A young man named Fareed Mumuni was arrested on Staten Island today after he attacked an FBI agent with a knife. The agent was one of a team who came to search Mr. Mumuni’s home as part of an investigation into his support for ISIS. Mr. Mumuni was said to be an associate of Munther Omar Saleh, who was arrested over the weekend in Queens, also for attacking law enforcement officers with a knife.
In other news, the owner of an Austrian brothel is offering his clients free sessions with the young ladies under his charge, as a form of protest over what he says are unreasonably high taxes imposed by the government on his business.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Apollon Zamp, Dean, Green Infidel, Insubria, JD, LP, 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.
Greeks Refuse to Pay Debt, Declare it “Illegal, Illegitimate, And Odious”
A committee formed by the speaker of the Greek parliament and Syriza member, Zoi Konstantopoulou, has released a report stating that the debt the IMF and the Europeans insist the people of Greece owe to the bankers is “illegal, illegitimate and odious.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Russia and China Just Put Another Nail in the Coffin of the Bretton Woods Petrodollar System
Sanctions imposed on Russia have little to do with Ukraine or the supposed aggressive behavior of Vladimir Putin.
They are a direct response to a Russian move out of the petrodollar system that has ruled since the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference that established the US Dollar as the global world currency and created the World Bank and the IMF as the institutions upholding its hegemonic rule.
On Tuesday it was announced that Russia and China are expected to use the ruble and yuan in payments for gas supplied using the western Altai pipeline. The proposed pipeline will export 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Russia’s Western Siberia to North-Western China.
“As a sales contract is not signed, then, of course, the currency of payment has not yet been determined,” said Gazprom Export CEO Elena Burmistrova. “However, the Chinese side and the Russian side are discussing today and are in intricate negotiations on the possibility of paying in yuan and rubles.”
The announced plan followed an October 2014 deal signed between Beijing and Moscow that will strengthen the yuan and ruble and reduce dollar and euro dependency.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Next Great European Financial Crisis Has Begun
The Greek financial system is in the process of totally imploding, and the rest of Europe will soon follow.
Neither the Greeks nor the Germans are willing to give in, and that means that there is very little chance that a debt deal is going to happen by the end of June. So that means that we will likely see a major Greek debt default and potentially even a Greek exit from the eurozone. At this point, credit default swaps on Greek debt have risen 456 percent in price since the beginning of this year, and the market has priced in a 75 percent chance that a Greek debt default will happen. Over the past month, the yield on two year Greek bonds has skyrocketed from 20 percent to more than 30 percent, and the Greek stock market has fallen by a total of 13 percentduring the last three trading days alone. This is what a financial collapse looks like, and if Greece does leave the euro, we are going to see this kind of carnage happen all over Europe.
Officials over in Europe are now openly speaking of the need to prepare for a “state of emergency” now that negotiations have totally collapsed. At one time, it would have been unthinkable for Greece to leave the euro, but now it appears that this is precisely what will happen unless a miracle happens…
In the past, the Greeks have always buckled under pressure. But this new Greek government was elected with a mandate to end austerity, and so far they have shown a remarkable amount of resolve. In order for a debt deal to happen, one side is going to have to blink, and at this point it does not look like it will be the Greeks…
The world’s financial markets are facing up to the possibility that Greece could soon become the first country to crash out of Europe’s single currency. Talks between Athens and its eurozone creditors have collapsed in acrimony just days before a final deadline for Greece to unlock the €7.2bn (£5.2bn) in bailout funds it needs to avoid a catastrophic debt default.
The Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, accused the creditor powers of hidden “political motives” in their demands that Greece make further cuts to public pension payments in return for the financial aid. “We are shouldering the dignity of our people, as well as the hopes of the people of Europe,” Mr Tsipras said in a defiant statement. “We cannot ignore this responsibility. This is not a matter of ideological stubbornness. This is about democracy.”
As we approach the point of no return, both sides are preparing for the endgame.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
2016 GOP Contenders: Chris Christie
Governor Christie has not yet declared his candidacy for President in 2016, but said he would announce a decision by late May or early June.
So, let’s take a look at the New Jersey governor’s stance on issues. Is he really a conservative, or is he a closet democrat?…
The Fort Lee lane closure scandal is a U.S. political scandal in which a staff member and political appointees of Governor Christie collaborated to create traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey by closing lanes at the toll plaza to the George Washington Bridge. Local officials, emergency services, and the public were not notified of the lane closures, which Fort Lee declared a threat to public safety. The resulting back-ups and gridlock on local streets only ended when the two lanes were reopened on Friday, September 13, 2013 by an order from Port Authority Executive Director, Patrick Foye (D). He said that the “hasty and ill-informed decision” could have endangered lives and violated federal and state laws.
The incident was investigated from a few possible motives. The prevailing theory is that the lane closures were retribution against Fort Lee’s Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) for not endorsing Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election. [Link] …
Christie’s Bridgegate is nothing however, compared to his cultivation of relationships with Islamists who have connections to known terrorist groups. The governor has a problem, a very big problem, specifically an Islam problem, and it should well keep him from attaining any higher office. Why? Because he consistently sides with Islamist forces against those who worry about safeguarding American security and civilization. Let’s take a look at those allegiances. New Jersey has the second largest Muslim population of any state, after Michigan, so is it any wonder Christie cultivates these friendships? [Link]
[Comment: Read it all.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Balcony Collapse: Water Damage Investigated — BBC News
California engineers investigating a balcony collapse that killed six people and injured seven others say water damage may have caused the structure to give way.
The incident happened during a 21st birthday party in the early hours of Tuesday in the city of Berkeley.
Authorities said 13 people were on the fourth-floor balcony when it collapsed.
The victims were mostly Irish students who were living temporarily in the US as part of a work exchange programme.
An initial investigation found that the balcony support’s beams may not have been sealed properly at the time of construction, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said.
“More than likely, it was caused by rain and water damage,” Mr Bates said.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Boy Who Lost Stuffed Tiger at Airport Finds Tiger Stayed Very Busy
If a boy named Owen suspects his stuffed tiger named Hobbes has a secret life, the staff of Tampa International Airport won’t disagree. Owen recently lost Hobbes at the airport — and when he reclaimed the tiger, he also received photos of Hobbes touring the facility.
Owen, 6, had flown from Florida to Texas. His mother, Amanda Lake, says that for much of the trip, Owen was preoccupied with whether his tiger was OK.
“Hobbes is one of a kind. He was made by hand by his aunt who lives in Houston,” Lake tells the Tampa Bay Times.
Not only was Hobbes OK, but after he was found by the airport’s janitorial crew, the operations staff decided to take the tiger for some gelato and on behind-the-scenes tours of the airport. Hobbes also stopped by a hotel and played Jenga.
When Owen returned from Texas, he was reunited with Hobbes and given a bound book of photographs that showed what his tiger had been up to…
| — Hat tip: Apollon Zamp | [Return to headlines] |
Bureaucrats’ Cry: Just Doing My Job
Recently, I was watching a video, in which a woman was exposing some serious corruption within the system of American government. As she gave details to the high crimes of those who “derived their powers from the consent of the governed” (The Declaration of Independence), she pointed out that many people, who were on the inside, were a part of what she was exposing. They were willing to come forward if others were willing to do the same, but many were just too scared to stop the crimes that they are committing on the behalf of their employer…
The real threat to you and your freedoms in America does not come from those wearing turbans on their heads yelling, “Allahu akbar.” The real threat comes from Americans who promise to do one thing, namely upholding and magnifying the law of our constitutional republic (Article 4 section 4) against foreign and domestic enemies, but do the bidding of those who are attempting to tear down our republic and re-create it in their own image. It is these people who tolerate crime which will be used to bring America to its destruction.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Charleston Police Responding to Shooting Downtown
Unconfirmed reports say eight people were shot downtown tonight.
Police and emergency vehicles are swarming Henrietta and Calhouns streets off Marion Square in downtown Charleston, responding to the reported shooting.
They are responding to a shooting at 9 p.m. at 110 Calhoun Street, site of Emanuel AME Church. Police have been seen exiting the 150-year-old church.
Police are still looking for the gunman and helcopters are hovering above. Police spokesman Charles Francis described the suspect as a 21-year-old white male in a grey sweatshirt/hoodie and jeans with Timberland boots. He has a slender build.
There are victims involved but don’t know how many. No deaths have yet been reported. A chaplain is on the scene.
Police are looking everywhere in groups on Henrietta, in trash cans and under cars.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Government Computers With Sensitive Data Are So Old, Some Can’t be Encrypted
Millions of government employee records apparently stolen by Chinese hackers were not encrypted, and software designed to detect computer breaches has not been installed to cover most of the files, officials said Tuesday.
The disclosure this month of two devastating hacks at the Office of Personnel Management has exposed vulnerable and outdated federal computer systems that are used to store details collected for government job applications, security clearances and other needs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The study, conducted by experts from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and from Washington & Lee University who analyzed Medicare cost reports, found that many hospitals in the United States are charging unbelievably exorbitant fees. This isn’t anything minor, either. They noted that 50 hospitals in the country are marking up their medical services to the tune of over 1,000 percent above and beyond actual costs. It’s hitting the uninsured and out-of-network people the most, along with those covered by auto and worker’s compensation insurance…
Other findings have involved the discovery of an emergency room charging up to $1,500 per stitch or places that want patients to pay $30 for one aspirin.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Investigative Report: Jade Helm Mystery Solved
In this special report, Jakari Jackson breaks down what “Master the Human Domain” really means and how it will be put to use.
The military claims the exercise is for overseas training, yet actual states have been listed as “hostile.”
The term, “Mastering the Human Domain,” reveals to us that Jade Helm 15 is more than just a military exercise, it’s also an exercise of the new field in geo-spatial intelligence using human domain analytics to map the politics and thoughts of any nation, state, city, right down to the individual.
In a recent Infowars.com report: “Master the Human Domain: The Domestic Plan Behind Jade Helm,” we break down what the motto which appears on the Jade Helm logo refers to.
In brief, a new discipline in intelligence has been at center stage for the past decade: Activity Based Intelligence or ABI.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Knife Regulation Arrives: This is the US Government, Hard at Work
When it comes to the contents of the TPP, the most important law of Obama’s second term, merely leaking its contents to the press can have result in imprisonment or treason charges, which, considering recent revelations that a substantial portion of the bill was drafted by and for the express benefit ofpharmaceutical companies, was to be expected: when the US population learns that their elected legislators not only don’t read the laws they “pass”, but are merely bribed figureheads that don’t even write them, the resultant collapse of the “democratic” process would be unpleasant.
And yet, other laws such as S.1315, are perfectly transparent and open. So, with nobody in Congress drafting the TPP (and apparently not even able to pass it, despite corporate backers’ demands), here is a vivid example of the US government, hard at work.
presenting: S. 1315, Knife Owners’ Protection Act of 2015:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Military Movements on the Northern Border: “ It is Reminiscent of the Soviet Union”
Jeremiah Johnson is a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne) and a graduate of the U.S. Army’s SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape). You can contact JJ by using this form.
This article is going to detail some of the increased movements by U.S. military forces in Northwestern Montana, particularly in the Flathead Valley as observed by myself and others who live in the area. Upon the conclusion of this article it would be greatly appreciated for any and all comments to be submitted pertaining to similar movements noticed in the home states of the readers. With Jade Helm in its preliminary stages, one cannot help but notice these comings and goings.
C-130 Hercules flights are running out of Glacier International Airport on a regular basis, with a minimum of three flights during the day and two at night, the latter usually occurring around 11:00 pm or later. They usually fly east and cross over the Continental Divide, heading toward Malmstrom Air Force Base. The helicopters have been more alarming. For the past two weeks, there has been a minimum of two sorties per night, paralleling the north-south railroad line and following it through the mountains and crossing the Divide. These sorties bear a minimum of (2) UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, and I have seen as many as (6) per over flight.
Most of the cargo shipped on the rails is comprised of container loads, oil tanker cars, and livestock. Recently a friend who lives next to Whitefish, Montana told me that he had seen a train packed to the gills with APC’s (Armored Personnel Carriers) heading East from Whitefish toward the Divide, and they were painted tan/desert camouflage. One of the problems here with photographing them is that these movements are taking place primarily at night. These chopper over flights are running just above treetop level and they do not only make one pass: the sorties fly by on average 3 to 5 times…
Other things worth mentioning are the fact that some of these military units have been operating stripped of unit patches (partially sterile uniforms) and have been accompanied by/accompanying U.S. Border Patrol Units near the Canadian Border. A man who works in Glacier National Park reported that the Canadians are allowed almost unlimited access into the U.S., but U.S. citizens departing the country come under the closest of scrutiny. It is reminiscent of the Soviet Union, with the only thing lacking (for now) being an internal passport system.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mind Reading Technology Takes a Huge Leap Forward
“Brain to text” study could lead to humans talking to machines via thought alone.
Scientists are moving closer to developing mind reading technology after researchers at the Wadsworth Center in New York were able to record the brain waves directly associated with speech during a recent study.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mob of Black Teens Attacks White Family, Media Silent
On the same day that the now media-saturated McKinney, Texas incident occurred when a large group of black teens crashed a pool party and later clashed with white police officers, another black mob in Alabama attacked a random white family with fists and a Taser as they yelled, “Get that white! “
The Dawes family was attacked around 8:30 p.m. at a family-friendly event in the city of Florence that Friday evening. The 14-year-old son was initially hit from behind. He said at first he thought someone bumped into him but then knew better as the fists kept coming. That’s when the father stepped in to protect his son and the mob of 20 to 30 black teens turned their anger on him. The father suffered a broken eye socket and was tased at least 6 times, according to reports.
Nearby, Mrs. Dawes sat in the family vehicle with her 4-year-old son and dialed 9-1-1. She said there was so many of them, she didn’t know what to do. The teens eventually smashed out the back window of the vehicle, spraying glass shards on the young boy.
The group scattered when police arrived at the scene. No suspects have been apprehended and the investigation is still ongoing. Police say it was not gang-related and are not yet willing to call it a hate crime.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Reagan Carried Gun After Assassination Attempt
“I trust these [Secret Service] people around me, but if someone comes at me again, I want to be prepared.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested a 21-year-old Staten Island man who allegedly repeatedly tried to stab an FBI agent with a kitchen knife Wednesday as officers attempted to search his home in connection with an ongoing ISIS-related investigation involving a Queens college student arrested over the weekend, according to court documents.
Fareed Mumuni was charged Wednesday with attempting to murder an FBI agent, though no serious injuries were reported in the scuffle, conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and trying to assist the terror group in carrying out an attack in the New York area, according to the complaint.
After his arrest, Mumuni allegedly told investigators he had pledged his allegiance to ISIS and that he planned to travel overseas to join the group. If he wasn’t able to join ISIS overseas, he allegedly planned to attack law enforcement officers at home, and was coordinating that plan with others.
Mumuni’s alleged conspirators include Munther Omar Saleh, the 20-year-old college student from Queens arrested over the weekend for allegedly scouting possible targets for an ISIS-inspired attack. Court documents say Saleh also charged law enforcement officers with a knife when he saw them conducting surveillance of him and another alleged conspirator Saturday. No one was hurt.
Saleh allegedly named Mumuni as a co-conspirator when he agreed to speak with investigators following his arrest, court documents indicate. Investigators began reviewing cellphone records between the duo, and found discussions about attacking law enforcement.
In one conversation, Saleh allegedly told Mumuni to use a bomb, then to fight, later clarifying he should detonate an explosive, then run over law enforcement officers with a vehicle, gather up their weapons and use them to shoot at other victims, court papers say.
Court documents indicate Saleh allegedly emailed himself information about how to build a pressure cooker bomb like the ones used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack; he and another man also allegedly searched for items like an LED light, lava lamp, chemistry model, propane and other components that authorities say could be used in the creation of explosive devices. While Saleh allegedly was running the “op,” as he described it to a confidential informant, authorities allege Mumuni helped him in his alleged efforts to carry out an attack on behalf of ISIS.
The two were seen meeting on several occasions since May; during one meeting, Saleh contacted Mumuni to tell him he had money and wanted to meet, stating that he had money that “talks,” possibly referring to funding for an illegal transaction, the complaint alleges. Saleh eluded surveillance teams on the way to a meeting with Mumuni on Staten Island.
Saleh and Mumuni also met in lower Manhattan late last month. On June 1, Saleh and another alleged co-conspirator allegedly talked about how the meeting with Mumuni went. Saleh allegedly said it was “awesome” and “motivating.”
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Study Marxism to Understand Hillary
Looking back on Mrs. Clinton’s career, I continue to be struck by the wisdom of Barbara Olson, the author of the 1999 book Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Olson was the lawyer and conservative commentator who was murdered by Islamic terrorists when the aircraft she was on, American Airlines Flight 77, was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon in the September 11, 2001, attacks. The crash killed 125 people on the ground and another 64 passengers and crew.
I interviewed Olson on December 8, 2000, when I hosted a radio show in the Washington, D.C. area. What follows is an edited transcript of that interview.
Q: Do you believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton is a Marxist?
A: I believe she has a political ideology that has its roots in Marxism. In her formative years, Marxism was a very important part of her ideology…But when you look at her ideas on health and education, you see more government and less individual control. You see very little regard for families…
Q: Do you see Hillary as in favor of Socialist-style thinking at the global level?
A: We saw that with her activities as First Lady. She traveled more than any other First Lady. She had a global view. She spoke at the Beijing conference on women. She was very active in organizations and conferences that seem to be concerned about human rights but which are also directed toward a centralized governmental view. That is, one world. I looked at her travels and saw what she was doing. I always assumed Hillary was going to run for president. And I assumed that these international travels and her work with the Beijing women’s conference and the U.N. were going to be her way into the White House; that she was going to have a foreign policy platform that not many women have…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Disposable Life of a 20-Year-Old Confidential Informant
On June 27, 2014, the body of 20-year-old Andrew Sadek, a promising electrical student at the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in Wahpeton, North Dakota, was pulled from the Red River bordering North Dakota and Minnesota.
Missing for two months, the young man was found shot in the head, wearing a backpack filled with rocks.
The grisly death of a college student in one of the safest towns in the state, where violent crime is extremely rare, did not lead to a sweeping investigation. In fact, police immediately said they did not suspect foul play.
Such a supposition strains credulity as it is, but what would be slowly revealed over the following months is that Andrew had been working as a confidential informant for the police, and that his school knew that authorities were busting its students and using them as bait to catch drug dealers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Socialist Left Wants to Make Things Right
It is a tune many failed socialist nations have heard before. When the mainstream media proclaimed a few years ago, “We are all socialists now,” people shrugged their shoulders and went about their capitalist business.
Do Americans at large understand that socialism involves various economic and political theories which advocate collective or government ownership of the means of production and the distribution of goods? I bold-faced the word “theories” because the practice is quite a resounding failure in most countries in which it was tried or it is currently used.
If you point to European Fabian socialists as being a success story, you are not paying attention to the bankruptcy level of debt of all these countries, the result of decades of unrestrained welfare and failed multiculturalism, to the level of confiscatory taxation, enslavement to government, and its forced tolerant social programs.
Under socialism there is no private property, advocates and supporters say. It could have fooled me. The twenty years I lived under the transition from socialism to communism, all the elites had their private property, including the union bosses appointed by the Communist Party, while the proletariat had nothing. The State run by the Communist Party controlled everything, all the means of production. All we could and had to control was our speech. We could only use thoughts to curse the abject enslavement that the Communist Party apparatchiks subjected us to every day.
[Comment: Recommended reading.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
TPA: Backdoor to Enforcement of UN’s Arms Trade Treaty
Consider this: If Congress grants the president the power to unilaterally negotiate and contract trade agreements with foreign powers, these “executive agreements” can cover any topic that the White House considers “trade.” That includes firearms.
If the TPA passes, then the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would not need to be subject to senatorial debate. In fact, it would not be up for debate at all. TPA calls for a simple up or down vote on such presidentially brokered international agreements.
If the TPA passes, then the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would not need to be subject to senatorial debate. In fact, it would not be up for debate at all. TPA calls for a simple up or down vote on such presidentially brokered international agreements.
For those readers unfamiliar with the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, the following summary will likely shock you.
The ATT is so offensive to the preservation of the right to keep and bear arms, it is an understatement to call it unconstitutional. As The New American has reported, several provisions of this treaty significantly diminish the scope of this basic right.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Cop Murders 17-Year-Old Kid for Not Complying With Traffic Stop
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A Sheriff’s sergeant in Eaton County Michigan will face no charges after shooting and killing a seventeen year old for not complying with a traffic stop, despite the fact that he had committed no crime whatsoever.
The shocking incident happened back in February and was captured on police body camera and partially on cell phone by Deven Guilford, who was ripped out of his vehicle, tased and then shot seven times by Sgt. Jonathan Frost.
The stop occurred after Deven flashed his lights at Frost, believing that the sergeant had his high beams on, and it would be a danger to other drivers.
During the confrontation that ensued, Frost admitted that two other drivers had also flashed their lights at him and that his headlights were brand new, and were probably too bright.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Teen Shot Dead After Tracking Lost Cellphone
Canadian police said Tuesday they are hunting for three men in the fatal shooting of a teenager who used an app to trace his lost phone to the trio.
Jeremy Cook, 18, had left his smartphone in a taxi and traced it electronically Sunday morning to a fast-food restaurant in London, Ontario, where he confronted three men in a car outside, local police Constable Ken Steeves told AFP.
“He approached the vehicle and it’s safe to say a conversation occurred, but the phone wasn’t turned over to him,” Steeves said.
When the three men attempted to leave, Cook grabbed onto the vehicle as it drove away, he said. Local media said Cook was accompanied by his sister.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Brothel Offers Sex for Free to Protest High Taxes
Prostitution in Austria is legal and regulated
(ANSA-AP) — VIENNA — An Austrian brothel is offering a summer special that competitors will find hard to match — free sex. Its owner says it’s his way of protesting a tax squeeze. “Effective immediately: Free Entrance! Free Drinks! Free Sex!” the Pascha bordello writes on its website.
The Oesterreich daily quotes owner Hermann Mueller as saying he will pay the women working for him to make up for the money they would normally get from clients. A woman answering the telephone at the establishment confirmed the offer Sunday. She refused to identify herself.
Prostitution in Austria is legal and regulated. Mueller, who runs other brothels in Germany and Austria, says he is pushing back against what he says is unfair taxation of nearly 4 million euros (over $5 million) in the past decade.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bulgaria Poorest Country, Consumption 50% Below EU Average
Eurostat, Luxembourg richest country, 40% above average
(ANSA) — BRUSSELS — In 2014 Bulgaria, followed by Romania and Croatia, was the poorest country in Europe, according to Eurostat’s new index, which measures the well-being of families, that is the actual individual consumption (AIC). In 2014, the index reached its peak in Luxembourg, where it was 40% higher than the EU average. Germany and Austria were 20% above average, followed by Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, the UK, Finland, France and the Netherlands, with levels between 10% and 15% higher than the EU average.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
European Web Host Ruled Liable for Users’ Comments — Even Though it Didn’t Read Them
The future for online discussion platforms in Europe is looking cloudy following yesterday’s ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Delfi AS v. Estonia. In a disappointing decision, the court affirmed that Estonian courts were entitled to hold an online news portal liable in defamation for comments submitted anonymously by readers. The court was unmoved by the fact that the publisher, Delfi, had set up a system for users to flag and automatically remove comments that they found offensive, or by the fact that the comments at issue had been removed prior to the initial lawsuit being filed.
The court ruled that the finding of Delfi’s liability did not violate the guarantee of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Declaration of Human Rights, but the ramifications of the ruling on freedom of expression will be profound. Indeed, its effects have already been felt. Following the initial complaint, delfi.ee retained a team of moderators to sift through the site’s anonymous and pseudonymous comments, which are segregated from those of registered users, and hidden by default. Other Estonian discussion fora, unable to afford to hire moderators, have simply shut down anonymous comments altogether, demonstrating that Delfi’s first victim would be anonymous speech.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Facial Recognition-Fest: UK Police Scan 100,000 Concertgoers
UK police used facial recognition technology to scan the faces of 100,000 concertgoers in Leicestireshire over the weekend. (Photo:Tom Blackwell/flickr/cc) Just in time for facial recognition technology to lose its few privacy allies in the U.S., police in the U.K. demonstrated just what that kind of mass surveillance of the public might look like in reality. Over the weekend, Leicestireshire police planted a series of “strategically placed cameras” throughout the grounds of an outdoor concert—ironically called the Download Festival—to scan the faces of more than 100,000 people and match them against a database of wanted criminals across Europe.
[Comment: Refining the methods for the future search of dissidents.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Finmeccanica Aims for Avio Control
‘Step’ this year says Lasagni, Pinotto says no deal on MBDA
(by Chiara Rancati) (ANSA) — Le Bourget, June 15 — Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica is interetested in taking a controlling stake of Vega rocket-launcher maker Avio, raising its share from 14%, and could make it “if not the first, then the second or the third” purchase of its new management term.
“Space is important, Italy cannot not have a projection into space,” said Finmeccanica CEO Mauro Moretti as he strolled around the stands of the Paris Air Show.
Avio chief Pier Giuliano Lasagni went further, saying that a “step” towards going under Finmeccanica’s wing “will be made this year and welcoming the idea.
“It’s clear that there’s an interest by Finmeccanica, which wants to continue to be present” he said.
“There is talk of a majority or of other forms that can safeguard the activities of the Vega launcher, which is a national patrimony”.
The next step, he said, regards “European industrial equilibria which have to be managed,” referring above all to the “strong signals from France in the launcher sector, to ensure autonomous access to space.
The Finmeccanica majority option, stressed industrial sources cited by the French press, would meet with the favour of the Italian government — more than an entry by Airbus Safran Launcher. The latter, according to the same sources, is not interested in coming into the share capital with a share that would be too small to let it influence management decisions.
The situation on two other joint ventures featuring Finmeccanica is more fluid.
For the ATR consortium, 50% held by Alenia Aermacchi and 50% by the Airbus group (ex EADS), a whole takeover by the Italians does not appear a goer in the short term, although stubborn rumours persist.
The programme meanwhile announced on Monday the 1,500th aircraft sold, part of an order from Japan Air Commuter- ATR’s first sale there.
Also treading water is the MBDA dossier, a missile producer shared by Finmeccanica (25%), the Airbus group and BAE Systems (37.5% each). Airbus has long declared its interest in taking control but there is still no agreement with the co-shareholders.
“It’s a question the companies are still talking about and they have yet to find a solution”, said Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti at the Show, stressing that the missile sector remains “important” for Italy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Premier to Revert to ‘Renzi 1’, No More PD Primaries
Centre-left party licking wounds after city runoff defeats
(ANSA) — Rome, June 16 — Premier Matteo Renzi has said he is aiming to revert to his former approach, which he called “Renzi 1”, and said that he would like his Democratic Party (PD) to stop holding primaries to select all its major candidates.
His comments come after the PD lost several of last weekend’s city council runoffs, including in Venice. The party also lost Liguria in a round of regional elections last month and have a headache in Campania, where Vincenzo De Luca won the vote but risks being suspended because of an abuse-of-office conviction. De Luca was selected by the PD via a primary. “These elections tell us that you don’t win with Renzi 2, I have to go back to Renzi 1,” Renzi told Turin daily La Stampa.
“I say no more PD primaries. I didn’t select the candidates. If it were for me, the season of primaries would be over”.
He also vowed promised a change of gear on the government’s ambitious reform programme.
“The reforms are nearer, I’ll have to increase the revs, not decrease them,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ferrero Denies Nutella Harms Planet
‘Our palm oil is 100% sustainable’ says Nutella maker Ferrero
(ANSA) — Paris, June 16 — The maker of Nutella on Tuesday denied its chocolate-hazelnut spread is made by harming tropical forests, after French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal urged consumers to stop eating Nutella “to save the planet”. One of the ingredients of the Italian hazelnut chocolate spread is palm oil, whose cultivation in Indonesia and Malaysia has caused extensive tropical forest deforestation. “Massive deforestation also contributes to global warming,” Royal told Canal+ TV in an interview. “Stop eating Nutella, save the planet,” she said. Oil palm plantations have become one of the fastest-growing single crop plantations in the tropics of Africa, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean. Vast tracts of tropical forest — which is home to forest-dwelling peoples as well as many endangered species — have been cleared to make room for the plantations, causing soil erosion, pollution, and massive loss of habitat, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Palm oil is the main ingredient in margarine, ice cream, most liquid detergents, soaps, shampoos, lipsticks, waxes and polishes.
The French division of Nutella maker Ferrero replied to the minister that it only uses “100% certified sustainable palm oil for its products manufactured at Villers-Ecalles”.
Oil palm cultivation “can go hand in hand with respect for the environment and populations…no forests or other valued conservancy spaces have been sacrificed” to make Nutella, the company said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Expo Dedicates Special Coin to Michelle Obama
First Lady to receive gift upon visit to Expo this week
(ANSA) — Milan, June 16 — A one-of-a-kind “all pink” coin has been minted in honor of US First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Milan Expo 2015, and will be presented to the First Lady when she visits the world’s fair as leader of the Presidential Delegation to Expo later this week.
The same coin, albeit without the special rose-toned hue, has been presented to Pope Francis and other dignitaries, and was designed by Laura Cretara, who also designed the Italian one-euro coin.
The gift/souvenir was created in the historic workshop of a Florentine mint that is one of the few in the world utilizing a coin press of 600 tons per square centimeter.
The coin measures 150 mm in diameter, weighs 936 grams, and is made of a rose-bronze colored alloy with an external ring of the same color.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Nine Probed Over Alleged 28-Mn Milan Hospital Fraud
San Raffaele docs ‘in surgery in two ORs at same time’
(ANSA) — Milan, June 16 — Nine people including ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s personal doctor were placed under investigation Tuesday in a probe into a suspected 28-million-euro fraud at Milan’s upscale San Raffaele Hospital.
It was the latest in a string of scandals to hit the private university hospital, one of the most prestigious operating and training facilities in the Lombard capital.
The San Raffaele administration said that, in this case, it “radically contested” prosecutors’ charges while doctors said in a statement they were “indignant” at what they called “invented” findings. Police said that, as well as getting trainees to perform critical procedures, several San Raffaele doctors filed pay sheets claiming to be in more than one operating room at the same time.
Prosecutors in Milan said they had completed a probe into allegations that doctors and administrators defrauded the national health service via fake expenditure claims on some 4,000 surgeries. The probe uncovered alleged wrongdoing committed by six chief surgeons and three hospital officials in 2011-2013, when investigators say the hospital carried out surgeries without adequate staff in the operating room.
The suspects are chief heart surgeon Ottavio Alfieri, chief vascular surgeon Roberto Chiesa, past and current chief urologists Patrizio Rigatti and Francesco Montorsi, chief thoracic surgeon Piero Zannini, and chief of anesthesia and reanimation Alberto Zangrillo, who is also ex-premier Berlusconi’s primary care physician. Also under the investigative spotlight are past and current hospital administrators Mario Valsecchi and Nicola Bedin and health director Roberts Mazzuconi.
The hospital itself and the Monte Tabor Foundation were also named as being accountable.
Prosecutors said some doctors showed up in hospital records as being in surgery in more than one operating room at the same time.
As well, medical residents allegedly substituted for an anesthesiologist or professional surgeon in approximately two thousand operations.
According to documents summarizing the investigation, the surgeon in charge was missing in 989 of the above-mentioned operations.
Along with Milan investigators, prosecutors from the Rome-based Audit Court said that they, too, would be looking into the case.
The San Raffaele hospital has been involved in a string of corruption scandals, mostly implicating private healthcare providers to the Lombardy health system.
In the most prominent, which touched but did not implicate former governor Roberto Formigoni, his businessman friend Pierangelo Dacco’ was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2013 for embezzling money through the San Raffaele.
According to the court, Dacco’ helped create the so-called “San Raffaele system”, whereby entrepreneurs who worked under contract for the hospital would intentionally overbill clients and give the difference to Dacco’ who used the money for slush funds.
Formigoni denied receiving any illegal funding from Dacco’, describing a series of donations and holidays as unsolicited gifts, which he then reimbursed.
Formigoni and the whole Lombardy government and parliament resigned at the end of 2012 after a wave of scandals.
San Raffaele is a major research and training hospital with a total of 1350 beds and a staff of 3400.
After becoming embroiled in scandal that exposed the hospital’s rickety finances, San Raffaele was bought by the San Donato hospital group in January 2012 for 405 million euros.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ex-Govt Officials Among 44 in TV Bribery Probe
Allegations money, jobs exchanged for broadcast contracts
(ANSA) — Rome, June 17 — Two former officials at the premier’s office, both with links to former premier Silvio Berlusconi, were among 44 people named Wednesday in a probe into alleged bribes for contracts to stage TV events in Italy.
Berlusconi’s former image director, Roberto Gasparotti, and the media magnate-turned-politician’s long-time director of photography Giovanni Mastropietro were named in the probe into audio-visual events companies led by detained businessman David Biancifiori, nicknamed Scarface.
The pair, and others, are suspected of taking bribes on an 8-million-euro contract for setting up events that were being broadcast live.
The more than 40 people probed included top officials and managers at State broadcaster RAI, companies belonging to Berlusconi’s Mediaset group, smaller independent network La7 and media firm Infront, judicial sources said.
The probe concerns allegations labour and service contracts were granted in exchange for money or jobs, ANSA sources said. Finance police conducted searches to confiscate documents at 60 locations, the sources said.
Biancifiori was arrested in April in a separate probe into alleged town-council kickbacks in Marino near Rome, in which Mayor Fabio Silvagni was detained on suspicion of allegedly granting permission for a fast-food outlet in exchange for getting jobs.
The businessman was first accused of bribing TV companies to get business by ‘sting’ reporters from a satirical TV show on one of Berlusconi’s three channels, Le Iene (Reservoir Dogs), who tracked him down and asked a series of probing questions that he vigorously denied.
The Iene pounced on the back of a separate graft probe in which led to the resignation of former transport and infrastructure minister Maurizio Lupi, who quit even though he was not under investigation himself.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Biancifiori “distributed kickbacks, holidays and airline tickets and hired people” in exchange for getting lucrative contracts for his companies, including Di.Bi. Technology, which supplied power units, stage sets and audio and video recording equipment for events, including ones staged outside of Italy. In the probe, prosecutors explained, there were two kinds of possible charges: for the private TV company managers it was embezzlement; and for the RAI and premier’s office officials it was corruption.
The investigation is believed to have been sparked by insider information from a former employee of Biancifiori’s who decided to blow the whistle, first to the Iene and then to the Rome prosecutors.
According to the Iene probe, Biancifiori had many officials and managers on a payroll that in a single month amounted to 1.6 million euros.
Aside from the regular payments, he also allegedly made individual payouts, according to the TV show.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Grillo Says Rome Swamped in Rats, Trash, Illegal Immigrants
Vendola says Grillo ‘lending words to barbarism’
(ANSA) — Rome, June 17 — Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Beppe Grillo on Wednesday urged the mayor of Rome to resign before the capital “gets swamped in rats, trash, and illegal immigrants”.
Left Ecology Freedom party chief Nichi Vendola replied on Twitter that “putting rats and illegal immigrants on the same level means lending words to barbarism”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan in Italy Amid Migrant Emergency and Terror Fears
Grand Mosque, door open to migrants open to discussion
(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) — ROME, JUNE 17 — Ramadan this year will be marked by “concern for the immigration emergency and terrorism that is advancing” for Muslims in Italy. The holy month of fasting and purification for worshipers will start tomorrow, according to the announcement of the Islamic cultural center of Italy of the Grand Mosque in Rome. And if many will spend it among family and friends, many others will celebrate it in prison, holding centers across the country or, as is the case in Rome, tent cities set up by the Red Cross after thousands of migrants were relocated from the streets around the Tiburtina station.
“Our thoughts are for the suffering and desperation experienced by migrants who continue to arrive in Italy”, the secretary general of the Islamic center, Abdellah Redouane, told ANSAmed. “We are two steps away from the Tiburtina station and anyone who wants it will be welcomed here at the mosque” without identifying themselves or declaring their provenance. The Association of doctors of foreign origin (Amsi), through its president, Professor Foad Aodi, has expressed concern for the many refugees in poor health who mean to respect one of the five pillars of Islam by abstaining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset (almost 18 hours and a half). “We want to try to convince refugees — mainly Eritrean, Somali and Syrian nationals in Rome, as well as those across Italy — not to do the Ramadan”. In particular, the doctor stressed, “the many pregnant women, the sick and those who are in poor health condition”. The right to health, said the president of the Community of the Arab World in Italy (Comai), “must prevail over the wish to follow religious norms”, also recalling that “travelers and the chronically ill don’t have to abide by this obligation”.
From North to South, hundreds of cultural associations and Italian mosques have organized many initiatives. In Rome, said Abdellah Redouane, the Islamic center of the Grand Mosque has scheduled “daily cultural, religious and social activities”.
In particular, during this month “we schedule three meetings at which institutions, representatives of other religious communities and civil society associations will be invited to boost existing friendship ties”.
As always, Rome’s mosque “will guarantee each day a warm meal to the hundreds of worshippers arriving”. Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino, according to tradition, has also been invited to the Iftar, the end of the fast.
This year remains difficult for Italy’s Muslim community, which includes over 1.5 million people and does not have a single leadership to represent it. Among unresolved issues is the lack of an agreement with the State, a document enabling to regulate the many aspects of the life of Muslims. Dialogue with the government is nevertheless progressing.
Two days ago, the interior ministry summoned a new meeting with representatives of the Muslim community in Italy (set up by Minister Angelino Alfano on February 23). During the meeting chaired by Undersecretary Domenico MAnzione, attended by well-established representatives of the Muslim world, from Coreis to the Islamic center, a new participant was welcomed: the Shiite Islamic association ‘Imam Mahdi’ led by President Abbas di Palma. Among issues under exam, said Redouane, was the training of Italian imams and the legal framework of the hundreds of prayer sites (mosques) still considered cultural centers instead of places of worship.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ryanair No. 1 Airline in Italy in 2014
Irish low-cost carrier outstrips Alitalia for passenger numbers
(ANSA) — Rome, June 11 — Low-cost carrier Ryanair has overtaken Italian flag carrier Alitalia to become the largest airline operating in Italy by passenger numbers, civil aviation authority ENAC said Tuesday.
The Dublin-based airline carried 26.119 million passengers in 2014, followed by Alitalia with 23.275 million and low-cost carrier Easyjet with 13.364 million.
“It’s not a record that interests us,” Alitalia CEO Silvano Cassano said.
“We are interested in developing long-haul (services) and not the (shuttle) buses,” he added. Rome’s Fiumicino airport remained the leading airport in the country for passenger volume, with traffic rising by 6.54% to 38.2 million people over the previous year, ENAC said. Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports came in second and third position with 18.6 million and 8.9 million passengers respectively.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron’s Extremism Orders ‘Could Criminalize Traditional Christian Teaching’
Traditional Christian teaching could effectively be “criminalised” in some settings under David Cameron’s plans for new anti-extremist banning orders, a top Anglican theologian and former Parliamentary draftsman has warned.
The Rev Dr Mike Ovey, a former lawyer and now principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London, a training school for Church of England clergy, said proposals for new “Extremism Disruption Orders” could be a “disaster area” for people from all the mainstream religions and none.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tech Glitch Makes 600,000 RBS Customers Payments ‘Vanish’ Overnight
Hundreds of thousands of people have not been paid as a result of the error which affected NatWest, Coutts, RBS and Ulster Bank customers. Bosses now say the funds may not reappear until Saturday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Bardo Attack Suspect Touil to Remain in Jail
‘High risk of escape’, say judges; defense may appeal
(ANSAmed) — MILAN, JUNE 16 — Abdel Majid Touil, a 22-year-old Moroccan arrested on the request of Tunisian authorities on May 19 on suspicion of being behind an attack on the Bardo museum, will remain behind bars.
The Milan Fifth Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a request to change Touil’s current detention into mandatory residence in the Gaggiano municipality as requested by his defense lawyer Silvio Fiorentino, citing high risk of escape.
The lawyer may file an appeal. Given that the crimes the Tunis-born Touil is accused of are socially dangerous — and in line with deputy prosecutor general Piero De Petris’s stance — the court rejected the appeal filed in late May. The request had been for the Moroccan to be able to go home to where he lived in Gaggiano with his mother and brothers prior to the arrest and be placed under house arrest. The young man said on Monday during the hearing that he had “faith in the Italian justice system” and that he wanted to be judged in Italy and not extradited.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Huge Numbers of Muslims Are Turning to ISIS Because They Want Sex
Bradford Imam Alyas Karmani said young Muslim men are at risk of being radicalised by terrorist groups because they feel isolated in a ‘sexualised’ British society and want to impress girls.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Video Shows ‘Spy’ Having His Hand and Foot Chopped Off on a Cross
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Islamic State militants have ratcheted up their savagery with a horrific video showing a knife-wielding jihadist slicing off the man’s limbs as he hangs helplessly from the wooden stake.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: YPG-FSA Victory on Border Alarms Turkey
Civilians return to Tal Abyad after ISIS defeat
A Syrian uses a bicycle to wheel some of his belongings as he walks with others back to the border town of Tal Abyad in Syria from Turkey
– ROME — Hundreds of civilians began to return on Wednesday to Tal Abyad, a Syrian city on the border with Turkey.
The return was made possible after a coalition between Kurdish YPG forces and rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) ones on Tuesday retook the city from the Islamic State on Tuesday following a three-week offensive. Over 20,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in Turkey due to the fighting on the ground and airstrikes by the US-led international coalition against ISIS positions. The victory of a coalition including the YPG, months after a similar one against ISIS in Ayn Al-Arab/Kobane, another city along the border some 60 kilometers further west, has alarmed the Turkish authorities. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken in recent days of the “creation of a structure that threatens the borders” of Turkey.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has joined about fifteen armed groups of the Syrian opposition that have accused the Kurds of “ethnic cleansing” against Arabs and Turkmen in the area. Ankara has stated that the YPG militias are a part of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting against the Turkish authorities since 1984. UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura is currently in Damascus in an attempt to relaunch diplomatic efforts for a political end to the conflict. On Tuesday he met with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, on a day in which several rockets were launched at the capital by rebels a few kilometers west of it. The state-owned news agency reported that 10 civilians had been killed and 25 injured.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands of Syrians May Flee to Golan Demarcation
Chief of staff vows to prevent massacres
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, JUNE 16 — The Israeli army is getting ready to deal with a situation in which thousands of Syrian refugees could seek to reach the line of demarcation with Israel in the Golan Heights.
The announcement was made by the country’s chief of staff, General Gady Eisenkot to the parliamentary foreign and defense committee. He added that Israel would do whatever it could to prevent mass killings and that it would send humanitarian aid. Maariv reports that Eisenkot also promised that Israel “will not close the door” if extreme need should arise. In recent weeks, Israel has been closely following developments in the conflict across the border in Syria, with special focus on the situation of hundreds of thousands of Druze threatened in the southern part of the country by several different Islamist factions. The issue, said military spokesman Moty Elmoz, was examined on Tuesday during a high-level armed forces meeting. “The situation on the Golan Heights border is unsettling,” General Eisenkot told the Israeli parliament. The head of state added that Israel is watching the role that the Lebanese militia Hezbollah have taken in the conflict.
The Shia militants and sworn enemies of Israel have lost hundreds of men fighting on the side of the Bashar Al-Assad regime since the beginning of the fighting, including about 100 in the past month.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
WhatsApp Users Face £45k Fine for Swearing by Text Under New UAE Rules
Using foul language in texts could also carry a prison sentence while foreigners could face deportation under the new legislation introduced in the United Arab Emirates.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: 31 Civilians Killed in Arab Coalition Raid
Convoy of displaced people hit near Aden in south
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, JUNE 17 — A reported 31 people died on Wednesday in Yemen in an air raid carried out by the Saudi-led Arab coalition that hit a convoy of civilians fleeing fighting in the nearby city of Aden in the south, according to medical sources quoted by the AP news agency. It is one of the bloodiest attacks since the coalition started bombing positions of Houthi Shiite rebels and troops loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh last March.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Develops ‘Microwave Gun’ Able to Deactivate Drones, Warheads
Russia has developed super-high-frequency gun capable of deactivating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the warheads of precision weapons at an impact range of ten kilometers which ensures 360 degrees of perimeter defense.
Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC), part of Rostec Corporation, has announced that it developed a super-high-frequency gun for BUK missile systems.
The newly-developed equipment is capable of deactivating the radio electronics of UAVs and the warheads of precision weapons, according to a representative of the corporation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. May Position for a War Against Russia
On Saturday, June 13th, The New York Times bannered, “U.S. Is Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe,” and Russia’s response to the announcement wasn’t long in coming.
The Russian equivalent of America’s Wall Street Journal and Britain’s Financial Times, which is Kommersant (or Businessperson), headlined on June 15th, “US may redeploy heavy weapons to the borders of the Russian Federation,” and reported that, “According to sources in the Russian Government, the implementation of this plan will force Moscow to post on the border with the Baltic countries Russia’s own offensive military capability that can destroy US facilities in the event of a hypothetical conflict.”
The report in the Times had noted that, “The proposal, if approved, would represent the first time since the end of the Cold War that the United States has stationed heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member nations in Eastern Europe that had once been part of the Soviet sphere of influence.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: ‘Aware That We Owe Russia $ 3 Billion’
Poroshenko,Russian “kickback” to Ianukovich’s government in 2013
(ANSA) — MOSCOW — Ukraine is aware that “we owe Russia $ 3 billion”. This was stated today by Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had defined the $ 3 billion in Ukrainian government bonds purchased by Russia in 2013 “a kickback” to keep the country within Moscow’s sphere of influence and away from the EU. This statement has angered Moscow, which urged Ukraine to clarify whether it is still willing to fullfill its obligations. This amount of money is the first tranche of a $ 15 billion Russian loan aiming to support the former President Viktor Yanukovich, after his turnaround on the association agreement with the EU that had sparked the Maidan protests: a sum which Russia wants to get back by the end of this year. On May 19, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law that gives government power to establish, “if necessary”, a moratorium on the payment of foreign debt “to private creditors”, which include even the $ 3 billion loan.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Soldier Captured by North Korea 47 Years Ago Reveals Horrors He Endured
EXCLUSIVE: South Korean soldier Yoo Byong-bok was captured by Chinese forces in 1953, and forced to work in the North Korean mines, where he watched many of his friends die.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bombs Found at Boko Haram Camp Kill 63 in Nigeria
Militants often use improvised explosives
(ANSA) — Rome, June 17 — A sack of home-made bombs found at an abandoned Boko Haram camp exploded Tuesday, killing 63 people in northeast Nigeria.
The civilians were patrolling when they came across the bag of metallic objects and carried them to the nearby town of Monguno, where they exploded.
Many curious people had gathered to inspect the objects when they detonated. Nigeria’s homegrown extremists routinely use improvised explosive devices in their attacks.
Boko Haram had taken control of a large swath of northeast Nigeria until a multinational force this year forced them out of towns and villages. Nigeria’s military says the extremists are confined to the Sambisa Forest.
Bombings and hit-and-run attacks continue, however.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Papal Nuncio Wesolowski Sent to Trial July 11
For alleged child sex abuse in Dominican Republic
(ANSA) — Vatican City, June 15 — Former papal nuncio Josef Wesolowski will go on trial in the Vatican for child sex abuse while an envoy on July 11, the Vatican said Monday. Former archbishop Wesolowski, a Pole, was arrested in the Vatican in September on charges of allegedly abusing children while he was a papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic. It was the first arrest inside the Vatican for alleged paedophilia. He is also charged with possession of child porn after his return to Rome in 2013. The ex-envoy faces six-seven years in jail.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Mexico’s 2015 Mid-Term Elections Are Held
Mexican voters went to the polls on June 7th, 2015 for mid-term elections. The entire 500 seat Cámara de Diputados (Mexican equivalent of our House of Representatives) was up for grabs, as nobody currently in that body can be reelected.
There were no elections for the Mexican Senate (more on that later).
In addition to congressional elections, across the country there were nine gubernatorial elections. There were 17 state legislatures chosen and 300 municipios held elections for mayor.
In the Cámara de Diputados the PRI party, with its allies, held on to its majority but not by a wide margin. The PRI doesn’t have a majority in the Senate.
The Mexican political system runs on a six-year schedule, in contrast to that of the U.S.A., which runs on a four-year cycle.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
First Mary Jo Kopechne, Then America
Sen. Ted Kennedy’s 1965 immigration act allowed the Democrats to start winning elections the same way they win recounts: by enlarging the pool of voters.
Liberals couldn’t convince Americans to agree with them, but they happened to notice that the people of most other countries in the world already agreed with them. So Sen. Ted Kennedy’s immigration act brought in millions of poverty-stricken foreigners to live off the American taxpayer and bloc-vote for the Democrats.
The American people aren’t changing their minds. Americans are becoming a minority to other, new people.
Deft politicians used to know how to convince the 15 percent on the fence. But even Reagan would look at today’s electorate and say: Who are you guys? We live in a different country, and I don’t remember moving.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Mulling Anti-Migrant Border Fence
Says won’t contravene obligations
(ANSA-AP) — BUDAPEST — Hungary’s foreign minister says the government is considering building a 4-meter-high (13-foot-high) fence along border with Serbia to stop the flow of migrants reaching the country.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Wednesday that the government asked Interior Minister Sandor Pinter to prepare the plan by next week. Szijjarto says the fence won’t contravene any of Hungary’s international obligations.
Since the second half of 2014, the number of migrants and asylum seekers entering Hungary, mostly across the southern border with Serbia, has risen markedly. So far this year, more than 53,000 people have requested asylum in Hungary, up from under 43,000 in 2014 and 2,150 in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Alien Rapists, Child Molesters Freed in U.S. Instead of Deported
Thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes—including rape, child molestation and kidnapping—have been released in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the agency doesn’t bother keeping track of the alien convicts.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Red Cross Calls France ‘Unreasonable’ On Immigration
Says country ‘excessively rigid’ after Ventimiglia blockade
(ANSA) — Catania, June 16 — Italian Red Cross President Francesco Rocca on Tuesday called France’s position on immigration “unreasonable and excessively rigid” after that nation blocked entry this week for a large group of African immigrants at the France-Italy border at Ventimiglia.
The situation at Ventimiglia, where on Tuesday Italian police forcibly removed immigrants camping out at the border, has caused tension between Italy and France, with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi complaining about Paris’s “muscular” approach.
This tension comes amidst the fraught backdrop of a European Commission proposal for distributing immigrant asylum seekers who arrived after April in Italy and Greece to other EU nations, including France.
Rocca said France’s action at Ventimiglia is “a response born from the politics of the times, looking only at consensus and not at the dignity of the human being”.
“Italy shouldn’t have to do everything by itself. It’s obvious that we’re starting to think that unfortunately that’s how it’s going to be. In theory there should be European solidarity, but the signs coming from the EU aren’t encouraging at all,” Rocca said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Veneto Not Racist But No Room to Spare Says Zaia
‘Stop biblical exodus at the source’ says governor
(ANSA) — Venice, June 17 — Veneto Governor Luca Zaia said Wednesday his region is not racist, but there is no more room for more migrants.
“I live in a territory that is not racist, but now there’s no more room to spare,” he told a parliamentary commission on the migrant reception system in Italy and the application of the Schengen accords.
His wealthy northern region is already hosting 3,966 refugees and is not willing to accept more, said the governor, who hails from the anti-immigrant, anti-euro Northern League party.
“Most of them are Moroccan and Senegalese…they are not refugees,” he added.
The ongoing migrant “exodus of biblical proportions” must be stopped at the source, Zaia said.
“Immigration from North Africa has become an exodus of biblical proportions,” he said.
“It must be stopped at the source…by setting up reception centers in Africa,” he added.
“In that case the Veneto region is ready to send all possible aid where it is needed — doctors, nurses, medicine, civil protection”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Salvini Says Doesn’t Need Pope’s Forgiveness
‘How many migrant in Vatican?’ asks League leader
(ANSA) — Milan, June 17 — Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said Wednesday that he did not need the pope’s forgiveness.
He was commenting after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for forgiveness for those who “close the door” to refugees.
“How many refugees are there in the Vatican?” Salvini, who has called for a hard-line stance in dealing with the Mediterranean migrant crisis, told his party’s Radio Padania.
“The problem is that the refugees are a quarter of those who arrive (while the rest are economic migrants). We do’t need to be forgiven”. The League’s governor of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, has been leading a drive to reject asylum seekers being relocated to other parts of the country after arriving landing in southern Italy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Premier Says Italy Will Deal With Migrants if EU Can’t
‘Temporary residency permits a reserve weapon’ says premier
(ANSA) — Rome, June 16 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Tuesday if the European Union fails to agree on a migrant policy, Italy will deal with it on its own.
“There are two ways to face the problem — either the EU does it, or Italy does it,” he said. “I say the conditions are there for Italy to make itself heard…if 30-40,000 out of 80,000 asylum seekers are redistributed, that would be a wiser way to manage it”.
Renzi went on to say Italy must keep “temporary residence permits as a reserve weapon” in case the European Union fails to agree. “If you want my opinion there will be an agreement,” he added. “The EU can’t allow itself to just be a currency, it’s in their interest”.
The premier’s comments came after a day of tensions in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia, where police earlier forcibly evacuated some 100 asylum seekers who had been camping out at the French border for days after France refused them entry.
The situation has caused tension between Italy and France, with Renzi complaining about Paris’ “muscular” approach.
However French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told a joint press conference with his Italian and German counterparts Tuesday that “the situation is difficult at Ventimiglia for Italy, it’s difficult for France, but there’s no clash, there’s a will to work together to make sure EU rules can be applied” to promote solidarity over the migrant crisis.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said that a meeting with his European counterparts on the migrant emergency had achieved some “very positive things”. Alfano said there was a “good climate” during the talks. “We judged the Commission’s Agenda (on migration) to be a first step, both in terms of breaking down the wall of (the) Dublin (Regulation) and on repatriations,” he added. “We obtained some very positive things and in some cases there were significant openings (of positions)”. The Dublin Regulation is the EU law that determines that the country where an asylum seeker arrives is responsible for processing their claim. Italy, which is bearing the brunt of the Mediterranean migrant crisis due to its long coastline and proximity to North Africa, say this system penalises it. The run-up to Tuesday’s meeting was soured by a row between France and Italy, after Paris refused to let asylum seekers pass though at the border city of Ventimiglia. Before the meeting France and Germany said they were presenting a proposal “for a compromise” on migrants after both Paris and Berlin expressed reservations about the European Commission’s proposal to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other parts of the EU. The proposal will have the support of many countries, German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said Tuesday at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve. “There won’t be a result on this (French-German proposal), but there might be a corridor leading to a compromise,” De Maiziere said. Renzi warned his EU counterparts that Italy has a “plan B” ready if it does not get more help from the union. Alfano said Tuesday at a joint news conference with his French and German counterparts that more talk is needed on migrant “numbers” but said the concept that the relocation should be mandatory had been accepted.
Italy has “asked and obtained” from the EU that migrant resettlement quotas superseding the Dublin accord should be “binding on all” member nations, Alfano said. “There’s a widespread awareness that Dublin isn’t working any more,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Six Scabies Cases at Ventimiglia
Red Cross docs treating migrants
(ANSA) — Ventimiglia, July 17 — Red Cross doctors are treating six of the migrants camped out on rocks by the sea near the French-Italian border for scabies, the humanitarian organization said Wednesday. A contagious, extremely itchy, skin disorder that leads to a rash, scabies is caused by infestation the scabies mite, a parasite that burrows into the skin. It spreads via close skin-to-skin contact and is easily treated with an insecticide lotion applied to the skin.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UN: Migrants in Europe Sent Home $109 Billion Last Year
Top receiving countries were Ukraine, Poland and Romania
(ANSA-AP) — ROME — A U.N. report has found that migrants in Europe sent home $109.4 billion in remittances last year, most of it going to poorer European countries.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development said Monday that migrant workers in Russia sent home the most in 2014 at $20.6 billion, followed by workers in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Top receiving countries were Ukraine, Poland and Romania, though workers also sent $7.4 billion to Nigeria, $6.3 billion to China and $6.2 billion to Morocco.
IFAD president Kanayo Nwanze said the sums, a quarter of remittance flows worldwide, could be higher with more competitive money-transfer services: “We need to make sure that this hard-earned money is sent home cheaply, but more importantly that it helps families build a better future for themselves.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Angel Soft Ad Which Disparages Fathers Gets Huge Negative Backlash
The ad features a number of individuals emotionally explaining how their single mothers brought them up without a father, before each of the participants wishes their mother a “Happy Father’s Day, Mom.”…
However, the YouTube comments accompanying the video are filled with just as many women expressing their disgust at how the commercial simplicity serves to denigrate the importance of fathers.
“There’s already a Mother’s Day. Why undermine Father’s Day? This is doubly insulting to single fathers,” wrote Cassie Carr.
“My brother and I were raised by a single Father who took care of us by himself when our Mother chose not to be in our lives,” wrote Mia Jadore, whose comment received 119 thumbs up. “No child support, no visits, no letters, no phone call and he did it all alone. My Father taught me to be a good mother to my children and now I am married to a man who is an amazing Father to our children. Mother’s Day was about all the single and non single Mothers and I was honored. Why can’t we do the same for Father’s? Why not dedicate it to all the single and none single Father’s out there who do it all?”
“Imagine the feminist outrage if there was a “Happy Mother’s Day, Dad” video,” noted Tora Chan…
In a similar vein to Sarah Silverman’s “Sorry, it’s a boy” Super Bowl ad, Angel Soft’s commercial once again illustrates how there is a pernicious culture war being waged by radical feminists in the media against fathers and men in general.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Global Conflicts ‘Cost 13% of World GDP’
Conflicts around the world cost $14.3tn (£9.1tn) last year, 13% of world GDP, says a survey on global peace.
That amount is equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said.
The divide between the most peaceful and the least peaceful nations was deepening, the annual report added.
Iceland is the world’s most peaceful nation, whilst Syria is the least.
Libya saw the most severe deterioration over the course of 2014, according to the Australia-based IEP says.
The Middle East and North Africa now ranks as the world’s most violent region, overtaking South Asia which received that ranking for 2013.
Conflict killed 180,000 people in 2014, compared with 49,000 in 2010, the report said…
| — Hat tip: Green Infidel | [Return to headlines] |
By way of a news tip. Have a look at a new web site called http://www.koran-at-a-glance.com which I thinks is the best counter-islamist innovation of the year. Basically it isolates quickly all the objectionable verses in a multi- colour easy to find format. Brilliant!
Wow. Just terrific! When the reader clicks on the “ABOUT” tag offered, further links to discussions re. abrogation are provided (for those unfamiliar with the doctrine of abrogation, as I was until only a couple of months ago).
What a site! Thank you thank you thank you.
Mosques in Italy are turning away immigrants due to, “too many problems with safety, health, and dignity”
https://translate.google.it/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iltempo.it%2Froma-capitale%2F2015%2F06%2F15%2Fle-moschee-della-capitale-i-profughi-non-li-vogliamo-1.1426466&edit-text=&act=url
A Spectator article describing the lunacy currently happening in Italy and the Med:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9560982/the-invasion-of-italy/
Bravo to these brave Corsican parents who took a stand against the ongoing Arabization of Europe:
http://www.france24.com/en/20150618-corsicans-object-children-singing-lennon-imagine-arabic
Mrs O visiting hijabs at The Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets, London