation for our work. All the Muslims who know what we do are always grateful, because they see the difference. After the attack, they showed their appreciation for the contribution Jesuits make to society and the education of their children.
Today, this gratitude is more openly expressed, not only in schools but also in everyday life. They also continue to reassure us about the need for our presence here, for the good of all.
Have you received compensation for the attack?
Yes, but it is not sufficient given the level of damage, so we did not accept it. We asked to demolish what was left of the building, because it is easier to rebuild from scratch than to repair what little was left.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Power Crisis Worsens as Outages Approach Five Hours Per Day
19 August 2014: The electricity deficit reached approximately 6,180MW on Monday, resulting in power outages for periods exceeding five hours daily, said an official at the Ministry of Electricity. A 1900MW portion of the deficit resulted from a shortage of 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent while another 2500MW was attributed to poor technical conditions at power stations, partially a result of failure to carry out the necessary maintenance and repair operations.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
New Mystery Air Raid Over Tripoli Kills 10 Libyan Islamists
Tripoli (AFP) — Using the cover of darkness to mask its identity, a mystery warplane launched a raid near Tripoli airport overnight, killing at least 10 Islamist, a Libyan militia spokesman said Saturday.
Libya Islamists say they have taken Tripoli airport AFP Renegade Libyan forces say their planes attack Tripoli again Reuters UN condemns fresh clashes in Libyan capital AFP U.N. delegation holds talks in Tripoli over militia ceasefire Reuters U.N. seeks Libya ceasefire talks; protesters oppose Congress Reuters The new strike came five days after an initial night raid alarmed Tripoli residents and sparked questions, yet to be answered, about where the aircraft had come from.
Neither the targeted militants nor the Libyan government, lacking real power and holed up in Tobruk 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) east of Tripoli, have been able to shed light on the identity of the two planes in Monday’s raid.
The latest deadly strike targeted an army base to the south of Tripoli and a nearby warehouse, Mohammed al-Ghariani, spokesman for the Fajr Libya (Libyan Dawn) coalition of militias, said on An-Nabaa television.
Ghariani said “at least 10 men” from Fajr Libya died and 20 were wounded in the raid, a follow-up to Monday’s initial air bombardment.
“We haven’t identified the plane that carried out the raid, just like those that attacked us on Monday,” the Fajr Libya spokesman said.
During a lull in the fighting, the Islamist militia organised a visit on Thursday for Libyan journalists to prove they had captured the building, which was the army’s headquarters during the regime of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi, overthrown in 2011.
– Airport shut –
Rogue general Khalifa Haftar, who opposes the Islamists and favours the Zintan militia, claimed to be behind Monday’s raid, but specialists doubted his ability to carry out such at attack.
An air force unit which has refused to join an offensive launched by Haftar in the eastern city of Benghazi said the aircraft were “foreign, not Libyan”.
Ghariani said the raids were undoubtedly aimed at relieving pressure on the Zintan militia, who, he said, were struggling to fend off Fajr Libya’s campaign aimed ultimately at taking control of Tripoli international airport…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens Watch Public Executions in Gaza Outside Mosque
Dozens of Palestinians look on as seven men believed to be Israeli informants are publicly executed outside a mosque in central Gaza.
The seven men, who had their hands tied and bags put over their head, were led to a wall and shot dead by masked executioners. A pro-Hamas website said it would serve as a warning that anyone who aids the Israelis would also be killed in what is known as the “strangling necks operation”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Aircraft Bomb Gaza as Hamas Backs ICC Bid
The war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has entered its 47th day, with Israeli air strikes countering Hamas rocket fire. Meanwhile, Hamas says it has backed a Palestinian bid to join the ICC.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Strike Totally Destroys Gaza Mosque
GAZA CITY — Israeli planes early on Saturday launched a strike against a mosque in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, but no human casualties were reported from the attack.
The attack turned, however, the eastern Khan Younis mosque to rubble and caused damage to surrounding homes and buildings, eyewitnesses said. Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency that the attack on the mosque did not leave any human casualties behind…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
15,000 Sunni Tribesmen to Join Iraqi Forces to Fight IS
20 August 2014: Fifteen thousand people from Iraq’s Sunni tribes will join to the ranks of Iraqi army in western Anbar province against the ongoing fight against the self-styled Islamic State (IS) militant group. “Defense and Interior ministries approved joining of 15,000 volunteers from the tribes into Iraqi army troops for the ongoing fight.” “The voluntary troops will join Iraqi army and police ranks after the establishment of the new Iraqi government, (due to be formed in the upcoming weeks)” he said.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Assad No Longer Main Threat in Syria
The “Islamic State” is waging war in Syria. But even though President Bashir al-Assad fights a dangerous battle against the IS, he can be safe in the knowledge that he is no longer public enemy number one in the West.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
At Paris March, Hundreds of Kurds Decry Islamic State Assaults Against Civilians in Iraq
Hundreds of ethnic Kurds are marching in Paris to demand more international support for civilians in Iraq facing assaults by Islamic State militants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Baghdad Warns Against Foreign Supply of Arms to ‘Certain Faction’
18 August 2014: Iraq’s armed forces command warned on Sunday against foreign planes breaching Iraq’s airspace and arming “a certain Iraqi faction,” of Iraq’s armed forces that are still officially under former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said in a public statement, “We have noticed that in recent days foreign fighter jets have breached Iraq’s airspace and delivered arms to a certain faction [Kurdish forces] inside Iraq without Baghdad’s permission,” Maliki was forced by President Fuad Masum last week to step down as prime minister after almost eight years in office.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Bombs Kill at Least 35 Across Iraq a Day After Mosque Shooting
(Reuters) — Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people in attacks that appeared to be revenge for an assault on a Sunni mosque that has deepened sectarian conflict.
A bomb also exploded in the northern city of Arbil on Saturday, a rare attack unsettling the relative stability the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region has enjoyed…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Dueling Jihadists: Is the Islamic State Beating Al-Qaida?
Within just a few years, the Islamic State has grown to become the most feared jihadist group in the Middle East. In an interview, Brookings Institution fellow Charles Lister describes IS’ rise in Iraq and Syria and what can be done to stop it.
Money is key here. It is well-known that the IS is almost entirely self-financed. Its money comes from the control and illicit sale of oil and gas, agricultural products like wheat, the control of water and electricity and from imposing taxes within areas it controls. It is literally earning millions of dollars each week, and a great deal of this money is pumped into social services. This is symbolic of the fact that IS is presenting itself exactly as its name implies: as an Islamic State.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You have stated that IS leader Abu Baqr Baghdadi has greater religious legitimacy than Osama bin Laden or Zawahiri ever possessed.
Lister: Even though they presented themselves as experts on Islam, neither bin Laden nor Zawahiri had official religious training. Baghdadi reportedly has a PhD in Islamic Theology and was also a cleric in a mosque in his hometown of Samara.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
For Eastern Churches, The Use of Force is Legitimate to Defend Iraq’s Christians
The leaders of Eastern Churches call for the ouster of the Islamic state from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains. For Syriac Catholic Patriarch Yousef II Younan, the international community must have the “courage” to live up “to its principles.” Mar Sako says Eastern Churches, when together are “big and strong”.
Beirut (AsiaNews) — The visit of solidarity by Eastern Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs to Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, went beyond the traditional pastoral framework and protocol. In the wake of the meeting with Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, the focus moved to the legitimacy of the use of force against jihadist aggression and the return of Christians driven from Mosul and the villages of the Nineveh Plains.
The visit ended on Wednesday with a press conference at the end of which Patriarchs Beshara al Rahi and Gregorios III returned to Lebanon, whilst Syriac Catholic Patriarch Younan and Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ephrem Karim stayed on a little longer since their Churches, unlike the Maronite and Greek Catholic Churches, have faithful in Iraq.
Held after meeting President Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region and its Prime Minister (and nephew), the conference had nothing conventional.
Right to self-defence
The call for action corresponds to the Catholic teaching on the right to self-defence.
“We are raising the alarm,” Syriac Catholic Patriarch Yousef III Younan told L’Orient-Le Jour. “There is no time to lose. Our survival in Mesopotamia is at stake. Free nations who signed the Charter of Human Rights should have the courage to live up to its principles. We call for an international intervention to defend us, not to conquer. We have the right to defend ourselves and we ask to be defended. The international community did well in Kosovo despite Russia’s opposition at the time. We will try, with Pope Francis to have our right for a defensive military intervention recognised to deal with the jihadi groups that threaten us.”
Vatican Clarification
For its part, the Vatican on Wednesday clarified a statement made by Francis during his press conference on board the plane that took him back from Seoul.
On that occasion, Pope Francis said that in case of “unjust aggression” it was “lawful to halt the unjust aggressor.” He was “not saying bombing, making war [against him], but halting him. The means by which one can halt him should be evaluated.” Likewise, “A single nation cannot judge how to halt an unjust aggressor.”
“After the Second world War came the idea of the United Nations. That is where we must discuss [the issue] and say if there is an unjust aggressor? If that is the case, then how do we stop him?”
Al-Rahi: shame
It is in this spirit that the international community must be challenged, said Maronite Patriarch Beshara al Rahi.
“We believe letting the jihadists of the Islamic State do whatever they want would be a disgrace,” he said. “That a terrorist group of diabolical inspiration is left free to act is an unprecedented scandal. We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities. It is unacceptable that a group of this kind can oppress peoples, whilst the international community fails to defend a group that cannot defend itself.”
Wahhabism called into question
For his part, Patriarch Younan implicitly pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi doctrine as the inspiration for the Islamic State. “This group was born thanks to such support,” he said, and now “people are trying to shirk their responsibility in this situation”.
Sources close to the patriarchal delegation said that, during the meeting with President Barzani, the latter told Church leaders that the Peshmerga were ready to do their duty to defend Iraq’s Christians, but that Kurdistan must be properly equipped in terms of weapons.
President Barzani told members of the delegation that jihadists mined roads and the houses Christians abandoned as they fled their villages. At present, the Peshmerga lack the expertise to clear the mines.
For his part, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ephrem Karim demanded nothing less than an autonomous region for Christians of Iraq, within an Iraqi Federal Republic, which the Iraqi constitution allows. Similarly, he said that Christians should be armed, which some parties in Kurdistan have already called for in light of recent events.
A combative patriarch also called on Ban Ki-moon to visit Iraq, inviting the pope to make a bolder use of his influence on behalf of Iraqi Christians. He also called for the liberation of Mosul and adding that in some cases residents from some villages in the Nineveh Plains could already return home.
Without directly challenging his fellow prelate, Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III spoke in favour of friendliness and living together as alternatives to such a nationalist stance.
Speaking at the same press conference that marked the end of the patriarchal visit, Patriarch Sako said that the Eastern Churches are a group of “small Churches, but by virtue of their unity, they form a Church that is big and strong.” (Fady Noun)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France Urges Iran to Join the Fight Against Islamic State
21 August 2014: France’s foreign minister yesterday pressed “all countries in the region” as well as Iran to join Western nations in the fight against Islamic State fighters rampaging through Iraq and Syria. “We would like all the countries of the region to join in this action (that includes the Arab countries and Iran), but we would also like the P5 to join in with this action,” Laurent Fabius told a parliamentary committee, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
[Interesting article, particularly the paragraph describing jihadis buying camping equipment on Turkish border.]
11 August, 2014: [T]racking down the owner of an [Istanbul] shop selling branded merchandise celebrating the world’s most currently infamous terrorist group proved to be a particularly tall order.
In the sleepy working-class neighbourhood of Bagcilar, nestled just a kilometre away from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, … A few blocks from the square, past several nondescript electronics stores and dozens of kebab stalls, is a modest, one-room shop called Islami Giyim, or Islamic Clothing. At first, the store appears to be nothing more than a depot of a neglected wholesaler: a bare room sparsely populated with a smattering of mannequins featuring niqabs…
The shop would barely perk the interest of an unconcerned passerby if it weren’t for a prominent rack of men’s clothing ranging from T-shirts to sweatshirts to cargo pants placed directly in front of a main display window featuring the logo of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, or ISIS. …
The goods on offer target young males with active lifestyles and a tendency toward Islamist insurgency. While the cargo pants, made of a dense Carhartt-esque cotton fabric, appeared ready for action in the craggy hills of northern Syria, many of the T-shirts felt like the cheap promotional clothing thrown around during political campaigns in this part of the world. There were green bandannas of the type often seen around the heads of jihadi fighters on suicide missions. I spotted at least five different bandanna designs…
After two weeks of trying, I was finally able to get hold of the owner of this shop by phone. He was dismissive, clearly agitated by the waves of Turkish journalists eager to visit Istanbul’s only known purveyor of ISIS merchandise. Given the growing number of Turkish nationals volunteering to fight for the ISIS, as well as the Turkish government’s recent classification of the group as a terrorist organization, his reticence was not surprising…
“I am not an ISIS member, nor have I ever been one,” the owner of the shop said through a translator. Refusing to give his name, he expressed surprise at the surge in media attention that his shop has stirred up in the past few months. “I am responding to a market demand. This is Islamic clothing. What else can I say?”
One of the most popular items on sale at Islami Giyim is a black T-shirt with the slogan “There is no God but Allah” written in white letters. The logo is used widely by ISIS militants on flags and banners. When I asked the owner about it, he curtly said, “This is Islamic and that is why I carry it here.” When asked about the ISIS connection to the logo, he quipped, “For some this brings to mind ISIS and jihad, for me I see the Prophet Muhammad.”…
By most accounts, the production and design inspiration of ISIS clothing stems from East Asia.
The Indonesian company Zirah Moslem has emerged as the world’s leading seller of ISIS merchandise. T-shirts are generally priced under $15 and, until recently, could be found on its Facebook page. Before Facebook removed the page for violating its terms of service, Zirah Moslem had more than 9,000 likes. The company still sells clothing on its website and likely acts as a wholesaler to smaller operations around the world, like Istanbul’s Islami Giyim. While it might be easy to buy ISIS T-shirts and other articles of clothing online, to date Islami Giyim is the only brick-and-mortar establishment to receive any press…
Without revealing exact sales figures, [Islami Giyim’s] owner said that business was good. So good, in fact, that he plans to open more locations throughout Istanbul in the coming months.
It’s not hard to see why ISIS clothing has found an audience in Turkey. While Turkey has denied funding militants in Syria the way that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies have, the country has helped militants in other ways, such as allowing ISIS and other Sunni jihadi forces the use of territory to access Syria.
Staunchly opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey has largely kept open its 510-mile border with Syria. Foreign jihadis, easily spottable by their long beards, young physiques, and varied Arabic accents, have been using Istanbul as a main international air transit point to reach Syria. Towns in southern Turkey, such as Reyhanli and Gaziantep, have large jihadi populations. On a recent trip to Gaziantep, I watched as men speaking Iraqi Arabic bought thousands of dollars’ worth of camping equipment from an outdoor store 15 kilometres from the border. After a cup of tea with the owner, with the gear loaded in large duffel bags, they departed in the direction of Syria… One German newspaper claims that 10 percent of ISIS fighters are of Turkish origin.
Leaving Bagcilar after one of my fruitless attempts to track down the owner of Islami Giyim, …[I visited an] Aleppine restaurant for a quick bite before heading home, I asked the owner what he thought of the ISIS clothing store. “They have a lot of support here,” the soft-spoken man told me. “Obviously, we have our own problems [such as refugees], but I am sure that ISIS will turn its attention on Istanbul at some point.” He paused, scanning the restaurant, and said, “The sad thing is that they” — the Turkish government — “will have no one to blame but themselves if anything happens.”
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq Crisis: German Aid Minister Claims Qatar Financing Islamic State Jihadists
20 August 2014: Germany’s development aid minister, Gerd Mueller, has accused Qatar of financing the Islamic State terror group. There are also links between Qatar’s winning the 2022 World Cup bid and the Islamic State group. The country’s rich Aspire sports academy collaborated on a series of religious lectures in Doha during Ramadan this year which included the Saudi cleric Mohammad al-Arefe. Arefe has been banned from the United Kingdom by the Home Office for appearing at a Cardiff mosque where three teens were allegedly radicalised.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: ISIL: The World Must Tackle This Mass Psychosis
By Janet Daley
Take away its success and the glamour will go, leaving only a rump of fanatics
We are not engaged in a religious war. This is not a confrontation between Islam and the West. To start from that premise is to place Isil (which should not be called by its presumptive title “Islamic State”) on precisely the ground it wishes to occupy. As the voices of what the media calls “moderate Muslims” — who should actually just be described as “Muslims” — say repeatedly, the activities of these terrorist criminals hacking their way through northern Iraq have nothing to do with the Islamic faith…
[Reader comment by deedee2 on 23 August 2014.]
There have been so many threads dealing with the issue of Isis and Islam, and the recurring theme is that whenever comments are found to be mostly supporting the view that this is Islamic terrorism, with its origins in 620 , and that the behaviour of Isil is consistent with that laid down by in the Koran , and that all Muslims will put their allegiance to Islam before any country or state of birth or naturalisation……comments deleted, comments closed. We are witnessing the worst atrocities since Hitler, they are going on right now this minute. This is no time for censorship.
[Reader comment by patriot1721 on 23 August 2014.]
Isil: the world must tackle this mass psychosis
We are not engaged in a religious war. This is not a confrontation between Islam and the West.
Can you really be so detached from reality, Janet. What we are seeing in Iraq/Syria, is merely the vanguard of the approaching Islamic onslaught of the West and its values, and thanks to the naivety of people like you and those elected to defend the UK and its people, they are walking into power. If it was not so, we’d see masses of Muslims on the streets of this country condemning what is taking place in their name. The last time we saw Muslims on the streets of Britain was when they were insulting our dead returning from Iraq as they arrogantly defied the people and the law at Brize Norton, and the surrender to their power by a UK government. What are we seeing today, a few mild words of disapproval from Islam’s UK leadership.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
ISIL Besieges Town of Amerli Amid Fears of Repeat of Sinjar Massacre
The United Nations has called for a concerted effort to end the siege of Amerli, a town 110 miles north of Baghdad, which is home to 18,000 Shia Turkmen.
The town has been encircled by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) for the past two months. The majority of the residents of Amerli are part of the Turkmen ethnic group, who are descendants of Ottoman Turks and make up roughly four per cent of Iraq’s population. As Shia, they are directly targeted by Isil, who consider them apostates.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State’s Youngest Jihadist is a 13-Year-Old Belgian Boy
[What about the notorious 4 and 7 year old Australians infamous for holding up a severed head?]
22 August 2014: A 13-year-old boy from Belgium has been designated as the youngest of the Islamic State’s foreign fighters waging jihad in Syria and Iraq.
British experts on radicalization have confirmed that 13-year-old Younes Abaaound travelled to Syria with his 27-year-old brother Abdelhamid in early 2014.
Shiraz Maher, senior fellow at King’s College London’s International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence has confirmed that the boy — son of a shopkeeper called Omar and originally from Morocco left to join the Islamist fighters in January.
Talking about the killing of US journalist James Foley by Islamic State, Professor Peter Neumann, director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization said ISIS is a sophisticated, media-savvy organization. They clearly wanted to use a fluent English speaker to ensure the clip was widely used in the US media…
“ISIS has been suffering lately with US air strikes proving effective and giving cover for Kurdish and Iraqi forces to make gains against them. What the video aims to do is tip the balance of American public opinion against deeper involvement in the conflict,” Neumann said…
“We believe there are no more than 100 Americans currently involved in the conflict. MI5 and MI6 will likely have narrowed the suspects to a few people by now. We know he has a British, possibly London accent, and there are sophisticated tools available to analyse other photos which have been posted on Facebook and Twitter to ascertain height, eye colour, build etc. The security services likely also have information about clusters of fighters in particular areas, as well as probable locations of the hostages. This, combined with monitoring chatter in social media and forums, gives them enough clues to narrow it down to 3 or 4 people,” Prof Neumann said.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Kurdish Gun Bazaars, Where an AK-47 Costs $700 Unless You’re Arab
Northern Iraq might be the most expensive place on the globe to buy a gun, and if you’re Arab, it could prove impossible.
In the largely Kurdish region where natives are battling desperately to keep ruthless Islamic State fighters at bay, Russian-made AK-47s sell for $700, handguns start at $1,200 and U.S.-made M-16s fetch as much as $3,000. Everyday Kurds are taking up arms to protect their families and those seeking to join the Peshmerga, the Kurdish army, have to bring their own weapons to the front lines.
But not everyone’s money is good. Although Arabs have lived side-by-side with Kurds in the region for centuries, many Kurds say they don’t trust Arab Iraqis given Islamic State’s growing influence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Obama: Bad Intelligence Behind ISIS Underestimation
9 August 2014: [F]rom the White House South Lawn, President Barack Obama blamed “intelligence estimates” for not anticipating the speed in which ISIS would capture large sections of Iraq.
The president,who has been under harsh media criticism for likening ISIS to an Al-Qaeda JV basketball team in January said, “There is no doubt that their advance their movement over the last several of months has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates and I think the the expectation of policy makers both in and outside of Iraq.”
The president also made clear no troops would go into Iraq during this operation of humanitarian aid and military airstrikes on ISIS.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Oldest Metal Object in Middle East Discovered in Woman’s Grave
A copper awl is the oldest metal object unearthed to date in the Middle East. The discovery reveals that metals were exchanged across hundreds of miles in this region more than 6,000 years ago, centuries earlier than previously thought, researchers say.
The artifact was unearthed in Tel Tsaf, an archaeological site in Israel located near the Jordan River and Israel’s border with Jordan. The area was a village from about 5100 B.C. to 4600 B.C., and was first discovered in A.D. 1950, with digs taking place from the end of the 1970s up to the present day.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia Donates $100 Million for a UN Counter-Terrorism Centre
14 August 2014: Saudi Arabia has donated $100 million for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCTC) at a special event staged in the office of the UN Secretary-General at the organisation’s headquarters in New York on Wednesday. “The goal is to help provide the tools, technologies and methods to confront and eliminate the threat of terrorism,” Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said in presenting a check to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Britain Must Talk to Dictator Assad to Defeat ISIL, Says Former Head of the Army
Britain must co-operate with President Assad, the Syrian dictator, in order to confront Isil, the former head of the Army has said.
General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of General Staff, said the West must secure the permission of the Syrian government in order to launch airstrikes on Islamist militants…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
US ‘Set to Launch Air Strikes’ On Senior ISIS Terror Chiefs in Syria
White House will ‘take action’ against threats as Turkey comes under pressure to halt flow of jihadists across its border
The United States was said to be considering air strikes aimed at eliminating individual leaders of Islamic State as Turkey came under mounting pressure to stem the flow of jihadists across its border into Syria.
As Washington on Saturday debated extending air strikes into Syria, senior British politicians urged Ankara to act to block recruits from the UK and other countries from entering Syria via Turkey, en route to joining Islamic State (formerly Isis). This weekend large numbers of Isis jihadists were trying to secure greater control of the border area, pushing northwards in armoured trucks looted from abandoned Iraqi military bases…
| [Return to headlines] |
USA to Build a Military Airport in Kurdistan Region
16 August 2014: The Ministry of Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq announced that the ministry in coordination with the United States is about to start a project of establishing a military airport in Erbil (Hewler), capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Brigadier Halkurd Hikmet said that the U.S. military team in the Region to monitor the situation in Sinjar Mount, and they provided the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with a report recommending establishment of a military airport in Erbil in cooperation with the U.S. and the Iraqi Central Government.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Well-Known Turkish Jewish Couple Found Murdered
(JTA) — A prominent Turkish Jewish couple were found murdered in their Istanbul home. Police discovered the bodies of husband and wife, Jak Karako, 77, and Georgia Karako, 69, inside their apartment on Friday. They had been stabbed multiple times…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen — Rebels Attempt to Overthrow Government
21 August 2014: Led by heavily armed Shiite rebels, thousands of demonstrators are demanding the government step down by the end of the week. Rebel commander Abdulmalik al-Huthi said the authorities must meet protesters’ grievances by the end of the week, or additional forms of “legitimate action” would take place. According to reports, rebel militias were deploying on rooftops in parts of the capital and armed rebel convoys were entering the capital and setting up checkpoints. Military officials said forces were on standby in case of an attack.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
After Chelyabinsk, Russia Wants the Ability to Kill Asteroids
Russia wants the ability to destroy Earth-killing asteroids, and the Federal Space Agency says it only needs 23 billion rubles ($634 million) to do it, according to a proposed national space agenda through 2025 obtained by Interfax on Wednesday.
Russia has been leading the global charge in asteroid defense following the explosion of a meteor over the city of Chelyabinsk in 2013. That explosion generated a force estimated to be 20 to 30 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The rock blew up 30 kilometers over the city, and though no one died, 1,500 people were injured. The incident served as a wake up call to the real dangers of asteroid impacts.
Now, Russia is looking to build an asteroid defense system.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Calls for Bilateral Ceasefire Between Ukraine and Russia
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a ceasefire from Russia and Ukraine at talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv. She said the territorial integrity of Ukraine was “essential.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Humanitarian Convoy Returns From Ukraine
MOSCOW, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — The Russian humanitarian convoy that had delivered aid to Ukraine’s conflict-hit Lugansk region has returned to Russia, local media reported Saturday.
“The Russian humanitarian convoy has left the Ukrainian territory and is on Russian territory,” Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Shakhtar Donetsk’s Donbass Arena Suffers Bomb Damage
Shakhtar Donetsk’s Donbass Arena has been damaged by two explosions as unrest between national forces and pro-Russian separatists continues.
No-one was injured in the blasts, which happened at 06:00 EET (04:00 BST) and damaged communication equipment.
The Ukranian champions have left the city due to the conflict and are now based in the western city of Lviv.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Shvabe Holding Testing Ice-Cutting Laser Cannon
21 August 2014: Specialists at Russia-based Shvabe Holding, part of Rostec Corporation, are ready to test … a ship-mounted laser cannon that can cut through ice.
“We developed this ship-mounted laser for exploration and development in the Arctic, which has difficult ice conditions where platforms must operate and ships must pass through. This laser works like glass cutters, snipping away at the ice, and then the ship using its own weight can push through,” said Shvabe Holding CEO Sergey Maksin at the international exhibition Defense Expo.
Currently the laser cannon is being mounted on an icebreaker and tested. The laser can also cut ice heading toward oil and gas platforms in the Arctic seas, making it easer to break the ice up.
According to Sergey Maksin, if the tests are successful, the lasers can also be placed on ice-class vessels to help ensure the delivery of products along northern Siberian rivers, where ice is thinner. …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
India: 3,000 Displaced by Kashmir Skirmishes
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — Indian officials Saturday said over 3,000 people living close to international border (IB) in Kashmir were evacuated to safer places after troops of India and Pakistan have fired on each other ‘s positions and areas.
Four civilians were killed, two on each side in deadly skirmishes between the two sides early Saturday. Indian side said six civilians including a border guard of Border Security Force BSF) were also wounded due to Pakistani firing…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia Tightens Security at World’s Largest Buddhist Temple After ISIS Threat
Indonesian police have been put on alert at the Borobudur Temple after a threat against the world’s biggest Buddhist temple and UNESCO World heritage Site was made on Facebook by Islamic State supporters.
The threat was posted on a Facebook account under the title ‘We Are Islamic State’ — apparently the one of Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS) followers — on August 15.
It read, “God willing, (Borobudur) will be demolished by Islamic caliphate mujahidin!”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan Attempting to Destabilize Afghanistan by Arming, Funding Militamen
17 August 2014: The Pakistani intelligence agencies are looking to destabilize Afghanistan by funding and arming militiamen within the Afghan territory across Durand Line. The issue was discussed during the National Security Council (NSC) meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai. According to the Ministry of Defense report, the militiamen are also paid 30,000 Pakistani rupees on monthly basis besides arming them in a bid to use them to destabilize the regions located across the Durand Line in Afghan soil.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Why Every Pakistani Politician Needs a Shipping Container
Forget the soapbox — the must-have accessory for the modern politician in Pakistan seems to be the shipping container. Even Imran Khan is said to have spent more than $120,000 (£70,000) on one, reports Fahad Desmukh.
“These containers that you have placed on all four sides are not enough to stop this ocean of people!” declared cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan at a rally on Tuesday night. He was addressing Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the “containers” he was referring to were shipping containers.
The government had placed hundreds of the giant steel boxes on Islamabad’s roads to block protesters and stop them moving freely through the city.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Executes 8 for Xinjiang ‘Terrorist Attacks’
China executed eight people for “terrorist attacks” in the violence-wracked northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media said Saturday, with one or more of the condemned convicted for a suicide car crash at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
The announcement by the official Xinhua news agency said the eight were involved in five different cases connected to Xinjiang, where Beijing says separatist militants are behind a string of attacks that have rocked China in recent months.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait Signs Biggest Oil Deal With China — Deal to Utilize Services of KOTC Tankers
HONG KONG: State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and China’s Unipec signed a landmark deal yesterday that will almost double crude oil deliveries over a decade, the biggest-ever contract in KPC’s history. Under the agreement, KPC will provide UNIPEC crude oil starting from 2014, with the volume excepted to reach 300,000 barrels per day (bpd). KPC reached the historic 10 year deal with Unipec, the trading arm of China’s top refiner Sinopec, to replace the 160,000-170,000 bpd supply contract that had lapsed.
According to KPC, it is a strategic contract based on cost-and-freight (C&F) basis, which will involve utilizing of Kuwait Oil Tanker Co fleet. Yesterday’s deal is in the same direction of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by KPC and Unipec in Nov 2011. In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) after the signing ceremony in Hong Kong, KPC International Marketing Managing Director Nasser Al-Mudhaf, who led the Kuwaiti side, said the successful conclusion of the agreement is important not only for KPC, but also for HH the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair and KPC Chief Executive Officer Nizar Al-Adsani.
“We are very proud to sign this 10-year contract, which marks an excellent achievement as a package,” said Mudhaf. “The deal comes at a right time, because this is the first contract on C&F basis with the use of our own vessels to deliver crude oil. It will help smoothe operation, production and exports from Kuwait,” the official said. Mudhaf cited changes in Europe and the US where KPC used to deliver crude oil on C&F basis, and those markets are almost closed currently. “China is our new outlet where we will use more than 50 percent of our fleet for deliveries of crude oil,” he noted.
Stressing that China is world’s second-largest importer of crude oil and petroleum products with fastest growth in oil demand, Mudhaf said such a market is considered to be one of the most strategic and promising energy markets. “Therefore, KPC has placed China on its priority list, and this is agreement is one of the most important crude contracts for KPC. With this landmark contract, I think we will be the third-largest crude oil supplier to China.”
The world’s seventh-largest oil exporter supplied about 160,000 bpd of crude to China in the first half of this year, a ninefold increase from 18,000 bpd in 2004, according to data from the Chinese government. Established in 1993, Unipec is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec and is China’s largest international trade company. Unipec trades on the international market in crude oil, refined products, natural gas and chemical feedstock and handles Sinopec’s logistics business. — KUNA
| — Hat tip: RR | [Return to headlines] |
South Korea Likely to Acquire Iron Dome System From Israel
11 August 2014: The South Korean Government is reportedly interested in the acquisition of an Iron Dome anti-missile defence system from Israel in an effort to bolster protection against rockets launched from North Korea…
Iron Dome’s performance in the ongoing Gaza war had fuelled foreign interest in its procurement, including by South Korea…
The Iron Dome system is claimed to have achieved a 90% success rate in intercepting Hamas’s short-range rockets during the month-long Gaza crisis.
Rafael is yet to make any Iron Dome foreign sales and has to date focused on supplies to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Developed by Rafael with significant funding support from the US, Iron Dome is a mobile air defence system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and 155mm artillery shells in all weather conditions, including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Briton Tests Positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone
A British person living in Sierra Leone has tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, in the first confirmed case for a UK citizen.
The Department for Health confirmed that the victim had tested positive.
But it was not known whether they were working out there treating patients, or living permanently in the former British colony.
Professor John Watson, deputy chief medical officer, said: “The overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low. Medical experts are currently assessing the situation in Sierra Leone to ensure that appropriate care is provided.
“We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases when they arise, supported by a wide range of experts.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
CAR Mine Collapse: Dozens Killed at Rebel-Held Gold Mine
At least 25 people have died in a gold mine collapse in the Central African Republic, officials say.
The mine, near the city of Bambari, is controlled by mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who are operating it illegally. A senior government official in the capital, Bangui, said the mine did not follow regulations…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Tensions on Cape Town’s Streets
August 11 2014: Two different sets of pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on Sunday as the police and security guards locked down a pro-Israel rally attended by thousands in Cape Town’s city centre.
A day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestine marchers protested against Israel for the death of civilians in Gaza, thousands of people from Cape Town’s Jewish community “broke the silence” at a rally held at the Jewish Museum on Sunday, showing their support for Israel.
Security at the rally, organised by the Zionist Federation Cape Council, was tight, with security guards searching people before they entered the venue — The Piazza, opposite the Jewish Museum — in Hatfield Street…
Five people were arrested for allegedly inciting violence and disobeying a policeman.
The Save Gaza Group condemned the arrests of the five pro-Palestine demonstrators.
“We demand their unconditional release and right to protests against Israeli brutality and all other forms of oppression.”
Shaheed Mahomed, from the Action Forum in Support of Palestine, said the group arrested had been driving in the area. Police spokesman … confirmed the arrests. “Five people, four men aged from 30 to 43, and a 36-year-old woman, were arrested for conspiring to commit crime. They are expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s court on Monday. “…
Ben Levitas, chairman of the Zionist Federation Cape Council, said the Jewish community had demanded a rally to show support for Israel. “There has been a lot of anti-Israel demonstrations, and this is to show support for Israel,” Levitas said. “People are calling for death and we are upset because these are lives lost on both sides.”…
Reverend Barry Isaacs, founder of Transformation Africa, said many Christians supported the Israelis.
He accused South African leaders of not speaking up when Christians were being attacked.
“Our leaders did not speak up when Boko Haram kidnapped 200 Nigerian Christian girls, but when Israelis stand up for themselves, they talk. …” Barry said.
Meanwhile, scores of Palestine supporters gathered at the Sea Point Pavilion on Sunday to picket against Israel’s military action in Gaza. The picket started 30 minutes before the pro-Israel rally.
There was a brief but heated altercation when a motorist waving an Israel flag drove slowly past the [pro Palestine] protesters. A protester grabbed the flag.
Police intervened and returned the flag to the motorist, who drove off.
One of the leaders of the protest, Haroon Orrie said: “This is a clear tactic from SAPS to undermine us. If you want to be arrested you will stay here. For this is what will happen. They are in support of the Zionists.”…
[Pro Palestine] Protest organiser Mogamat Francis said the picket had been peaceful. “The picket is to show injustice in Palestine.
“It is just us friends and family getting together to conscientise the public on what is going on because the news is only giving one side of the story.”
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Hiding Ebola Patients Now a Crime in Sierra Leone
Anyone convicted of hiding Ebola victims in Sierra Leone will go to jail for two years, after parliament passed legislation making the act a crime. The government says it’s trying to prevent the virus from spreading.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Bids $3 Billion to Control Platinum
7 August 2014: [P]latinum… has seen its price boosted lately by mine strikes in the world’s top-producing nation of South Africa. And the strong market appears to be attracting some big attention from international financiers.
[Zimbabwe is the 3rd largest platinum producer in the world and] this week the government unveiled one of the biggest mining development plans … on the planet.
Zimbabwe… has struck an ambitious deal with a Russian consortium for platinum development in the country. With the plans reportedly including incoming investment in new mines, concentrating plants, and even a smelter for platinum group elements.
The price tag for these projects is significant. [Including initial open-pit mines, and smelting and ancillary facilites, the total Russian investment will be] as high as $3 billion…
In effect, the platinum development will be a Russian government project. Which sets up some interesting dynamics, given that Russia is already the world’s number two producer of platinum.
If this deal does cement Russian control of Zimbabwe’s platinum sector, it could mean that two of the world’s top three producers now fall outside of western control. Potentially having implications for supply down the road — especially given that output from the planned mining developments is projected at up to 600,000 ounces of platinum yearly… [T]he aggressive Russian move here could have big implications for this market going forward.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa: ANC Bigwig Pallo Jordan Resigns After False Academic Qualifications Exposed
11 August 2014: South Africa — ANC Member of Parliament (MP) Pallo Jordan has resigned from the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Parliament…
In a statement, the ANC said it received “a detailed explanation from Jordan on claims that his qualifications are false.”
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe confirmed Jordan handed in a letter apologising for what he describes as “deceiving government and the people of South Africa for many years”.
However, Mantashe says ANC senior members will meet this week to discuss Jordan’s resignation as party member, because they think that this is a step too far.
This comes after a number of reports that no evidence could be found that Jordan, who has the title ‘Dr’ has ever had an honorary doctorate bestowed on him.
Jordan has no degrees or diplomas from the University of Wisconsin-Madison or the London School of Economics, the two institutions cited on his CV.
Earlier, the party’s Chief Whip in Parliament Stone Sizani said with or without academic qualifications Jordan remains a source of pride for the party. [This is the enriched future that is facing the west… ]
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
19 August 2014: … His Holiness [Pope Francis] has just ruled that Salvadoran Bishop Oscar Romero may be beatified — an elevation that the two previous Popes banned outright.
Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI didn’t quite see how saintliness could be reconciled with Bishop Romero’s Marxist rants, albeit packaged as they were with mock-Christian cant.
The Salvadoran was a leading proponent of ‘liberation theology’, the deadliest Christian heresy in modern times.
It was deadly not to Christianity, which people like Romero wilfully perverted but were unable to destroy, but to the thousands of people duped by them into violent action.
The essence of liberation theology is an attempt to latch Christianity on to Marxism, thereby reconciling the West’s founding creed with a materialist philosophy largely based on hatred of religion in general and Christianity in particular…
It’s not the Church’s remit to offer economic solutions to material poverty — and it’s emphatically not its business to agitate for armed struggle against every institution seen as an agent of oppression or material inequality.
That Latin American ‘liberation theologians’ ostensibly preached nonviolence is a moot point. History shows there’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution, even if the original preachers make noises to that effect.
Once a theory legitimising hatred is hatched, especially if it’s couched in religious jargon, violence will always follow…
When Cardinal Ratzinger headed the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he fought liberation theology tooth and nail, correctly accusing it of anti-Christian Marxist messianism.
When he became Benedict XVI he vetoed the beatification of Bishop Romero, whose sermons directly provoked a murderous civil war in San Salvador. That Romero himself was its victim didn’t redeem his wickedness any more than, say, Trotsky’s assassination redeemed all the evil he’d done.
This is the veto that Pope Francis has seen fit to repeal. Out of respect for his office, I’ll only call this decision ill-advised.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Minister ‘Barefaced’ On Refugees, Bavaria Minister
Alfano ‘not concerned with respecting EU norms’
(ANSAmed) — BERLIN, AUGUST 22 — Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano is “barefaced” in complaining about high refugee arrivals to Italy while at the same time allegedly not respecting EU norms on them, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said Friday.
“It is rather barefaced that Interior Minister Angelino Alfano should on the one hand complain about the heavy burden deriving from the arrival of refugees across the Mediterrean while on the other he is not concerned with respecting European regulations on asylum matters,” Herrmann said.
Rome is deliberately ignoring standard refugee procedures such as finger-printing in order to let them seek asylum in other countries, Hermann added. “Italy in many cases intentionally does not take personal data and fingerprints from refugees to enable them to seek asylum in another country,” he told the DPA news agency.
Alfano recently said Italy’s huge Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation would stop and the EU’s border agency Frontex should step in to cope with a rising influx of asylum seekers from North Africa, many originally from Syria and Iraq. The EU has said Frontex is currently too small to take up the reins.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Rescued Nearly 100,000 Migrants This Year
11 August 2014: The Italian navy said on Monday it had rescued more than 2 000 migrants over the weekend from boats in the Mediterranean, bringing the number it has brought ashore this year to nearly 100 000…
Most of the migrants making the risky and often deadly journeys come from Eritrea, Somalia and Syria, but there are also many arriving from across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
They are picked up as part of Italy’s “Mare Nostrum” operation, a large-scale naval deployment that was launched after twin shipwrecks in October left more than 400 migrants dead.
Close to 100 000 migrants have now landed in Italy so far this year, far higher than the previous record of some 60 000 arriving in 2011 at the height of the turmoil triggered by the Arab Spring revolutions.
Figures released at the end of July showed some 93 000 migrants had been rescued since the start of 2014.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Many Missing as Boat Sinks Off Libyan Coast
A boat carrying at least 150 migrants has sunk off the Libyan coast. Most are missing, feared drowned. Fishermen are said to have rescued 16 people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Over a Hundred Migrants Missing After Boat Sinks Off Libyan Coast
(Reuters) — A wooden boat carrying up to 200 migrants has sunk just one kilometer (half a mile) off the Libyan coast, the coast guard said on Saturday, and most passengers were feared drowned.
The local coast guard said it had no boats of its own and had to commandeer fishing vessels in a rescue attempt after fishermen raised the alarm on Saturday morning.
Migrants have been streaming out of North Africa in rickety boats in rising numbers for years. Many head for Italy, and so far in 2014, the total number reaching Italian shores has passed 100,000, the Italian government said this week.
Libya is a major departure point for this journey, and human traffickers are exploiting the political chaos and lack of security that has blighted the country since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in an uprising in 2011.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mills Becomes First All-Female College to Admit Men Who Identify as Women
Twenty-four years after students beat back a move to go co-ed, all-female Mills College is officially admitting men, as long as they identify as women.
The Oakland, Calif., college’s undergraduate admission policy on “transgender or gender questioning applicants” now allows “applicants whose gender identity does not match their legally assigned sex” as of the academic year starting Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Technology may be getting smarter, but humans are getting dumber, scientists have warned.
Evidence suggests that the IQs of people in the UK, Denmark and Australia have declined in the last decade.
Opinion is divided as to whether the trend is long-term, but some researchers believe that humans have already reached intellectual peak.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Islam’s ‘Relaxation of the Intelligence’
It’s hard to engage in interfaith dialogue when your head has been cut off.
By Benedict Kiely
In times of evil, prophets who see it in what Ronald Knox called a “clear light” are not necessarily heeded, though they are desperately needed. Such a man was Hilaire Belloc, as Monsignor Knox described him at Belloc’s funeral Mass in 1953. “By derivation,” Knox explained, a prophet “is one who speaks out.”
Belloc, the first truly revisionist historian, made it his life’s work to speak out. He warned of the rise of Islam throughout the early years of the 20th century and then between the two world wars, when such prophecy seemed absurd. In 2006 another great prophet, Pope Benedict XVI — James Schall, S.J., calls him “the clearest and most incisive mind in the public order in the world today” — spoke at Regensburg and addressed in a clear light, the light of reason and reasonableness, the problem of Islam.
Reading Belloc’s many references to the rise of Islam, one is struck by his amazement at what he calls its “permanence and endurance.” He pointed (as did Pope Benedict later) to the force of the creed of Muhammad: “The most powerful denial of the Incarnation, the denial which came armed and victorious, was gathering in the desert and coming upon us without our dreaming of the danger: Islam.” As the Western world struggles to comprehend the upheaval in the Middle East, and secular liberal democracies not only fail to understand the power of the threat but talk of “dialogue” with a “religion of peace,” Belloc’s clear light can help us understand the newfound strength of this hostile force after 1,400 years…
| — Hat tip: DS | [Return to headlines] |
“However, an estimated 100,000 refugees have successfully made it to Italy so far this year.”
Europe has values unlike any values in the world. Those values will result in its demise. 2 m muslims reside in Europe every year. They create no go zones, attack police, attack the elderly and the Jews, rape 11-year-old girls, force natives to accept their habits and customs, pamper to every whim they can dream up. Our daring LIARS /politicians force us to accept all those insults not because the west has values. But actually it has no values to defend. It is impossible to fight dictators glossed by paper emblazoned with “democracy”
“It is impossible to fight dictators glossed by paper emblazoned with “democracy”.
The European democracies ceased to be democracies when there Executives embarked upon the democide of there indigenous constituents.
James Foley killing betrays Britain, says Philip Hammond
“The killing of a US journalist by an Islamic State militant who could be from the UK is “an utter betrayal of everything the British people stand for”, the foreign secretary has said.”
NO they are what they are, the utter betrayal of the British peoples is the immigration and social cohesion policies of the British political establishment.
James Foley killing betrays Britain, says Philip Hammond
How British and western LIARS/ politicians speak about trivial things seriously and mention serious things casually or don’t mention them at all. Were British Daring LIARS/ politicians always like this?
Muslims are honest: They are doing exactly what they say and have said. They have a world domination strategy. They don’t deny that they want to destroy the west. We deny it. They admit their Islam religion is harsh and bloody and say that sharia cannot be applied but by infidel bloodshed. But we say that it is a peaceful religion. They say that destroying Israel is only a tactical step to go to their strategic goal of world domination and we say that ‘s absurd.
No it is not absurd that today the real betrayals are those who import muslim invaders into all continents and facilitate their proclaimed invasion.
Hitler declared his intentions in Mein Kampf and then acted on them. Muslims declared their diabolical intentions 14 centuries prior and are acting on them and Daring LIARS deny it.
It is not that they are clueless because many of them say things quite different and facts when they leave office. If they had mentioned those things when they were in office they would be fired or worse just like the rulers that we accuse of being “dictators”.
For the 1435 years islam has declared their intentions clearly and backed them by their action in the Middle East, North Africa, India, Andalusia, and today all of Europe, Australia and the most powerful Nation on Earth but the weakest before Islam.
To hell with Daring LIARS. Those who lie to their own flesh and blood have no honor.
Honor means help Assad and give him weapons to destroy ISIS. But don’t give him help so much as to attack Lebanon and Israel.
If your ARE a good politician you must discern. You must love your fellow citizens more than muslims. We are helpless and cannot prevent our own dictator governments from overpowering us by massive muslim imports. Daring LIARS take pleasure in destroying their own countries and shedding some crocodile tears when one is beheaded,
Re: Scandinavian stockpile. I knew the US had stored armaments in secret locations in Israel for some time; no doubt expensive to maintain, but a sensible precaution in a volatile area. I daresay they may do so here in the UK. But in Scandinavia?
I’m not saying it’s a bad idea- far from it; rather I wonder how bad things need to get before an American administration (obviously not the current one) decides it’s time to send the troops to reclaim and use these weapons in defence of our civilisation (and how embarrassed European governments would be if the day came).
“. . . how embarrassed European governments would be if the day came.”
Embarrassed Europeans? You can’t put those two words together. With all my respect to those decent Europeans who are aware of what their DARING LIARS/ politicians are doing to them when they rise against especially muslim invaders, I feel sad and embarrassed.
Remember during Pirate Cartoons, Danish and other politicians lined up without shame or embarrassment and went and groveled at Saudi Arabia and other Muslim feet and begging them not to boycott European and Danish cheese and other products.
European countries don’t stand defending each other in these cases. They don’t have an equivalent to “Ummah” concept. But they don’t feel embarrassed not to cooperate against muslim extortionists.
Muslims become extortionists when they feel weakness in Europeans. Yes the west is strong militarily but very weak spiritually. ooooooooooooppsss Can I use spiritually? It’s embarrassingly Christian.
Europe lacks in values and honor. They must eat 2 meals a day and have honour and not bend their knees to muslims. Bend their knees to Buddhists… yes because they do the same.