Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/4/2015

A PEGIDA demonstration in Antwerp was banned by the mayor but went ahead anyway. All the demonstrators who took part will be fined. Vlaams Belang protested the ban on the demo, and pointed out that a pro-Palestinian demo had been given the go-ahead, despite the terror alert.

In other news, the Iraqi army, in part led by an Iranian general, are working to surround the forces of the Islamic State in Tikrit.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

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

Financial Crisis
» EU Chief Says Spain Has Not Exited Economic Crisis
» Five Steps to Fixing Greece’s Debt Problem
» Italy: Economy Ministry to Have 4% of MPS Shares
» Wall Street is Ecstatic as the Nasdaq Closes Above 5000
 
USA
» Alibaba Launches First Data Centre in Silicon Valley Amid Ramped-Up US Expansion
» Bubonic Plague-Carrying Fleas Found on New York City Rats
» CPS Says Kids’ Walk to Park Alone Was ‘Unsubstantiated Child Neglect’
» Creepy Tracking Tech Gone Too Far: “Police Surveillance Now Fully Automated and Integrated Into Wireless Networks”
» DOJ Will Not Prosecute Former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson
» Florida Legislators Introduce Bill That Would Strip Certain Site Owners of Their Anonymity
» Hillary Clinton’s “Personal” Emails to be Subpoenaed
» Local Police to Become Federal Gestapo — Video
» Police Overwhelmingly Reject AR-15 ‘Cop Killer Ammo’ Ban
» Six-Year-Old Child Suspended for Making Gun Shape With Hand
» Target to Cut Jobs as Part of $2b Cost-Savings Plan
» The Danger of Government Encryption Backdoors
» U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Slashed in Face by Assailant
» Video: Militarized Cops Train to Storm Houses in Illinois
» Will Obama be Blamed if Reality TV Star’s Murderer is a DREAMer?
 
Europe and the EU
» Belgium: All PEGIDA Demonstrators to be Fined
» Denmark: Religious Gang Members Supplied Gun
» EU Court Rules for Britain Against ECB on Clearing Houses
» Ferrari ‘May Move HQ to Netherlands’
» France Issues Warrants for Three Suspects in 1982 Attack on Jewish Deli
» Italy: Salvini Says Veneto ‘Winner’ With Zaia Nomination
» Italy: Tosi Foundation Members Face League ‘Excommunication’
» Italy: Fiat Chrysler Car Sales Up 13.5% in February
» Netherlands: Rijswijk Imams Visas Cancelled on ‘Public Order Fears’
» New Storm Fronts Blow Across Italy Bringing Snow, Rain
» Norway’s First ‘Elk Selfie’ Makes Front Page
» Norwegian Cancels Flights Around Europe
» Sweden: Vilks Panel Debate Delayed Due to Protests
» Sweden: Police Arrest One in Nyköping Apartment Bomb Case
» UK: “Be Careful With Mohammed”: Muslim Action Forum Launches “Legal Strategy” To Stop Publication of Insults to Mohammed
» UK: Father of Jihadi John Breaks Down in Tears as He Admits He is Ashamed of Son
» UK: Jihadi John Family Has Cost Taxpayers Up to £400k to House Them
» UK: Mother of Victim of Oxfordshire Paedophile Gang Tells How She Begged for Help
» UK: Paedophile Craig O’Neill Jailed After 14-Year-Old Victim’s Parents Tracked Him Down
» UK: Three Suspects Arrested on Suspicion of Murder Over Stabbing of Young Cyclist as He Rode With His Friends on Busy London Street
» UK: Teacher Caroline Bailey Found Hanged After Claiming She Was Being Bullied by Staff
 
Balkans
» Far From Kosovo
 
North Africa
» Hacked Emails: Saudi Money Financed Benghazi Attack
» ISIS Leader Was Armed & Funded by Obama White House — Video
» ISIS Getting Stronger in Libya, Says UN Envoy
» ISIS Takes Another Libyan Oil Field
» Libya: Sources, Clashes Between Army-ISIS in Central Benghazi
» Wallström Guest of Honour at Arab League Meeting
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Female Soldiers in Flash-Mob Hip Hop Dance Amid Tanks
» The Breakdown of U.S.-Israeli Relations Brings US Several Steps Closer to World War III
» Watch: What Happens When a Christian Wears a Cross in Israel?
 
Middle East
» Disintegration of Syria Rebel Group Hampers Fight Against is
» First UK National Killed Fighting ISIS in Syria Named as Konstandinos Erik Scurfield
» Iraq Forces Working to Encircle ISIL in Tikrit
» Iraqi Forces Seek to Encircle is Fighters in Tikrit
» Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood ‘On the Brink of Chaos’
» Saudi Arabia Facebook Arrest: Religious Police Detain Indian Citizen for ‘Offensive’ Hindu Mecca Photo
» ‘Thank You America!’ Syrian Rebels Taunt West After Capturing US-Made Weapons
» There Are 13 Countries Where Atheism is Punishable by Death
» Turkish Court Blocks Atheist Group’s Website
» U.S., Qatar Plan to Rebrand Al Qaeda Into “Moderate” Rebels
 
Russia
» Around 12,000 Russian Soldiers in Ukraine, Says US Commander
» Leaders Warn Russia to Honour Ukraine Pact
» No, Obama, Russia’s Economy Isn’t in Tatters
» Russian ‘Gulag’ Museum Forced to Change Format
» Russian Fighter Jets Practice Attacking NATO Ships
 
South Asia
» Indian State Bans Beef and Brings in Five-Year Jail Terms for Possession
 
Far East
» Xiaomi Smartphone Chief Predicts ‘Chinese Companies Will Lead World in Future’
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Carabinieri Training Almost 200 Somali Police Officers
» ‘First Human’ Discovered in Ethiopia
 
Latin America
» Ancient ‘Lost City’ Found Deep in Jungles of Honduras
» Brazil Seeks to Investigate 54 Politicians in Petrobras Scandal
» Ex-Terrorist Battisti to be Ejected by Brazil — Media
» The City of the Monkey God: Archaeologists Claim to Have Found City Lost for 1,000 Years in Remote Honduran Jungle
 
Immigration
» DHS Approved 100,000 Expanded Amnesty Applications Before Judge Halted Program
» DOJ: We Legalized 100,000 Illegals by Executive Action Before Injunction
» EU Defends Working With Dictatorships to Stop Migrants
» Greece: Turmoil Over Alleged Changes in Immigration Policy
» Mexico Demands US Federal Inquiry Into Police Shootings of Migrants
» Migrant Boat Sinks Off Libyan Coast, Claims Lives
» More Migrant Deaths, Arrivals Stir Emotions
» Nigel Farage Ditches Immigration Cap, Days After UKIP Promised to Limit Numbers
» Sweden: Half of Refugees Struggle With Bills After a Decade
» Tunisia Rescues 86 African Migrants on Italy-Bound Boat
» Tunisia Rescues 86 Migrants Off Zarzis
» White House Immigration Details Leaked: Obama Policies Will Create a “Country Within a Country”
 
Culture Wars
» Slovenia Legalises Same-Sex Marriage
» UK: Muslim Lesbian Polly Chowdhury Tortured Her Eight-Year-Old Daughter to Death
» UK: Sarah Vine Says ‘Mum Was Right. I Wish I’d Stayed at Home With My Children’
 
General
» Scientists Warn Over-Use of Modern Technology May be Linked to Memory Loss and Depression
 

EU Chief Says Spain Has Not Exited Economic Crisis

Spain can not say it has left behind its economic crisis until the sky-high unemployment rate returns to “normal levels”, EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview published Wednesday.

His comments appeared to contradict Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who has repeatedly argued Spain has exited a crisis sparked by the collapse of a real estate boom in 2008 with a return to growth last year.

Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party faces a year-end general election in which polls show it could lose its majority in parliament while new anti-austerity party Podemos is poised to do well.

Juncker told top-selling daily Spanish newspaper El Pais that Spain’s “biggest problem is unemployment”.

“With high levels of unemployment, and of youth unemployment in Spain, even if things improve we can’t tell people, or ourselves, that the crisis is over,” he added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Five Steps to Fixing Greece’s Debt Problem

The ECB decision to limit liquidity to Greek banks was another nail in the euro-coffin, and rumors of a “Grexit” caused bank withdrawals to accelerate.

Over 25 billion euros have been withdrawn from Greek banks since the end of November 2014. But there’s a problem. Fractional-reserve Greek banks do not have the funds to cover all the withdrawals if trends continue. Current non-performing bank loans in Greece are close to 40 percent and banks hold large amounts of high risk Greek government debt.

Despite rumors in the press, there are no European mechanisms to force Greece out of the eurozone. Greece would have to be the one to decide to leave. So for now, Europe will continue to pretend it will be paid back, and Greece will continue to pretend it is implementing significant structural reforms.

Current conventional wisdom is that a bank run would force Greece to return to the drachma. Although this is a possibility, it is not a foregone conclusion. Even if Greece defaulted, it would still probably have a large euro-based debt.

So what can Greece do?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Economy Ministry to Have 4% of MPS Shares

Repayment of aid to Siena bank leaves govt with stake

(ANSA) — Milan, March 4 — Troubled bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) said late Wednesday that the Italian government will own about 4% of the bank after it completes a planned capital increase.

Almost 450 million new shares will be assigned to the economy ministry in payment of interest on government help in 2012 for the world’s oldest operating bank, MPS said in a statement.

It said the ministry promised not to sell the shares for several months after they are issued in July to avoid disturbing the financial market.

Troubled MPS had received a 4.1-billion-euro bailout approved under former premier Mario Monti.

Last month, the government agreed to become a shareholder in MPS from July under a clause in the so-called Monti bonds that said if it posted a loss, interest payments to government would be paid in shares.

That clause kicked in when MPS posted a 2014 loss of 5.3 billion euros.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Wall Street is Ecstatic as the Nasdaq Closes Above 5000

The chart below shows how the Nasdaq has performed over the past decade. As you can see, we are coming dangerously close to doubling the peak that was hit just before the last stock market collapse…

By looking at that chart, you would be tempted to think that the overall U.S. economy must be doing great.

But of course that is not the case at all.

For example, just take a look at what has happened to the employment-population ratio over the past decade. The percentage of the working age U.S. population that is currently employed is actually far lower than it used to be…

So why is the stock market doing so well if the overall economy is not?

Well, the truth is that stocks have become completely divorced from economic reality at this point. Wall Street has been transformed into a giant casino, and trading stocks has been transformed into a high stakes poker game.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Alibaba Launches First Data Centre in Silicon Valley Amid Ramped-Up US Expansion

Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce services provider, is ratcheting up its business expansion in the United States, with the opening of its first overseas-based data centre in California’s Silicon Valley.

The new facility run by Aliyun, the cloud-computing operation of Hangzhou-based Alibaba, faces stiff competition in a vast market where the likes of Equinix, Rackspace, Digital Realty, AT&T, Verizon, IBM and Amazon Web Services are among the leading providers of data hosting, co-location and cloud-computing platform services.

Cloud services enable companies to buy, lease, sell or distribute software and other digital resources online, just like electricity from a power grid. Data centres host and manage cloud services and applications.

Ethan Yu Sicheng, a vice-president at Aliyun, said today that the firm’s new data centre would initially target Chinese enterprises with operations in the US.’

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Bubonic Plague-Carrying Fleas Found on New York City Rats

Spend any length of time in New York City and a rat will show its whiskery face or worm-like tail. It could be on the subway tracks or nibbling through the garbage on the side of the street. It could also be carrying the bubonic plague.

Scientists studying rats in New York found the flea that carries the plague — the Oriental rat flea — hosting on some of the city’s rat population, according to the study published Monday in theJournal of Medical Entomology.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

CPS Says Kids’ Walk to Park Alone Was ‘Unsubstantiated Child Neglect’

You may remember the story of Maryland parents Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, who were under investigation by Child Protective Services for allowing their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter to walk home alone from a park one mile away from their house.

The “free-range” parents were found guilty yesterday of “unsubstantiated” child neglect after a two-month investigation by the Montgomery County CPS.

Danielle Meitiv said she and her husband plan to appeal the decision and will still let their children walk to the park.

Officials declined to comment on the case, but say an unsubstantiated finding is made when there’s some information supporting child neglect, seemingly credible reports disagree or there isn’t enough information for a conclusion, AP reported.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Creepy Tracking Tech Gone Too Far: “Police Surveillance Now Fully Automated and Integrated Into Wireless Networks”

Not only is the police state here, but it is upgrading all the time.

While people are busy fighting an uphill battle with apparently rampant cases of abuse, excessive force and a misguided and failed War on Drugs, many are too far behind the times to keep up with these technologies — now being tested or used in police departments across the country.

While the use of technology in policing is nothing new, it might surprise you have far things have gone — with much of police surveillance now fully automated and integrated into wireless networks, and monitored by Homeland Security-funded fusion centers.

Reason.tv rounded up these examples of creepy, robot, privacy destroying police tactics (and it’s only just beginning):

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

DOJ Will Not Prosecute Former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson

The Justice Department says it won’t prosecute former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of an unarmed black 18-year-old that led to weeks of protests.

Federal officials concluded there was no evidence to disprove Wilson’s testimony that he feared for his safety, nor was there reliable evidence that Michael Brown had his hands up when he was shot.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Florida Legislators Introduce Bill That Would Strip Certain Site Owners of Their Anonymity

A few Florida legislators are looking to do some serious damage to both free speech and the internet.

This week, the Florida state legislature is considering a bill that would make it illegal to run any website or service anonymously, if the site fits a vague category of “disseminat[ing]” “commercial” recordings or videos—even the site owner’s own work. Outlawing anonymous speech raises a serious First Amendment problem, and laws like this one have been abused by police and the entertainment industry.

The bill (Senate and House versions) seems to be catering directly to the entertainment industry and could give local law enforcement City of London Police-esque powers to act as de facto copyright cops. And its potential stripping of anonymity not only requires disclosure to law enforcement, but everyone else on the web.

A person who owns or operates a website or online service dealing in substantial part in the electronic dissemination of commercial recordings or audiovisual works, directly or indirectly, to consumers in this state shall clearly and conspicuously disclose his or her true and correct name, physical address, and telephone number or e-mail address on his or her website or online service in a location readily accessible to a consumer using or visiting the website or online service.

Do-it-yourself doxxing! What could possibly go wrong? Handing over your personal information to complete strangers always works out so well. The bill seems only concerned with giving rights holders easier access to potential infringers (still problematic), completely ignoring the unintended consequences of forcing certain site owners to hand out their personal information proactively, rather than only by law enforcement subpoena or court order.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hillary Clinton’s “Personal” Emails to be Subpoenaed

In the aftermath of the revelations that Hillary Clinton had exclusively used a personal email account to conduct state correspondence with diplomatic leaders around the globe and pretty much everyone else, it was only a matter of time before the subpoenas started flying. That time is now and as WaPo reports, the “House investigative committee is preparing to send out subpoenas later Wednesday to gather a deeper look into former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nearly exclusive use of personal e-mails to do her official business as the government’s top diplomat, according to people familiar with the probe.”

As a reminder, here is a sampling of some of the emails Clinton had sent to at least one recipient, Sidney Blumenthal, whose email account had been hacked by the infamous Romanian hacker “Guccifer”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Local Police to Become Federal Gestapo — Video

Alex Jones breaks down the plan to federalize the police and destroy America.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Police Overwhelmingly Reject AR-15 ‘Cop Killer Ammo’ Ban

“It’s offensive and disgusting they are using ‘officer safety’ as a guise to further infringe on the rights of the people.”

Acknowledging the fact that AR-15s and such ammunition account for far less than 2.3 percent of all murders according to FBI statistics, other officers noted the absurdity of the White House’s claims.

“20 years working for the N.Y.P.D. Never seen an AR in the hands of a bad guy,” another said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Six-Year-Old Child Suspended for Making Gun Shape With Hand

The latest case zero tolerance madness has occurred in Colorado Springs, as a first-grader has been suspended from school for pointing his fingers in the shape of a gun.

It’s a familiar tale, as Elijah Thurston became just another in a long list of children to be punished for innocent imaginary play.

The boy allegedly made the gun shape with his hand and said, “You’re dead” while pointing at another child in his class.

Elijah was given a one day suspension for “threats against peers”, and was forced to undergo a lecture from a school administrator at Stratton Meadows Elementary School, regarding “what it means to be dead.”

The reeducation also consisted of ensuring Elijah no longer confuses “make-believe” or things in games with reality, according krdo News. The incident could be permanently logged on the boy’s behavior record.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Target to Cut Jobs as Part of $2b Cost-Savings Plan

Retailer will cut several thousand jobs within the next two years…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Danger of Government Encryption Backdoors

As you may have heard, the law enforcement and intelligence communities have been pushing strongly for backdoors in encryption. They talk about ridiculous things like “golden keys,” pretending that it’s somehow possible to create something that only the good guys can use. Many in the security community have been pointing out that this is flat-out impossible. The second you introduce a backdoor, there is no way to say that only “the good guys” can use it.

As if to prove that, an old “golden key” from the 90s came back to bite a whole bunch of the internet this week… including the NSA. Some researchers discovered a problem which is being called FREAK for “Factoring RSA Export Keys.” The background story is fairly involved and complex, but here’s a short version (that leaves out a lot of details): back during the first “cryptowars” when Netscape was creating SSL (mainly to protect the early e-commerce market), the US still considered exporting strong crypto to be a crime. To deal with this, RSA offered “export grade encryption” that was deliberately weak (very, very weak) that could be used abroad. As security researcher Matthew Green explains, in order to deal with the fact that SSL-enabled websites had to deal with both strong crypto and weak “export grade” crypto, — the “golden key” — there was a system that would try to determine which type of encryption to use on each connection. If you were in the US, it should go to strong encryption. Outside the US? Downgrade to “export grade.”

In theory, this became obsolete at the end of the first cryptowars when the US government backed down for the most part, and stronger crypto spread around the world. But, as Green notes, the system that did that old “negotiation” as to which crypto to use, known as “EXPORT ciphersuites” stuck around. Like zombies. We’ll skip over a bunch of details to get to the point: the newly discovered hack involves abusing this fact to force many, many clients to accept “export grade” encryption, even if they didn’t ask for it. And it appears that more than a third of websites out there (many coming from Akamai’s content delivery network — which many large organizations use) are vulnerable.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Slashed in Face by Assailant

(Reuters) — U.S. ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was slashed in the face by a Korean assailant at a breakfast forum in the capital early on Thursday, police and a witness said, but was not seriously wounded.

Lippert, 42, was bleeding from a facial wound but was walking after the attack as he was taken to the hospital. He was later reported to be in a stable condition.

A White House official in Washington said Lippert’s injuries were not life-threatening. U.S. President Barack Obama called Lippert to wish him a speedy recovery, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said.

The assailant, identified by police as Kim Ki-jong, 55, wore traditional Korean clothing and shouted that North and South Korea should be reunited. He also shouted that he opposed war exercises, an apparent reference to annual joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began this week.

[Return to headlines]
 

Video: Militarized Cops Train to Storm Houses in Illinois

Video taken by a local resident in DeKalb Illinois shows fully equipped militarized police training to storm American homes.

Ryan Scott, who filmed the event notes “If you’re wondering how your tax payer dollars are being spent in DeKalb Illinois, wonder no further. Up to 25 officers were training in condemned houses today on Pearl street.”

“Most of the officers were in tactical gear carrying battering rams, blast shields etc.” Scott adds.

[Comment: Dissident roundup training.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Will Obama be Blamed if Reality TV Star’s Murderer is a DREAMer?

Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is demanding answers as to whether the suspected murderer of three people, including a reality TV star, was allowed to stay in the U.S. under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Emmanuel Jesus Rangel-Hernandez, a known gang member, was arrested for the murder of Mirjana Puhar, 19, and two other people in Charlotte North Carolina.

Grassley said he has a source that claims Rangel-Hernandez was allowed to stay in the U.S. under President Obama’s DACA program. This would make Rangel-Hernandez a so-called DREAMer and the case is re-igniting concerns over the controversial program.

Grassley sent a letter to authorities at the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers about the immigration status of Rangel-Hernandez.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Belgium: All PEGIDA Demonstrators to be Fined

Some 200 people joined the banned Pegida demonstration in Antwerp last night. The protesters demonstrated against what they see as the islamisation of the West. Police were out in large number and were able to set up a cordon around all the protesters.

The protest passed with few incidents, though a dozen excited demonstrators were detained including four counter-demonstrators. Everybody who was present will receive an administrative fine.

Pegida Flanders, an offshoot of the German anti-Islamisation movement gathered on the Hendrik Conscienceplein in Antwerp last night, but by 9 PM the square was empty again.

Vlaams Belang supremo Filip Dewinter left a meeting of Antwerp city council to take in the demonstration from afar. He is unhappy with the mayor’s decision to ban the demo and the police intervention: “Burgomaster Bart De Wever is applying double standards. Recently a pro-Palestinian demo was allowed to proceed despite the terror alert.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Religious Gang Members Supplied Gun

The perpetrators who in 2013 stole the M95 military rifle used in the February 2015 terror attack at Krudttønden in Copenhagen have ties to the gang La Raza and close ties to known Islamists.

This emerged from a DR News investigation into the perpetrators’ backgrounds and the circumstances surrounding the arms robbery that took place in Ringsted in 2013.

“They are active in criminal circles while also maintaining links to individuals with very serious connections to ISIS, Jabhat Al-Nusra and other groups,” said terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp.

The police are still investigating how Omar El-Hussein managed to obtain the expensive, advanced automatic weaponry, with no apparent money and in the space of just two weeks from being released until the attacks took place. The contacts to the gang environment may have been a decisive factor, according to Magnus Ranstorp: “It is almost impossible to get your hands on these types of weapons under normal circumstances, even on the black market.”

In September 2013, the three perpetrators were convicted of a robbery at the private residence of a Home Guard soldier in Ringsted, where the rifle was stored in a locked weapons locker in the basement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

EU Court Rules for Britain Against ECB on Clearing Houses

Upholds British appeal, says central bank overstepped authority

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 4 — The European Union’s General Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of a British appeal against a European Central Bank (ECB) decision on the location of euro clearing houses.

The ruling said that the ECB did not have the legal authority to dictate where clearing houses for the single currency should be located.

“The ECB lacks the competence necessary to regulate the activity of securities clearing systems as its competence is limited to payment systems alone,” the Luxembourg-based court said.

The ruling was cheered by Britain, which is anxious to uphold the strength and reach of its financial centre. The ECB had argued that it was important to its oversight of the euro currency this be conducted within the eurozone.

Britain, while a member of the European Union, retains its own currency and is not a part of the eurozone nor uses the euro.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Ferrari ‘May Move HQ to Netherlands’

‘But will stay Italian’ says Marchionne

(ANSA) — Geneva, March 3 — Ferrari may move its legal HQ to the Netherlands like its parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), FCA CEO and Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne said Tuesday.

“But it will remain an Italian company,” he said at the Geneva Motor Show.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

France Issues Warrants for Three Suspects in 1982 Attack on Jewish Deli

More than 32 years after a deadly terror attack in Paris’ old Jewish quarter, French authorities have at last identified three suspects and are seeking their arrest.

Grenade-throwing Palestinians burst into the Jo Goldenberg deli on Aug. 9, 1982, and sprayed machine-gun fire. Six people, including two Americans, were killed, and 21 injured. The restaurant, which has since closed, was a centerpiece tourist attraction in the famed Marais neighborhood.

Paris prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said Wednesday that international arrest warrants have been issued for the three suspects — now aged in their late 50s and early 60s — who were believed to be members of the Abu Nidal group.

She says they are believed to be in the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Norway but declined to identify them by name, citing protocol.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Salvini Says Veneto ‘Winner’ With Zaia Nomination

Northern League leadership ‘solid’ despite challenges

(ANSA) — Milan, March 2 — Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said Monday that the Veneto region is the “winner” with the party executive’s unanimous selection of Governor Luca Zaia as its candidate in upcoming elections.

That was “consistent” with League rules despite a challenge from dissident Flavio Tosi, said Salvini, insisting his party’s Federal Council remains “solid”.

At a news conference, Salvini added: “Nobody won fully, no one lost across the board, but the movement is solid and has a candidate in Veneto”.

The party must now concentrate on winning Veneto regional elections in the spring, he said after a strategy meeting that also considered reported appeals for a right-wing alliance with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.

There are reportedly large rifts within the Norther League over regional leadership, particularly between Zaia and Tosi, mayor of Verona.

Tosi has also accused Salvini of trying to destroy the autonomy of the Veneto branch of the movement, the Liga Veneta, and had threatened to run as an independent in the Veneto regional campaign.

Also on the agenda was analysis of a demonstration Salvini led in Rome on Saturday against the government of Premier Matteo Renzi.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Tosi Foundation Members Face League ‘Excommunication’

Verona mayor at odds with party leader Salvini

(ANSA) — Milan, March 3 — A meeting of the Northern League party chaired Monday by leader Matteo Salvini ruled that any people who still belong to the foundation of dissident Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi next Monday will be automatically ejected from the party.

The move is effectively an ultimatum against Tosi, who has clashed with Salvini over the League’s decision to back Venetor Governor Luca Zaia to run again in upcoming regional elections. Tosi has accused Salvini of trying to destroy the autonomy of the Veneto branch of the movement, the Liga Veneta, and had threatened to run as an independent in the Veneto regional campaign.

League bigwigs decided at Monday’s meeting to confirm their backing for Zaia in Veneto and seek to stamp out Tosi’s rebellion.

“As of Monday March 9, the registration or membership of the foundation headed by Tosi is incompatible with the qualification of ordinary activist member of the Northern League,” read the minutes of Monday’s meeting. Tosi has described the ultimatum as “unacceptable”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Fiat Chrysler Car Sales Up 13.5% in February

Biggest increase since March 2010

(ANSA) Turin, — Fiat Chrsyler Automobiles sales surged by 13.5% in February, the best such increase since March 2010, the company said Monday.

All car models sold more but the recovery was spearheaded by the Jeep with 2,500 deliveries, an increase of 290.6% giving it a market share of 1.8%.

Fiat models dominated the Italian market with cars from the group taking the top five sales places occupied by the Panda, 500L, Ypsilon, Punto and 500.

The newly launched 500X and Renegade within weeks became the most sold in their market segments, said the company.

The sturdy Fiat Panda once again was the most sold car in Italy with 9,800 new sales and a share of the A segment of the market of 38.4% while the Fiat 500 continued to do well with a market share of 17.3% in its segment.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Rijswijk Imams Visas Cancelled on ‘Public Order Fears’

The visas for imams invited to speak at a charity fund-raising event in Rijswijk were cancelled because of ‘public order concerns’, the cabinet told parliament on Tuesday in a written briefing. The meeting was due to be held in Rijswijk on March 8, but the Telegraaf reported that several imams accused of preaching hatred and encouraging jihad would be at the event. The visas for a number of preachers were subsequently cancelled on the recommendation of the counter terrorism unit NCTV.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

New Storm Fronts Blow Across Italy Bringing Snow, Rain

Civil protection issues alerts for flooding, cold temperatures

(ANSA) — Rome, March 4 — New storm fronts blew through parts of Italy on Wednesday, bringing low-pressure systems with precipitation including heavy snowfall at high elevations, and colder weather to regions of the center and south.

Civil protection agencies issued weather advisories including high-wind warnings Wednesday for gales blowing across the Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Liguria and Tuscany, gusting at times and bringing storm surges to costal areas.

Powerful winds as high as 100 kilometres per hour were also threatening southern regions from Campania to Sicily as well as mountainous parts of Basilicata and Calabria and on the island of Sardinia.

Those same areas will also see rains and even electrical storms in the next few days, weather experts warned.

Meanwhile, more snow was expected at higher altitudes of between 200 meters and 300 meters in Lazio, Abruzzo, and Umbria overnight Wednesday with weak accumulations.

With recent warm weather in many parts of Italy, hopes for an early spring had been budding. But those hopes were snipped off abruptly by forecasters warnings of a cold front bearing down on much of the country.

Thursday forecasts included critical ‘orange’ warnings for flooding in the plains area of the Emilia Romagna region stretching to Ravenna and along the coastal areas of Abruzzo and Marche.

Temperatures in Rome that reached 17 degrees C on Wednesday were expected to climb no higher than 9 degrees C on Thursday, while in L’Aquila, cold weather was expected to be more intense, falling to just 4 degrees C on Thursday after Wednesday highs of 18.

Wind chills will even become a factor in Italy’s centre and southern regions, at times feeling as cold as zero degrees C on Thursday.

The weekend is forecast to be more comfortable, with more sunshine and warmer temperatures.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Norway’s First ‘Elk Selfie’ Makes Front Page

A skier from Drøback, south of Oslo, has won top billing on the website of Norway’s largest.selling newspaper after he took what is mooted to be the first ‘Elk Selfie’ or ‘Elkie’ and posted it on Facebook.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norwegian Cancels Flights Around Europe

Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) has cancelled all flights in Scandinavia and several flights to other European cities due to the escalation of a pilots’ strike, with Swedish and Danish pilots joining their Norwegian colleagues who walked out five days ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Vilks Panel Debate Delayed Due to Protests

After protests, the Gothenburg conference center Folkets Hus is not going to make its facilities available as planned for a panel discussion that would include the controversial artist Lars Vilks on Thursday, according to Swedish Radio P4 Göteborg.

Since Vilks’ cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad as a dog was published in 2007, he has been the target of threats and attacks, and is under constant police protection. He is believed to have been the target of the recent terrorist attack in Copenhagen when a gunman beseiged a cultural center where he was a guest speaker.

The teacher’s union, which is scheduled to have its annual meeting on Thursday in the same locale, protested the panel discussion, because many of their members were cancelling their plans to attend.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Police Arrest One in Nyköping Apartment Bomb Case

Police took a man into custody on Tuesday night, after a bomb exploded in an apartment in Nyköping and killed two people the day before, according to the tabloid Expressen.

The man, in his 30s, is suspected of serving as an accomplice in the preparations to commit devastation endangering the public.

Christer Sjöqvist with the police in Södermanland told Expressen that the man is suspected on good grounds.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: “Be Careful With Mohammed”: Muslim Action Forum Launches “Legal Strategy” To Stop Publication of Insults to Mohammed

The Muslim Action Forum (MAF), which staged a protest outside Downing Street against Charlie Hebdo in February, has launched a “legal strategy” to stop insults against Mohammed.

The organisation is also asking supporters to “lobby your MP” to make “Islamophobia” a criminal offence.

They state that they intend “to launch a series of legal challenges in the English Court system” because “depictions of our Holy Prophet peace be upon Him is the worst kind of ‘Hate Crime’ that can be perpetrated on the 3 million Muslims in the UK and 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide.”

The group says that they have “devised a legal strategy to prevent the continuous insulting and derogatory publications depicting and abusing the personality of our Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be upon Him.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Father of Jihadi John Breaks Down in Tears as He Admits He is Ashamed of Son

Jaseem Emwazi has disowned his killer son Mohammed — who was last week revealed as the notorious Islamic State executioner — and said: ‘To hell with my son’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Jihadi John Family Has Cost Taxpayers Up to £400k to House Them

One landlord said Mohammed Emwazi’s family were ‘parasites’. They are still believed to be pocketing £40,000 a year in handouts despite there being no sign of them in Britain.

Emwazi’s father Jasem, who has six children, is back in his native Kuwait — the country he claimed he fled fearing for his life.

Westminster City Council is still paying the rent on the family’s £600,000 flat even though the rules say housing benefit should normally be stopped after 13 weeks.

MPs said they were horrified that the child of a family given refugee status, citizenship and benefits had returned the favour by orchestrating the murder of two of its citizens.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Mother of Victim of Oxfordshire Paedophile Gang Tells How She Begged for Help

The woman would often spend her nights searching the streets of Oxford for her missing daughter because the police and social services would not.

A mother has told how she questioned her own sanity as she begged social workers and police for years to help stop her daughter from being repeatedly sexually abused.

In the end she feared the girl was at as big a risk from social workers as she was from the gang who groomed her.

The woman would often spend her nights searching the streets of Oxford for her missing daughter because the police and social services would not.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Paedophile Craig O’Neill Jailed After 14-Year-Old Victim’s Parents Tracked Him Down

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Craig O’Neill (pictured) was caught at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, with his victim after her parents tracked him down. Police also found a library of indecent images of children on his computer.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Three Suspects Arrested on Suspicion of Murder Over Stabbing of Young Cyclist as He Rode With His Friends on Busy London Street

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Two teenagers and a 21-year-old were today arrested on suspicion of murdering a 15-year-old boy stabbed to death during a botched bicycle theft.

Alan Cartwright was attacked as he rode along the Caledonian Road in Islington, north London with friends on Friday night.

After a police appeal, which included CCTV footage of the moment he was stabbed, two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of murder by Scotland Yard detectives.

An 18-year-old man walked into a north London police station and a 17-year-old boy and a 21-year-old were held at in Camden this morning. All three are in custody.

[Comment: cameras record the horrifying murder.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Teacher Caroline Bailey Found Hanged After Claiming She Was Being Bullied by Staff

Caroline Bailey, 46, worked at Broad Oak High School in Bury, Greater Manchester, for 23 years but was found dead at Castle Hill Quarry, near Rochdale, after being bullied, an inquest heard.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Far From Kosovo

Young Kosovo citizens are leaving the country in growing numbers, looking for a better future in the EU, as they realize that independence did not entail economic growth

The number of Kosovo citizens leaving the country with the aim of travelling to the European Union, including by illegally crossing the border into the EU, is growing at an alarming rate. Hungarian authorities told KTV, a national TV station in Pristina, that only during November and December 2014 around 16,000 Kosovars were registers as asylum seekers in Hungary. Many others have apparently left Hungary for other EU destinations without registering. The Agency of Statistics in Kosovo reported that from January to October 2014 around 14,000 people fled Kosovo towards Europe. This means that only last year at least 30,000 Kosovars migrated to the EU.

Kosovo is the only country in the region without a visa free regime with the EU.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hacked Emails: Saudi Money Financed Benghazi Attack

An email reportedly sent to Hillary Clinton by former Clinton White House staffer Sidney Blumenthal quotes an intelligence source providing information that “wealthy Sunni Islamists in Saudi Arabia” funded the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. special mission in Benghazi.

The leaked emails were published by Russia Today, which says it was forwarded the emails from Blumenthal’s AOL account by the hacker using the alias “Guccifer.”

“Guccifer” reportedly hacked Blumenthal’s email in March 2013. Guccifer has since been identified as Marcel Lazar Lehel, a Romanian hacker serving a seven-year sentence for hacking into the accounts of Romanian government officials.

The alleged memos concern information Blumenthal says he gleaned about the Benghazi attack and the January 2013 hostage crisis at a gas complex in Amenas, Algeria.

One purported Blumenthal email from Feb. 16, 2013, addressed to Clinton quoted sources “with direct access to the Libyan National Government, as well as the highest levels of European governments, and Western intelligence and security services.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Leader Was Armed & Funded by Obama White House — Video

A top member of the jihadist group that the US government and NATO armed and funded in the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi back in 2011 is now leading ISIS forces in Libya.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Getting Stronger in Libya, Says UN Envoy

Talks 5/3 in Morocco, ‘close to accord’ between rival factions

Bernardino Leon, the United Nation’s (UN) Special Envoy to Libya

(ANSAmed) — ROME — The Islamic State (ISIS) is taking advantage of political rifts in Libya to become stronger there, UN special envoy Bernardino Leon told the Security Council on Wednesday. However, an agreement between the rival factions is closer “than it has been in the past seven to eight months”, Leon told ANSA. Talks between the internationally recognized Tobruk-based government and the rival General National Congress (GNC) in Tripoli, backed by Islamist militias, are set to resume on Thursday. The focus will be on the formation of a national unity government, securing a ceasefire and the withdrawal of militias from cities and towns, according to a statement released by the United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL). Leon noted that time was running out, since in the Libya city Derna and near Sirte the jihadist group has changed strategy, morphing from a terrorist group into an entity conducting military operations. He made the comments in a brief interview with ANSA and RaiNews 24. He also noted that the talks on boosting security would be “an enormous challenge”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Takes Another Libyan Oil Field

Al-Dahra; Libya Dawn airstrike on Zintan

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 4 — Local Islamic State affiliates reportedly took control Wednesday of another oil field in Libya south of Sirte. Libyan military sources say that the guards of the Al-Dahra oil field withdrew after running out of ammunition in clashes with the jihadists, who had been attacking it since the morning.

Libyan sources confirm that ISIS have taken over the Al-Mabrouk and Al-Bahi oil facilities, as was initially reported on Tuesday. All the fields were under the authorities controlling Tripoli. Meanwhile, planes from the Islamist militias Libya Dawn (who control Tripoli), are bombing the city of Zintan, according to an Al-Arabiya tweet. Zintan is a city in western Libya under the control of the armed forces answering to the Tobruk-based government, which enjoys international recognition.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Libya: Sources, Clashes Between Army-ISIS in Central Benghazi

‘‘Violent fighting’’ between the army and jihadists from ISIS were reported by Libyan military sources ‘‘in downtown Benghazi’’, Libya’s second-largest city almost entirely controlled by regular armed forces but with parts still held by Islamic State militants and allies Ansar al Sharia.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Wallström Guest of Honour at Arab League Meeting

Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, is going to Cairo to speak as the guest of honor at the opening of a meeting amongst the Arab League on Monday, according to news agency TT.

“It will be am excellent opportunity to be able to speak with important representatives,” Wallström told the news agency.

The Arab League is expected to dusciuss Egypt’s suggestion to create a common force against the extremist jihad group, IS, which is getting more and more active in neighboring Libya.

“It will be a good chance to get to discuss, not just terrorism around the world, the situation in the Middle East and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. I’m going to try to meet as many foreign ministers as possible,” she said.

When asked whether Sweden’s recognition of Palestine is what made her the guest of honor, Wallström replied, “That certainly played a role, but we have good relations.”

TT also asked her if the fact that she was visiting the Arab League but never went to Israel could irritate Israel even more, to which she replied that she did not imagine it would.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Female Soldiers in Flash-Mob Hip Hop Dance Amid Tanks

Video clicked by 45,000 Israelis

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — A video showing dozens of female Israeli soldiers in a merry flash-mob style dance at a military base in Neghev is going viral in Israel.

Inspired by Purim — the ongoing Jewish carnival — the soldiers from the ‘Yael’ battalion gathered in a square of the Zeelim base that simulates a Palestinian town (with two minarets in the background) and started dancing to the hip-hop rhythm of Flo Rida.

Their commander led the performance held amid Hummer vehicles with incorporated laser beams. Religious soldiers, wearing below-the-knee skirts, were among them. At one point the loudspeaker broke the party announcing that “someone is firing on you. You have been hit. You have been destroyed”. The soldiers threw themselves on the ground and then happily resumed their dance.

According to the Ynet website, 45,000 Israelis have already watched the video clip. Military leaders — who generally oppose this type of exhibition — have not commented so far.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

The Breakdown of U.S.-Israeli Relations Brings US Several Steps Closer to World War III

In the past 40 years, we have never been closer to World War III than we are today. If you ask Americans to name what area of the globe they believe World War III will begin, the number one choice by a landslide would probably be the Middle East. And thanks to the stunning breakdown of U.S.-Israeli relations, we are now closer to that war than we have been in decades. Since the 1970s, the United States has served as the major buffer between Israel and her Islamic neighbors. Israel has trusted the United States to protect it, and Israel’s enemies have known that an all-out assault on Israel would be fruitless because the U.S. military would step in. When a minor conflict has erupted in the region, the United States has always rushed in diplomatically to settle things down. But now the relationship between the Israeli government and the Obama administration is near a breaking point, and tensions in the Middle East just continue to intensify. At this moment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer trusts Barack Obama to do what is right for Israel, and it is an open secret that Obama pretty much despises Netanyahu. And during his speech to Congress on Tuesday, Netanyahu once again made it abundantly clear that his government will never, ever allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel believes that Iran is even getting close, Israel will attack. But instead of trying to prevent this from happening, Barack Obama is negotiating a deal with Iran that would give the Iranians pretty much everything that they want and would allow them to build all the nukes they desire in about ten years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that this is a “bad deal”, and he is right.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Watch: What Happens When a Christian Wears a Cross in Israel?

What’s it like being a Christian in Israel?

That’s a question Father Gabriel Naddaf — a Greek Orthodox priest and founder of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum and Christian Empowerment Council in Israel — decided to explore.

Inspired by a recent video showing the abuse Jews faced in Muslim neighborhoods of Paris, Naddaf asked Jonathan Elkhoury — an Israeli Christian originally from Lebanon — to don a cross and walk through the streets of Haifa in northern Israel.

The result? Rather boring, actually.

As opposed to the hostile and even aggressive reactions experienced by Israeli Jewish journalist Tzvika Klein during his walk through Paris with a kippa on his head, Elkhoury says he received no negative reactions whatsoever during his walkabout. In fact, in his eight years living in Israel he says he has never encountered any hostility for being a Christian — unlike in Lebanon, where sectarian tensions are rife.

The initiative is part of Father Naddaf’s campaign to draw attention to Israel’s status as the only Middle Eastern state where Christians live freely and without persecution.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Disintegration of Syria Rebel Group Hampers Fight Against is

The apparent disintegration of a key Syrian rebel group has dealt a major blow to US efforts to build up a force of moderate fighters to take on the Islamic State group.

The Hazm movement was seen as a cornerstone of the train-and-equip programme Washington hopes will bring thousands of non-extremist fighters to bear against IS in Syria.

But after suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate at the weekend, Hazm appears to have disbanded, with many of its fighters reported to have joined an Islamist coalition.

“The collapse of… Hazm means that, in effect, there is no substantial and credible Western-backed ‘moderate’ opposition throughout most of Syria,” intelligence consultancy The Soufan Group said in a brief…

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

First UK National Killed Fighting ISIS in Syria Named as Konstandinos Erik Scurfield

Konstandinos Erik Scurfield (pictured kneeling), 25, of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, died while fighting with the Kurdistan People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Al-Hasakah province on Monday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Forces Working to Encircle ISIL in Tikrit

The Iraqi army has said its strategy for retaking the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group’s stronghold of Tikrit is to surround the city before launching an assault.

A senior commander said on Wednesday that operations were currently focused on preventing ISIL from launching more attacks and cutting supply lines to stop reinforcements and weapons from reaching Tikrit.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Iraqi Forces Seek to Encircle is Fighters in Tikrit

Iraqi army soldiers and Shia militiamen are seeking to encircle Islamic State fighters in Tikrit, on the third day of a major operation to retake the city.

State-run al-Iraqiya TV said government forces were “advancing” but progress has been slowed by roadside bombs.

Security sources said they had captured villages and oil fields east of the city, and blocked a key IS supply line to neighbouring Diyala province.

The offensive is being overseen at least in part by an Iranian general.

On Tuesday, the top US general said Iran’s role in Tikrit could be positive, as long as it did not fuel sectarian tensions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood ‘On the Brink of Chaos’

Gov’t approves splinter group request for new licence

(by Mohammad Ben Hussein) (ANSAmed) — AMMAN, MARCH 4 — Jordan on Tuesday approved a request by former members of the Muslim Brotherhood for a new license, drawing condemnation from the group’s leaders, who described the move as ‘coup d’etat attempt’.

The decision could lead to the formation of a splinter group challenging the current leadership, say observers.

Brotherhood leaders have published copies of the group’s licenses issued in 1946 and 1953 in response. Its Shura Council then issued a statement following an emergency meeting saying that “we condemn the request to rectify the group status without its legitimate leadership and deplore approval of this request. We reject any interference in the group’s affairs”.

The Brotherhood has established itself as the strongest political movement in Jordan through over the past few decades.

“Tampering with the legal status of the group and its stable organizational status is a risky act that would have a deep impact on the Jordanian nation,” the council added.

Former Brotherhood leader Abdul Majeed Thuneibat recently announced the formation of a platform of around 40 senior members to “reform” the group and sever its links to its Egyptian counterpart. After it was made public that Thuneibat sought a new license for the group, the Shura council had expelled him and most of his allies.

Hours after the government announced its approval and sent the file to the Ministry of Political Development, Thuneibat described the current leadership as “illegitimate” and called for new elections based on new rules.

He said the group would widen its membership base and increase participation of women in leadership positions, among other measures. He also called for appointing caretaker leadership to oversee elections.

The group’s Scholars Council instead expressed support for the current leadership and called for members to honor their commitment to the group, saying that it “strongly rejects the step carried out by this group and considers the move a violation of the group’s bylaws and norms, which has caused disunity within the Brotherhood ranks”. “There are attempts to dismantle the group and prevent it from achieving its goals, and thus the council approves the decision to terminate membership of those who took part in this act,” it added. The new development is expected to have serious impacts on structure of a group that presents itself as a viable alternative to hardline groups, such as the notorious Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda.

Political analyst Mohammad Abu Rumman said the movement is on “the brink of chaos” and warned against alienating thousands of the group’s ranks, most of whom come from impoverished communities and the working class.

The developments come at a difficult time for the Brotherhood, which has seen its main allies in Egypt ousted by the military and its deputy leader, Zaki Bani Rsheid, imprisoned for Facebook comments deemed offensive to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a key ally of Cairo’s new leaders.

Jordan is part of a Saudi-lead Arab alliance that includes Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, which sees Islamist movements — including the Muslim Brotherhood — as their main enemy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia Facebook Arrest: Religious Police Detain Indian Citizen for ‘Offensive’ Hindu Mecca Photo

An Indian citizen has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for allegedly posting offensive religious images on Facebook, Gulf News reported on Tuesday. The man was detained by Saudi religious police after reportedly posting a photo of Mecca’s Grand Mosque and its iconic black “Ka’aba” cuboid replaced with Hindu religious symbols.

The man has admitted ownership of the Facebook page in question but denied posting the photo to his account, claiming that he had only clicked “Like” in order to see the photo, which was originally posted on another account.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘Thank You America!’ Syrian Rebels Taunt West After Capturing US-Made Weapons

Militants fighting for the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front in Syria have released images showing them posing with American anti-tank missiles captured from Western-backed rebels.

The terrorists are seen wearing military fatigues as they pose with deadly American-made BGM-71 TOW missiles in a warehouse in Atarib, a town 15 miles west of the city of Aleppo.

[Comment: “Capturing”…yeah sure. Weapons are being air dropped into their territory.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

There Are 13 Countries Where Atheism is Punishable by Death

by Abby Ohlheiser

Atheists living in 13 countries risk being condemned to death, just for their beliefs (or non-belief) according to a new, comprehensive report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union out on Tuesday. All 13 countries identified by the study are Muslim majority.

The countries that impose these penalties are Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. With the exception of Pakistan, those countries all allow for capital punishment against apostasy, i.e., the renunciation of a particular religion. Pakistan, meanwhile, imposes the death penalty for blasphemy, which can obviously include disbelief in God.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Court Blocks Atheist Group’s Website

A Turkish court has blocked access to a website for the country’s first atheist association, ruling it was an “insult to religious values” in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation, the group said on Wednesday.

The court in an Ankara suburb said the website for Ateizm Dernegi (Atheist Society), founded last year in Istanbul, was engaged in “activities likely to disturb public order.”

The association denounced the ruling in a statement, calling it “undemocratic and illegal” and saying it would harm Turkey’s reputation abroad.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S., Qatar Plan to Rebrand Al Qaeda Into “Moderate” Rebels

The CIA supported and equipped “moderate” rebels in Syria are loosing out against al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. The last “moderate” group active in north Syria, Harakat Hazzm, had to give up its headquarter -including a ware house full of U.S. weapons- to Jabhat al Nusra and dissolved.

The U.S. military plans to recruit, pay and train new “moderate” rebels but the effort is starting veeerrry slow. Just 100 have been vetted so far to be “moderate” enough for the program. There are simply too few non-Jihadi rebels and warlords available willing to die for U.S. dollars.

A solution to the lack of qualified “moderate” personal is the rebranding of non-moderate groups into “moderates”. James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, recently moved into that direction:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Around 12,000 Russian Soldiers in Ukraine, Says US Commander

US Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges on Tuesday said the US military estimates around 12,000 Russian soldiers are supporting pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine, reports Reuters. He said a further 29,000 soldiers were stationed in the Crimea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Leaders Warn Russia to Honour Ukraine Pact

US President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders confirmed on Tuesday that sanctions against Russia would not be lifted until ceasefire conditions in Ukraine were met.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

No, Obama, Russia’s Economy Isn’t in Tatters

Western politicians and pundits should be more careful with their predictions for the Russian economy: Reports of its demise may prove to be premature.

Bashing the Russian economy has lately become a popular pastime. In his state of the nation address last month, U.S. President Barack Obama said it was “in tatters.” And last week, Anders Aslund of the Peterson Institute for International Economics published an article predicting a 10 percent drop in gross domestic product this year — more or less in line with the apocalyptic predictions that prevailed when the oil price reached its nadir late last year and the ruble was in free fall.

Aslund’s forecast focuses on Russia’s shrinking currency reserves, some of which have been earmarked for supporting government spending in difficult times. At $364.6 billion, they are down 26 percent from a year ago and $21.6 billion from the beginning of this year. Aslund expects $166 billion to be spent on infrastructure investments and bailing out companies, and another $100 billion to exit via capital flight and other currency outflows. As a result, given foreign debts of almost $600 billion, “Russia’s reserve situation is approaching a critical limit,” he says.

What this argument ignores is that Russia’s foreign debts are declining along with its reserves — that’s what happens when the money is used to pay down state companies’ obligations.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russian ‘Gulag’ Museum Forced to Change Format

The rights group that ran Russia’s only museum in a former gulag said Tuesday it has been ousted and the institution will cease as a memorial devoted to Soviet-era repression.

The Perm-36 museum — named after the notorious prison camp where it is housed — has been open since 1996, but was increasingly threatened by a hostile relationship with Russian leaders.

“The association is self-liquidating. We could not reach an agreement with regional administrators,” Tatiana Koursina, head of the Perm-36 association, told AFP.

“The museum will continue to function… but it won’t be the same,” she added.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has increasingly taken on the mantle of the Soviet Union and prides itself on its victories while downplaying the millions of deaths under Stalin’s forced industrialisation, collectivisation and prison camps.

The museum’s financing was cut off last year and its founding group — which organised exhibitions on dissidents and Soviet-era repression — lost control of the site.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Fighter Jets Practice Attacking NATO Ships

Russian fighter jets are practicing attacking NATO ships in the Black Sea in another dramatic sign that tensions over Ukraine continue to build despite a fragile ceasefire agreed last month.

“Russia’s newest Su-30 fighter jets and Su-24 attack bombers are using two NATO ships in the Black Sea to practice penetrating anti-air systems,” reports Sputnik, citing a source at the Sevastopol naval base.

Asserting that the NATO ships are conducting drills based around “repelling air attacks,” Moscow is taking the opportunity to practice “maneuvering and conducting aerial reconnaissance” outside the range of the ships in order to “practice attack scenarios”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Indian State Bans Beef and Brings in Five-Year Jail Terms for Possession

India’s western state of Maharashtra has introduced a ban on beef so strict that even possession could land you in jail for five years, media reports and the chief minister said on Tuesday.

The country’s Hindu majority considers cows sacred, and several states already ban their slaughter.

But the latest measures in Maharashtra — home to India’s commercial centre Mumbai — go even further, making the sale or possession of beef an offence punishable by a five-year jail term or a 10,000 rupee ($160 or £105) fine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Xiaomi Smartphone Chief Predicts ‘Chinese Companies Will Lead World in Future’

Lei Jun, chairman and chief executive of the world’s No 3 smartphone maker, adds his vote of confidence to the mainland’s “go-global” drive to invest abroad

Lei Jun, whose technology company, Xiaomi, aims to surpass Apple as the world’s No 1 smartphone maker, believes many Chinese companies will take leading global positions in their chosen fields in future. The chairman and chief executive of the company has added his vote of confidence to the mainland’s “go-global” drive to invest abroad.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Carabinieri Training Almost 200 Somali Police Officers

‘Ultimate goal…stability and security in Somalia’

(ANSA) — Rome, March 3 — Almost 200 Somali recruits, including 13 women, have arrived in Djibouti where Italian Carabinieri will help to train them to become police officers.

This marks the third training mission and “capacity building” exercise by Italian Carabinieri in the Horn of Africa nation that has to date yielded about 350 officers.

The 12-week program includes fundamentals of investigation, basic instruction in law, and as well as lectures in human rights and international norms.

Italy, which has a military base in Djibouti, has donated uniforms and material for the course.

In a statement, the Carabinieri said: “The ultimate goal of course is to promote stability and security in Somalia and the entire region of the Horn of Africa, increasing the capacity in the security sector and control of the territory by the national police”.

Somalia has struggled with civil war and economic disasters that have led to thousands fleeing the country, many ultimately making the dangerous sea crossing to Italy at the hands of human smugglers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

‘First Human’ Discovered in Ethiopia

Scientists have unearthed the jawbone of what they claim is one of the very first humans.

The 2.8 million-year-old specimen is 400,000 years older than researchers thought that our kind first emerged.

The discovery in Ethiopia suggests climate change spurred the transition from tree dweller to upright walker.

The head of the research team told BBC News that the find gives the first insight into “the most important transitions in human evolution”.

Prof Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas said the discovery makes a clear link between an iconic 3.2 million-year-old hominin (human-like primate) discovered in the same area in 1974, called “Lucy”.

Could Lucy’s kind — which belonged to the species Australopithecus afarensis — have evolved into the very first primitive humans?

“That’s what we are arguing,” said Prof Villmoare.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ancient ‘Lost City’ Found Deep in Jungles of Honduras

The jungle-choked remains of a “lost city”, abandoned by a mysterious civilisation several centuries ago and long fabled for reports of its gold and “monkey children”, have been uncovered in the depths of the rainforests of Honduras.

A team of American and Honduran archaeologists, aided by the bushcraft and survival skills of former British SAS soldiers, has just emerged from one of the most remote locations on Earth with news of their stunning discovery.

The expedition was seeking the site of the legendary “White City”, also known as the “City of the Monkey God”, a goal for Western explorers since the days of the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century.

The city, believed to be one of many lost in the Mosquitia jungle, was home to an unknown people that thrived a thousand years ago but then vanished without trace — until now.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Brazil Seeks to Investigate 54 Politicians in Petrobras Scandal

A prosecutor in Brazil has asked the Supreme Court to investigate 54 politicians over a massive graft case that has rocked Petrobras, the South American heavyweight’s largest corporation.

“There have been 28 requests for new investigation files… which involve 54 politicians who have immunity,” a spokesman for the top prosecutor told AFP Tuesday, referring to the growing scandal which has touched President Dilma Rousseff’s government.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ex-Terrorist Battisti to be Ejected by Brazil — Media

Right to reside in South American country revoked

(ANSA) — Sao Paulo, March 3 — A former Italian left-wing terrorist who had been given asylum in Brazil, Cesare Battisti, is going to be expelled from the South American country, Brazilian media reported Tuesday citing judicial sources. “We’ve been informed of the decision but there isn’t a date yet,” Battisti’s lawyer, Igor Sant’Anna Tamasauskas, was quoted as saying by the Estadao website. Battisti, 60, has been sentenced to life in prison in Italy for the murder of four people in the 1970s when he was part of an extremist left-wing group during the so-called Years of Lead of political violence.

He was arrested in Brazil in April 2007, some five years after he had fled to that country with the help of false documents to avoid extradition to Italy from France following the end of the Mitterrand doctrine which gave sanctuary to fugitive leftist guerrillas.

He had lived in France for 15 years and become a successful writer of crime novels.

In January 2009 the Brazilian justice ministry granted Battisti political asylum on the grounds that he would face “political persecution” in Italy.

Then in one of his last acts in office, outgoing Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva declined Rome’s request to extradite Battisti in December 2010, sparking outrage in Italy.

Battisti’s time in Brazil looks set to end now though, as Brasilia Federal Judge Adverci Rates Mendes de Abreu has reportedly withdrawn his residence permit, while at the same time not overruling Lula’s decision to reject Italy’s extradition petition.

Indeed, the former terrorist may be sent to Mexico or France, sources said. “It’s the case of a foreign citizen whose situation is not legal who, as a convict for crimes in his country of origin, does not have the right to remain in Brazil,” ruled Rates Mendes de Abreu.

“Therefore, I cancel the act granting Cesare Battisti the right to reside in Brazil and request that the expulsion procedure be applied”. Tamasauskas said Battisti will appeal. “We don’t understand how the sentence can seek to modify a decision by the Constitutional Court and by the president,” said Tamasauskas.

The son of one of four people murdered by Battisti, meanwhile, welcomed the news. “This could be a chance to reopen the extradition case,” said Alberto Torregiani, who was crippled by the attack that killed his father Pierluigi in 1979. This will hinge on the reasons for the expulsion and what country Battisti ends up in, Torregiani told ANSA. Politicians from mainstream left-wing parties also welcomed news.

“A long chain of protection has been broken,” said Democratic Party MP Paolo Bolognesi. “Brazil’s decision not to shield unpunished terrorists is important”. Socialist party secretary Riccardo Nencini said “let’s hope that the decision…puts an end to a murderer’s unfair and golden life on the run”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

The City of the Monkey God: Archaeologists Claim to Have Found City Lost for 1,000 Years in Remote Honduran Jungle

The mossy carving had lain undisturbed for up to a millennium in some of the remotest jungle on Earth. It is a powerful effigy of a “were-jaguar” but also the pristine legacy of a vanished and — until now — unknown civilisation.

National Geographic has reported that an archaeological expedition to Honduras has emerged from the depths of a Central American wilderness to declare the discovery of the ruins of a lost culture sought by explorers since Cortes and hitherto known only by the slightly preposterous title of City of the Monkey God.

Although supposedly spotted from the air in the 1920s by Charles Lindbergh and the subject of repeated attempts to reach it, no-one had offered irrefutable proof of the existence of the mythical Ciudad Bianca or White City and some archaeologists had dismissed it as the wishful imaginings of gentleman explorers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

DHS Approved 100,000 Expanded Amnesty Applications Before Judge Halted Program

The administration processed about 100,000 applications for amnesty for so-called Dreamers under some of the expanded rules President Obama announced last year, lawyers told a Texas judge late Tuesday, in a move that could complicate their claim that they have halted all action under the amnesty.

Mr. Obama’s Nov. 20 announcement offered a number of different benefits to illegal immigrants, including expanding eligibility for his 2012 amnesty for Dreamers and boosting the amount of time he was granting an amnesty form deportation and permits for legal work from two years to three years.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

DOJ: We Legalized 100,000 Illegals by Executive Action Before Injunction

President Obama’s expanded executive amnesty started earlier than the administration said it would — and before a court blocked it.

“Out of an abundance of caution,” the Obama Justice Department on Tuesday informed a federal court in Texas that it started issuing three-year work permits to thousands of illegal aliens right after President Obama announced his executive amnesty on November 20 — and before a federal court issued a preliminary injuction blocking the expanded amnesty on Feb. 16.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

EU Defends Working With Dictatorships to Stop Migrants

The EU’s migration chief insisted Wednesday that the bloc must work with dictatorships in order to fight smugglers who traffic migrants to Europe, often using dangerous sea routes across the Mediterranean.

The comments by Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration and home affairs, came as at least 10 more people were reported dead after a migrant boat capsized off Sicily.

“We’re not naive. And the fact that we cooperate in the framework of the Khartoum and Rabat process (EU agreements with African countries) with the dictatorial regimes, we do not legalise them,” Avramopoulos told a press conference in Brussels.

“We do not give them legitimacy, democratic and political legitimacy. But we have to cooperate in the field where we have decided to combat smuggling and trafficking.”

He did not name the regimes to which he was referring.

The 28-member EU said Wednesday it was pushing forward the launch of a new migration policy to mid-May because of the urgency in dealing with the flood of migrants across the Mediterranean, many of them fleeing conflicts in Syria and Libya.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greece: Turmoil Over Alleged Changes in Immigration Policy

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MARCH 4 — Greek deputy Citizen Protection Minister Yiannis Panousis reacted strongly to a police document that circulated on Tuesday regarding “new policy on migrant detention procedures.” The document, as GreekReporter website writes, states that illegal immigrants arrested in the Greek borders will not be detained but will be given renewable permits to stay in Greece.

The deputy minister called an emergency press conference where he stated that the document is withdrawn. He said that such documents should bear the minister’s signature but instead the particular document was signed by a police higher-up who has no authority signing such documents, especially without notifying the minister. He also called for an immediate investigation and asked for the resignation of those responsible for composing and circulating the document. Panousis said the document was the work of provocateurs and spoke of a “jungle of misinformation” that should be eliminated. He also said it is suspicious that the former prime minister and head of the opposition Antonis Samaras made statements and reacted so quickly in condemning the alleged change in immigration policy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Mexico Demands US Federal Inquiry Into Police Shootings of Migrants

Mexico asked Washington on Monday for full investigations into the recent shooting deaths of three Mexican migrants at the hands of local police officers across the United States.

In a statement, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs told the US Justice Department that exhaustive inquiries were needed “to ensure that civil and criminal responsibilities are established.”

The separate incidents occurred in the states of Texas, California and Washington last month and involve local police officers whom, the victims’ families say, used excessive force on their loved ones. One of the Mexican citizens was shot in the back, according to an autopsy report.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Migrant Boat Sinks Off Libyan Coast, Claims Lives

Several migrants have died after their boat capsized in the southern Mediterranean. Italy’s Coast Guard says nearly 1,000 people have been rescued in the past 24 hours trying to make the crossing from Africa to Europe.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

More Migrant Deaths, Arrivals Stir Emotions

European Union pledges greater efforts

(by Denis Greenan). (ANSAmed) — ROME — Another 10 deaths of migrants and the arrival of 1,000 more in the Mediterranean Wednesday stirred emotions and spurred the European Union to pledge greater efforts to save the lives of those who try the desperate crossing from North Africa.

The leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, pounced on the deaths to say that Italian officials’ hands were “covered with blood” because of their alleged encouragement of people paying unscrupulous smugglers to aim to achieve better lives in Europe.

Close to 1,000 refugees were heading to Sicily after rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean in which the Italian authorities also recovered the 10 dead bodies. The coast guard said Wednesday that a total of 941 migrants were saved in operations it had coordinated in the previous 24 hours. Coast Guard ship Dattilo was carrying 121 people saved from an overturned boat and the bodies of 10 people who died during the incident, plus another 318 migrants rescued in a separate operation. The Dattilo was heading to the southern Sicilian port of Augusta.

Another vessel was carrying 319 people to another Sicilian port, Porto Empedocle, while a tanker holding 183 was on the way to Pozzallo.

Northern League leader Salvini said that the hands of Premier Matteo Renzi and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano were soiled with blood after the latest migrant-boat disaster. Salvini argues that, by rescuing migrants, the Italian authorities are encouraging human traffickers and making the situation worse.

“Another 10 deaths and 900 illegal immigrants ready to land,” Salvini said.

“Pockets are full and hands are dirty with blood in Rome and Brussels. “Stop the departures, stop the deaths, stop the invasion.

Renzi and Alfano are dangerous for the Italians and for the immigrants”.

Flavio Di Giacomo, the Italy spokesperson for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said talk by Salvini and others of an “invasion” was misplaced.

“You have to remember that the 170,000 migrants who arrived last year came to an area populated by 500 million people,” he said, adding that “the major flow is only in the Sicilian Channel.

But he warned that the influx of migrants spelled “a humanitarian and operational emergency”.

European Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said it was no good passing the buck to the European Union after the latest migrant disaster in the southern Mediterranean. The death of 10 refugees has reignited debate about the effectiveness of the Triton programme, which is coordinated by EU agency Frontex and replaced Italy’s better-funded Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation last year. “Enough already of the politics of passing the buck,” Avramopoulos said. “Let’s have a clear, realistic attitude about what the EU can do and what it cannot do.

“Frontex is not the EU’s border guard. If we want a system of border guards, we have to create it.

“If we want Frontex to do more, we have to give it more resources”. EC Vice-President Frans Timmermans echoed those sentiments, saying the EU member states must be ready to take responsibility for sharing the burden of the migrant crisis.

“Migration is a problem that concerns all the member states,” Timmermans said. “It’s no longer Mare Nostrum (Our Sea), but Europa Nostra (Our Europe)”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nigel Farage Ditches Immigration Cap, Days After UKIP Promised to Limit Numbers

The Ukip leader jettisoned the idea of reducing net migration to below 50,000, which had been backed by Ukip’s immigration spokesman Steven Woolfe just last week.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Half of Refugees Struggle With Bills After a Decade

Thousands of refugees granted permanent residency in Sweden in 2004 are still getting financial assistance from local municipalities with less than half of them earning 13,000 kronor ($1570) a month, it has emerged.

The figures were revealed on Wednesday as part of a nationwide investigation by Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, which looked at how challenging it was for immigrants to enter the labour market in Sweden.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia Rescues 86 African Migrants on Italy-Bound Boat

The Tunisian military rescued 86 African migrants at sea off the town of Zarzis aboard a makeshift boat bound for the Italian island of Lampedusa, an official said Wednesday.

The group were fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Libya, from the port of Zuwarah about 60 kilometres (35 miles) from Tunisia, when their vessel started taking water on Tuesday afternoon, the Tunisian coastguard official said.

They sent out a distress signal that was picked up by the Tunisian military, triggering the rescue effort in which all of the would-be migrants were saved, the official told AFP.

It came as the Italian coastguard said at least 10 people died and scores were rescued on Tuesday when a boat transporting migrants capsized off Sicily.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia Rescues 86 Migrants Off Zarzis

On Italy-bound boat that had left from Libyan port

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, MARCH 4 — Tunisian navy vessels on Wednesday rescued 86 migrants of different nationalities on an Italy-bound boat off the coast of the southern town Zarzis. The raft had weighed anchor from the Libyan port of Zuwara, 60 kilometers from the Tunisian border, and was headed for Lampedusa when water started seeping in and it sent out alarm signals, TAP quoted a Tunisian coast guard official as saying. The migrants, including five women (one of whom pregnant) have been transferred to the Ben Guerdane and Medenine migrant centers in southern Tunisia. The ever-more chaotic situation in Libya has pushed many of those who have arrived in the country from sub-Saharan Africa to seek peace and security in Europe on perilous sea journeys. Of the 86 rescued on Wednesday, 42 were from Nigeria, 17 from Somalia, 13 from Gambia and 8 from Mali.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

White House Immigration Details Leaked: Obama Policies Will Create a “Country Within a Country”

The White House has finally unveiled it’s strategy with illegal immigration and according to well known radio host Mark Levin it is in its advanced stages after many years of scheming and implemntation. In the following interview Levin is joined by Sue Payne, a radio host in Baltimore, Maryland, who happened to be invited to a series of conference calls with Obama administration officials.

What you are about to hear is shocking.

As noted by Sue Payne, the administration is, in effect, establishing a new country within the borders of the United States, something confirmed by a high level Obama administration operative on the conference call.

[Comment: Read it all. All part of the plan to replace American citizens with illegals who will be subservient to the Communist aka Democrat Party.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Slovenia Legalises Same-Sex Marriage

Slovenia’s parliament Tuesday voted to legalise same-sex marriages and grant such unions equal rights to those of heterosexual couples, reports AFP. The bill was approved by a vote of 51 to 28 in the 90-seat parliament. While the bill was being voted on, around 2000 people protested it before parliament.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Muslim Lesbian Polly Chowdhury Tortured Her Eight-Year-Old Daughter to Death

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Polly Chowdhury, 35, was ‘groomed’ by 43-year-old Kiki Muddar, who invented fictional characters, including a Muslim spirit called Skyman, to control her partner.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Sarah Vine Says ‘Mum Was Right. I Wish I’d Stayed at Home With My Children’

New figures showed that the proportion of women who look after their children at home has fallen to an all-time low — and something just doesn’t add up, writes SARAH VINE.

What’s the point of having a baby,’ my mother said to me shortly after the birth of my first child, ‘if you’re going to let a stranger look after it? You might as well get a cat.’

Now my mother doesn’t generally pass comment on my affairs. But on this occasion, as I was discussing my plans to return to work, she couldn’t help herself.

After all, she gave up a chance to go to university to take care of me.

The idea that I would entrust the most precious thing in my life to someone I had barely met just seemed utterly bonkers to her.

I was reminded of our conversation yesterday when new figures showed that the proportion of women who look after their children at home has fallen to an all-time low — one in ten

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Scientists Warn Over-Use of Modern Technology May be Linked to Memory Loss and Depression

Can’t recall a friend’s phone number? Press the speed dial on your mobile. Don’t know the way to their house? Use a satnav. Modern technology has taken the strain off our brains with the answers to so many problems available at the click of a button.

But is there a dark side to all this convenience? Growing scientific evidence suggests a future where our brains may prematurely fail in later life through under-use, thanks to Mother Nature’s rule that we ‘use it or lose it’.

You might describe this new threat to our mental health as ‘e-mentia’ — memory-related problems, and even depression, linked to our overuse of new technology.

Some of the most worrying evidence of the problems we may be storing up for later relate to navigation aids.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

2 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/4/2015

  1. Here’s my answer to the “be careful with the prophet” people:

    Muhammad, Mohammed, or Mahomet was the prophet of Satan, the whole Quran was revealed by satan and consists entirely of satanic verses. Your “prophet” deceived people with treachery and then murdered them by stabbing them in the back, exactly the way Satan would. He was just following Satan’s example, and now you’re following the example of the greatest Satan worshiper of all time. Even if you won’t admit it to anyone else, you must admit to yourself that you worship Satan and follow the evil example of Satan’s greatest worshiper. Mahomet is most certainly in hell with Satan now.

    So stand with Satan and his satanic minion Mahomet if you want, but don’t be surprised when he stabs you in the back and you end up burning in hell.

    You have all been tricked by Satan with his ponzi scheme of lies known as Islam, which means “submission to satan”!

  2. How is it possible the Daily Mail was able to publish the story about the Muslim lesbian seductress that incited infanticide?

    It seems as though this story should have set off every alarm bell available to the PC multiculti brigades and they should have sent it straight down the memory hole.

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