As a part of its campaign to create a “safe zone” in northern Syria, the Turkish air force targeted Kurdish militants in the PKK across the border in Syria. Meanwhile, the EU says that Turkey’s actions pose a threat to the “peace process” with the Kurds.
In other news, the Chinese stock market endured its greatest one-day crash since 2007, losing more than 8% of its value.
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.
China Shares Fall More Than 8% on Growth Concerns
hares in mainland China have recorded their biggest one-day fall for more than eight years following a sell-off towards the end of the trading day.
The Shanghai Composite closed down 8.5% at 3,725.56 after more weak economic data raised concerns about the health of world’s second largest economy.
The stock market has been benefitting from a series of support measures from the government and regulators after it lost a third of its value in the three weeks from mid-June.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Has Biggest One-Day Stock Crash Since 2007
China’s stocks tumbled, with the benchmark index falling the most since February 2007, amid concern a three-week rally sparked by unprecedented government intervention is unsustainable.
Monday’s retreat shattered the sense of calm that had fallen over mainland markets last week and raised questions over the viability of government efforts to prop up share prices as the economy slows. China’s industrial profits fell 0.3 percent in June from a year earlier, the statistics bureau reported on Monday. The International Monetary Fund has urged China to eventually unwind its support measures, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“Investors are afraid the Chinese government will withdraw supporting measures from the market,” said Sam Chi Yung, a strategist at Delta Asia Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Once those disappear, the market cannot support itself.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Says Share Purchase Continues After Market Dip
In an effort to prop up its stock market, Chinese regulators said they are continuing their purchase of shares.
The move by China Securities Finance Corporation (CSFC) was made to dispel “rumours that the national margin trading service provider has backed off from stabilizing the stock market,” China’s Xinhua news service said.
Chinese stocks tumbled 8.5% earlier.
That was their biggest drop in a single day since February 2007.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Worries over the world’s second largest economy have caused Chinese stocks to plunge more than 8 percent, the biggest one-day drop in more than eight years. Investors fear a sharp economic slowdown could be looming.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Manufacturing PMI Falls to 51.5
July’s data affected by decline in exports.Composite index drops
(ANSA) — ROME — In Germany, the manufacturing PMI fell to 51.5 in July from 51.9 in June, due to a decrease to below the 50 threshold in exports, that is the first reduction in the last six months. The index of the services sector fell from 53.8. to 53.7 The composite headline index decreased from 53.7 to 53.4
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: IMF Wants 30% Slashes to Already Butchered Pensions
Protothema accuses the new IMF mission-chief Velculescu
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JULY 27 — Greece’s creditors are eyeing further slashes to already butchered pensions that have been scissored during previous bailout deals, as Protothema online reports under the title “Delia vs. Pensioners — The first sacrificial slaughters brought to the altar of the bailout god”.
IMF Chief Delia Velculescu — obsessed with further cuts to Greece’s low pensions — spearheads the plan for social security reforms that include pension cuts of as much as 30%. It doesn’t stop here with sources pointing to further 10% slashes if the recession continues. Wages, too, will be brought to the fiscal sacrificial altar with new recruits in the private sector to see their basic wage drop by 5-10% from 586 euros. Greek negotiators already have their backs cornered to a wall as far as pension slashes are concerned. The zero clause in social security reform is a pre-requisite to the new deal with creditors that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had signed at the Euro Summit. The task of the Greek negotiators will be not easy, writes Protothema, recalling how the tall and lean Delia Velculescu first earnt a nickname for herself as ‘Delia Draculescu’ when she headed the IMF team for Cyprus in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece’s Headache: How to Lift the Capital Controls?
(ATHENS) — It is just the headache Greece’s government does not need right now: how can it loosen the capital controls that are shielding its banks, but strangling the rest of the economy?
For the past month, Greece has been financially cut off from the rest of the world. It is almost impossible for most Greeks to take money out of the country, thanks to a raft of capital control measures put in place on June 29 amid fears of a catastrophic bank run.
For companies, the capital controls have meant waiting for a government commission to sign off on large bills owed to foreign firms — a process that has slowed payments so much that distrustful suppliers started asking to be paid in advance.
Bank of Greece chief Yannis Stournaras on Friday loosened the restrictions to allow banks to greenlight companies’ foreign payments up to 100,000 euros ($110,000).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece to Start Third Bailout Talks, Amid Secret Drachma Revelations
Greece is expected to start talks with its international creditors on a third bailout on Tuesday (28 July) amid delays and revelations of a secret Syriza drachma plan.
Talks were supposed to begin Friday, two days after the parliament passed the second of a package of wide-ranging reforms asked for by creditors, but were stalled as both sides argued over the logistics of the negotations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Government Planned to Hack Own Finance Ministry, Taxpayer Accounts
A team put together by Greece’s left-wing government were prepared to hack into the country’s own finance ministry and access taxpayer information in order to create a parallel payment system if the country had been expelled from the Eurozone, according to published reports.
If it had gone ahead, the plans would have allowed public sector salaries and pensions to be paid and possibly laid the groundwork for a return to the drachma.
The Daily Telegraph reported that former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis laid out the planned activities of his five-man team to a group of investors in London late July 16. The paper reports that Varoufakis recruited a technology expert from New York City’s Columbia University to access the software systems of the country’s tax office and obtain reserve accounts and file numbers of every Greek taxpayer.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Needs 20 Yrs to Return to Pre-Crisis Jobless-IMF
Fund says govt must adopt and implement civil service reform
(ANSA) — New York, July 27 — The International Monetary Fund said Monday that it will probably take two decades for Italy to get its unemployment rate down to pre-crisis levels.
“Without a significant acceleration of growth rates, it will take Spain 10 years and Portugal and Italy almost 20 years to reduce the unemployment rate to pre-crisis levels,” the IMF said in a report on the eurozone. Italian unemployment has almost doubled since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008 and is currently at 12.4%, having peaked at 13% last year. The IMF added that Italy should “adopt and implement” Premier Matteo Renzi’s government’s planned civil-service reform, adding that this should feature measures on the provision of local services, competitions for public contracts and the management of human resources.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Milan: European Markets Follow Shanghai’s Drop
Investors nervous over outlook for China’s economy
(ANSA) — Rome, July 27 — Milan’s leading financial index joined other European markets in showing heavy losses Monday after Shanghai Composite Index made one of its worst showings in years.
Milan’s FTSE Mib lost 1.66% by mid-day Monday to reach 23,116.85 points, while Paris’s financial market shed 1.4%, Frankfurt fell by 1.2%, Madrid dropped 0.7%, and London traded 0.2% lower.
The losses came after Shanghai fell by 8.5%, its worst one-day fall since February 2007, according to published reports.
Investors appeared to be nervous about weakness in the Chinese economy and financial markets.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Rampini: Europa Like Shylock Kills Greece
‘Economy fundamentalist religion in the hands of few’
(ANSA) — MACERATA — “Like Shylock, the jewish Merchant of Venice that asks his debtor a pound of flesh, so Europe behaves to Greece, giving a medicine similar to a medieval bloodletting and killing the sick.” So the writer and journalist Federico Rampini at the Festival Futura, in Civitanova Marche.
According to Rampini, the economy “has become a kind of fundamentalist religion in the hands of fwe technocrats that have incentives not to make themselves understood.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Stock Market Will Start to Fall in July? The Dow Plummeted More Than 500 Points Last Week
Was last week a preview of things to come? There are quite a few people out there that believe that the stock market would begin to decline in July, and that appears to be precisely what is happening. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 530 points. It was the biggest one week decline that we have seen so far in 2015, and some are suggesting that this could only be just the beginning. By just about any measurement that you might want to use, the stock market is overvalued. But we have been in this bubble for so long that many people have come to believe that this is “ the new normal” . In fact, earlier today someone that I know dropped me a line and suggested that our financial overlords may be able to use the tools at their disposal to get this current bubble to persist indefinitely. Unfortunately, the truth is that no financial bubble ever lasts forever, and right now some very alarming things are starting to happen behind the scenes. Over the past couple of weeks, the smart money has been dumping stocks like crazy, and the lack of liquidity in the bond markets is beginning to become acute. Could it be possible that another great financial crisis is just around the corner?
Last week took a lot of investors by surprise. The following is how Zero Hedge summarized the carnage…
-Russell 2000 -3.1% — worst week since Oct 2014 (Bullard) -Dow -2.8% — worst week since Dec 2014 -S&P -2.1% — worst week since Jan 2015 -Trannies -2.8% — worst week since Mar 2015 -Nasdaq -2.2% — worst week since Mar 2015
The talking heads on television were not quite sure what to make of this sudden downturn. On CNBC, analysts mainly blamed the usual suspects…
[…]
Our perceptions of the future are very much shaped by our worldviews. All the time, I get “ Obamabots” that come to my website and leave comments on my articles telling me how Barack Obama has “ turned the economy around” and has set the stage for a new era of prosperity in America.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they choose to believe that things are in great shape because that is what they want to believe. Just check out the results from one recent survey…
[Comment: Because leftists “feel” that economy is going well. They don’t look at facts or reality around them in all matters.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The US$26 Trillion Debt Problem That is Crushing Competitiveness in China
China owes its stock market boom and bust to the one thing that is crushing the competitiveness of every part of the world’s second biggest economy — debt.
The nation’s debt mountain is widely estimated to top 250 per cent of gross domestic product, roughly equivalent to US$26 trillion, and is unlikely to peak before 2018.
Its rate of growth since the start of the global financial crisis in 2007 has been exceeded only by the euro zone countries that have required international bailouts to stave off bankruptcy.
The mainland corporate sector is among the most indebted in the world and the drag on economic activity is made worse because most has been accumulated by state-owned enterprises that deliver a shrinking share of economic growth.
The good news is that most of the debt is denominated in yuan, which helps insulate Beijing’s US$3.7 trillion foreign reserves pile, and almost all the debt has been borrowed by, or is owed to, entities ultimately backed and owned by the government.
The overarching bad news, however, is that cost of servicing the debt and the country’s dependence on credit to drive the economy has become so acute that it now takes non-financial businesses around 1.6 units of leverage to deliver a one unit increase in GDP growth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Uproar in Athens Over ‘Secret Grexit Plan’
Opposition parties in Greece are demanding answers following media reports of a secret government plan in Athens to leave the euro. The plan allegedly involved hacking into accounts and arresting the top central banker.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
When Authorities “Own” The Market, The System Breaks Down: Here’s Why
Central planning asset purchases aimed at propping up prices destroy the essential price discovery needed by private investors.
Panicked by the possibility of declines that undermine the official narrative that all is well, authorities the world over are purchasing assets like stocks, bonds and mortgages directly. Central banks are explicitly taking on the role of buyers of last resort on the theory that if they place a bid under the market to arrest any decline, private buyers will re-enter the market once they detect that the risk of a drop has dissipated.
The idea is that once private buyers flood back into the market, central banks can unload the assets they bought to stem the panic. In this view, the market is not based on fundamentals such as revenues, profits and price-earnings ratios — it’ s all about confidence. If central banks restore confidence by reversing any drop with massive buying, this central-planning manipulation will restore the confidence of private investors.
When this restoration of confidence has been accomplished, private buyers will happily buy the central banks’ stocks, bonds and mortgages. The central banks’ portfolios of assets will shrink and the central banks will once again have “dry powder” to buy assets the next time markets falter.
This sounds reasonable in the abstract, but it doesn’ t work in the New Normal economy central banks have created. Let’ s consider a simple example to see why.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Cosby: 35 of His Accusers Speak to New York Magazine
Thirty-five of the women who have accused Bill Cosby of rape or sexual assault have been photographed and interviewed by New York Magazine.
The striking cover story features women aged from their 20s to 80, and include supermodels Beverley Johnson and Janice Dickinson, waitresses and journalists.
Mr Cosby denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
Barbara Bowman told the magazine: “I felt like a prisoner; I felt like I was kidnapped and hiding in plain sight.”
She continued: “I could have walked down any street in Manhattan at any time and said: ‘I’m being raped and drugged by Bill Cosby,’ but who the hell would have believed me? Nobody, nobody.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Cosby Accusers Detail Trauma and Betrayal in Magazine
Thirty-five women who have accused Bill Cosby of raping them have spoken out in an explosive photo essay for New York magazine. More than 40 women have so far accused the comedian of sexual assault, but the cover story represents a sea change in how the comedian’s alleged victims have been publicly perceived.
On Sunday, the magazine published excerpts of interviews with each woman for a 13-page photo essay, covering accusations they have made against the comedian and the backlash they have faced.
“Listen, he was America’s favorite dad,” said Barbara Bowman, who says she was raped as a 17-year-old actor. She made her case public in 2004, when testifying on behalf of Andrea Constand, who said she was also one of Cosby’s victims.
“I went into this thinking he was going to be my dad,” Bowman told the magazine. “To wake up half-dressed and raped by the man that said he was going to love me like a father? That’s pretty sick.
“It was hard for America to digest when this came out. And a lot of backlash and a lot denial and a lot of anger.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
D.A.R.K. Act Passage: Deception Codified
On July 23, the House of Representatives voted 275 to 150 to pre-empt all state laws governing genetically engineered ingredients in foods. The true purpose of that bill written by Mike Pompeo, Republican from Kansas, is to conceal the presence of genetically engineered ingredients in foods by prohibiting the requirement that foods containing GMOs disclose that fact on their labels. In other words, Pompeo’s bill codifies deception.
The bill is entitled (in Orwellian doublespeak), the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, thus deeming concealment of the presence of a bioengineered ingredient “accurate” labeling. Opponents of the bill have referred to it as the DARK Act (Denying Americans the Right to Know Act); indeed, in a failed amendment Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado tried to have the official name of the bill changed to that title.
If the bill passes the U.S. Senate and President Obama signs it into law (which, no doubt, he will), it will pre-empt and render unenforceable every state and local law concerning GMOs, including Vermont’s law that requires GMO labeling; the laws of several counties that protect organic farms from cross-contamination by GMO farms; and state laws that prohibit use of the term “Natural” on products containing GMOs.
By disguising the fact that a food contains a GMO, the bill makes consumer deception legal. In this way it protects the economic interests of big agricultural concerns that favor GMOs. Indeed, some like to call this bill the Monsanto Protection Act.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Forget Trump and Bernie: Here’s Why Clinton or Bush Will be the Next President
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are rising in the polls and seemingly pose a threat to the political establishment.
Come the 2016 primaries, however, Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton will likely be at the top of the pack.
The oligarchy that has controlled American politics for generations is still firmly in control despite the illusion of change. In no way do Trump or Sanders threaten this control despite the corporate media’s fascination with them and polls that appear to show them gaining favor among potential voters. A CNN-ORC International poll conducted between July 22-25 demonstrates the dominance of the establishment’s candidates. While Donald Trump matches Jeb Bush, his unfavorability rating is high. Clinton’s is higher, but despite this she remains solidly at the top of the pack.
Trump’s brash commentary has pushed him up in the polls, but many believe he has reached his peak. Diehard Republican insiders hate the real estate mogul…
In April Ellen Brown took to the liberal website Alternet to explain how bankers and the monied elite control the political process. She cited the Princeton study and also quoted the theologian and environmentalist Dr. John Cobb:
The influence of money was greatly enhanced by the emergence of private banking. The banks are able to create money and so to lend amounts far in excess of their actual wealth. This control of money-creation . . . has given banks overwhelming control over human affairs. In the United States, Wall Street makes most of the truly important decisions that are directly attributed to Washington.
Domination of the political system will continue, Brown notes, until the American people once again gain control over the monetary system. “If governments are recalling their sovereign powers, they might start with the power to create money, which was usurped by private interests while the people were asleep at the wheel,” writes Brown.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hillary Clinton Campaign Starts Black Lives Matter Outreach: Report
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s black outreach director reportedly attended the Movement for Black Lives conference in Cleveland over the weekend, in the campaign’s first known outreach to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
A Clinton campaign official on Saturday confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the campaign’s LaDavia Drane “had one-on-one meetings and group listening sessions to engage stakeholders including ministers, community organizers, elected officials, and other individuals in Cleveland for the Movement for Black Lives.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
…to seize a breakthrough cancer treatment called GcMAF
Over the last few days, we’ve learned that before being found shot in the chest and floating in the river, pioneering medical researcher Dr. Bradstreet was working with a little-known molecule that occurs naturally in the human body. Called, “GcMAF”, this molecule has the potential to be a universal cancer cure for many people. It has also been shown to reverse signs of autism in the vast majority of patients receiving the treatment.
While GcMAF is perfectly legal as a treatment in dozens of advanced nations around the world, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has outlawed it, calling it an “unapproved drug.” It is with this designation — an effort to suppress the forward progress of medical science — that the U.S. government conducted a raid on Dr. Bradstreet’s clinic, specifically seeking to confiscate GcMAF in order to shut down his research and halt his treatment of patients. Meanwhile, Big Pharma gets special permission to unleash untested, experimental drugs on the public as long as those drugs earn sufficient profits.
In this article, I summarize the videos, articles and documents covering GcMAF and the mysterious death of Dr. Bradstreet. An exhaustive investigation needs to be pursued on this matter, possibly involving private investigators. The timing and manner of Dr. Bradstreet’s death seems highly suspicious, especially in light of the many other holistic doctors who have recently been found dead under mysterious circumstances. (Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez died just days ago…)
Motive to murder medical researchers and suppress a promising cancer treatment breakthrough Is there a motive for the murder of pioneering cancer researchers working on a possible universal cancer cure? Of course there is… it’s the most common motive in the world: MONEY.
A universal cancer cure would destroy the profitability of the highly lucrative cancer industry and collapse the American Cancer Society, hospitals, oncology clinics and pharmaceutical companies that depend on chemotherapy revenues to stay profitable. Key to their profitability is the inescapable fact that conventional cancer treatments simply don’t work most of the time, creating a reliable profit stream of repeat business from patients who are never cured (by design)…
EzekielDiet.com story that covers the apparent series of murders of holistic doctors, many of whom are working on advanced treatment protocols that render high-profit sectors of conventional medicine OBSOLETE:
Yet another doctor was just found murdered inside his home here on the East Coast of Florida. This makes six doctors to be found dead in the last month just from this region of the country alone. Four out of the six were found dead here in Florida. We lost the holistic Dr. Teresa Sievers, MD, who was found murdered in her Florida home just weeks ago. We’ve also lost the alternative Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, MD, who was found in a river with a gunshot to his chest. He’d recently moved to Georgia from Florida. We’ve also lost the Osteopath. Dr. Riley, who was found in Georgia at her home; just a few hours from the Florida border. She was found with a gunshot wound to her head.
Now we’ve lost Dr. Schwartz MD, who was found murdered in his home, on Sunday, July 19th, 2015. This was four weeks to the day after the death of the first physician: (Dr. Bradstreet MD) who I broke the story on a month ago. His family is still seeking answers as to what happened to him and they’re some of the kindest people I know. The latest MD, Dr. Schwartz, in the picture above, lived just north of the fit, healthy, holistic Dr. Hedendal; who was the second doctor to be found dead this past Father’s Day, in Boca Raton. This was the same day that Dr. Holt died at the age of 33. Both were fathers; and again, both men died here in Florida on June 21st, 2015.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ron Paul: Do We Need to Bring Back Internment Camps?
Last week, Retired General Wesley Clark, who was NATO commander during the US bombing of Serbia, proposed that “disloyal Americans” be sent to internment camps for the “duration of the conflict.” Discussing the recent military base shootings in Chattanooga, TN, in which five US service members were killed, Clark recalled the internment of American citizens during World War II who were merely suspected of having Nazi sympathies. He said: “back then we didn’t say ‘that was freedom of speech,’ we put him in a camp.”
He called for the government to identify people most likely to be radicalized so we can “cut this off at the beginning.” That sounds like “pre-crime”!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Strange Bright Spots on Ceres Create Mini-Atmosphere on Dwarf Planet
The investigation into the dwarf planet Ceres’ mysterious bright spots has taken an intriguing new twist.
The famous bright spots at the bottom of Ceres’ Occator crater appear to be sublimating material into space, creating a localized atmosphere within the walls of the 57-mile-wide (92 kilometers) hole in the ground, new observations by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft suggest.
“If you look at a glancing angle, you can see what seems to be haze, and it comes back in a regular pattern,” Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell, of UCLA, said during a presentation Tuesday (July 21) at the second annual NASA Exploration Science Forum, which took place at the agency’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Back on the Streets of Britain, Fanatic Who ‘Inspired 7/7’
Convicted terrorist returns to the UK to celebrate Eid festival just days after his release from US prison
Out and about on a suburban street, this is convicted British terrorist Babar Ahmad just days after returning to this country following his release from a US prison.
The 41-year-old was jailed for 12 and a half years last July after he was extradited to America.
Once in the US, he pleaded guilty to providing material to support terrorism online despite having previously protested his innocence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Croatia Wants Out of Border Arbitration With Slovenia
After revelations judges have violated rules
(ANSA-AP) — ZAGREB — Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic says his government wants to withdraw from border arbitration with Slovenia following revelations that one of the judges had violated rules for the international panel.
Milanovic said Monday the arbitration process, set up in 2011 to help unblock Croatia’s EU membership bid, has been compromised by the affair.
Judge Jernej Sokolec has resigned from the five-judge panel after Croatian media last week published leaked phone conversations showing him conferring with a Slovenian government representative, contrary to tribunal rules.
Slovenia has moved to name a new judge to save the process, but Milanovic says that “this is unbearable, we must get out.” The sea and land border dispute has remained unresolved after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in 1990s.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France: Riviera Beach Locked Down for Saudi Royals
The Mirandole beach on the French Riviera, which is usually packed with holidaymakers, is eerily quiet after being locked down for the lavish visit of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman that has riled some locals.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Farmers Block Roads From Spain, Germany
French farmers have blocked roads from Spain and Germany to stop foreign products entering the country, in the latest protest against a fall in food prices that has brought them to the brink of bankruptcy.
Farmers in the northeastern Alsace region used tractors to obstruct six routes from Germany in a bid to stop trucks crossing the Rhine carrying agricultural goods, in a blockage that is expected to last until at least Monday afternoon.
“We let the cars and everything that comes from France pass,” Franck Sander, president of the local branch of the powerful FDSEA union told AFP, adding that more than a thousand agricultural workers were taking part in the roadblocks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Police Seize Six Tonnes of Cannabis
French police discovered nearly six tonnes of cannabis resin, known as hashish, in a villa in the southern city of Marseille and arrested three men, the interior ministry said on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
An attack on a woman in France because she wore a bikini in a public park has sparked outrage on social media.
The 21-year-old victim, who has been named as Angelique Sloss, was beaten up by a gang of reportedly Muslim young women — aged between 16 and 24 — when she was sunbathing with two friends.
Protesters wearing bikinis and swimsuits held a rally at the park, in the northern city of Reims, yesterday despite rain and cold winds.
Hundreds across France joined the campaign on Twitter, posting photos of themselves wearing swimsuits in public places.
Spectators have likened the campaign to the JeSuisCharlie Twitter campaign, following the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris in January.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Politician’s Car Blown up in Far-Right Heartland
The car of a left-wing politician was blown up early on Monday morning in an east German town that has been the scene of fierce anti-refugee protests, with the politician claiming he is “top of the hit list” for the far-right.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Study: 1 in 5 Big Firms Attacked by Hackers
One-fifth of Germany’s major companies has been attacked by hackers within the past three years, but companies are also not taking cyber security as seriously as they should, according to a study released on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hot Air Balloons Soar Into Record Books
Four hundred and thirty-three hot air balloons have soared straight into the record books after taking off simultaneously in France.
The balloons covered a stretch of four miles across the sky, beating the previous record of 391 balloons in the air at the same time.
Enthusiasts from over 40 countries beat the previous record that was set at the same location at Chambley-Bussières in eastern France, two years ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Finance Minister Calls for Eurozone Political Union
Italian finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan has told the FT the eurozone needs its own budget, a common unemployment scheme and possibly its own finance minister and parliament. Those who want more progress in European integration “must clearly admit that the exisiting monetary union is an incomplete mechanism,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: The Move of the Ogliari Museum Has Been Completed, From September the First Part is Visitable
Locomotives and trams have been transferred, now the challenge starts to restore them after recent years of neglect, to show them to visitors
After less than a year after the donation of the collection (9 July 2014), the move to Volandia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volandia) of dozens of locomotives, carriages and trams of the Museum Ogliari was completed. It was announced Friday morning by the president of the Park Museum of Flight Marco Reguzzoni — along with the president of the Province of Varese Gunnar Vincenzi — that the first part of the exhibition will be open “from 4th September.”
“The move is basically over,” said Reguzzoni. “We now have a mountain of work to do here in the next 10 years.”
The preparation of the tracks (and to some extent the move) was followed by Ferrovie Nord Milano, which has provided 60 thousand Euros, equal to three years of contributions to Volandia. Cranes and trailers have moved huge pieces such as the locomotive E626 and other smaller but also more valuable pieces, such as the locomotive of a “Gambadelegn”, the steam tram that linked Milan with the province.
The area where they were placed is outside the perimeter of the museum, but it will become part of the inside with a new fence (“the works start today” ensures Reguzzoni): inside there will be trains and trams but also a green area that will serve as a picnic in the shade of tall trees that surround the railway vehicles. Just outside the new fence will be the pedestrian path from the Terminal 1 of Malpensa. “People who come from outside will follow a new path,” continues Reguzzoni.
With the first opening in September, visitors will be able to access “two different museums with a single ticket” (in the future there will also be the Museo Flaminio Bertoni). The route will firstly include an area inside the historical fence of the Caproni factory (with horse-drawn carriages), then visitors will arrive in the new area with the great railway vehicles. “It was a shame that the territory was likely to miss this collection, this collection, Volandia I think might be the ideal place,” added the president of the province Gunnar Vincenzi. The collection will grow over time: “We have an ambitious goal: a weekly inauguration of restored trams, locomotives or horse-drawn carriages. “
The transfer of assets from Ranco to Volandia at Malpensa was closely followed by many enthusiasts of railway and rail vehicles, because the collection Ogliari there are also unique pieces, of absolute value (though sometimes modified with too many designs). Some vehicles “just” need to be cleaned and repainted in some parts, while others need significant interventions: the Edison Trams and ATM54 “ Abbiategrasso type”, for example, are among the oldest existing trams in Milan, the wooden boxes are marked by time and neglect, especially in recent years. What will be done? Reguzzoni trusts above all in the ability to replicate, even with the trains, the model tested with planes, bringing together volunteers. “With the Cral of Fnm we had a first meeting to create a group of enthusiasts that will deal with restoring and also to present them to visitors. “ Reguzzoni recalls that Volandia already relies on an army of volunteers: 181 volunteers in the “Friends of Volandia” that take care of aircraft, but then there are the 10 volunteers of the group Gullp (the “Geeks” who manage the drones area), others in the area devoted to space and space exploration.
di Translated by Prof. Robert Clarke
Pubblicato il 09 luglio 2015
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mayor to Reshuffle Executive Amid Alarm at Rome’s State
Pressure rising on Marino to sort out capital or quit
(ANSA) — Rome, July 27 — Beleaguered Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino was expected to shuffle his council executive on Tuesday amid intense pressure coming not only from city residents but from across Italy and even internationally.
Even as Marino announced plans to fix Rome’s chronically dysfunctional public transport system, including firing managers last Friday, Italian newspapers were filled with headlines of the capital city’s decline coming from such publications as The New York Times.
Last week, it listed the many problems from unkempt public parks to strikes by transport workers and the so-called Mafia Capitale investigation into alleged infiltration by criminal organisations into contracts in the city.
The Times reported that many Rome residents and commentators credited Marino for his honesty, but registered frustration that he was not getting more done.
On Monday Valeria Fedeli, Senate deputy speaker, said the clock was ticking for Marino to take serious measures to clean up Rome.
“It is unclear (why Rome) cannot be as clean as other European capitals,” Fedeli, a member of Marino’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD), told RAI.
“Marino has 24 hours to present a team and decide the program quickly to solve Rome’s problems”. As he prepared to shuffle Rome’s council and replace three councillors, Marino was consulting with Matteo Orfini, chairman of the PD which is led by Premier Matteo Renzi.
Orfini was named commissioner for the PD’s Rome branch earlier this year amid the Mafia Capitale scandal.
Marino announced last Friday he would replace the board of directors at the publicly held ATAC transportation company, and would fire managers under whose watch the city’s transport system has degenerated into chaos.
His next move was to ask councillor for transportation Guido Improta to step down.
“An immediate change of direction is needed,” the mayor said at the time.
As well, the councillor responsible for budgets, Silvia Scozzese, resigned as did Luigi Nieri, who had been deputy mayor.
Sources said that the shortlist of eligible candidates for the post of new councillor for transportation included women such as Anna Donati, former councillor for transportation in Bologna and in Naples.
Meanwhile, Marino told the city’s budget committee Monday that he was seeking national government help to update Rome’s crumbling subway system.
Metro lines A and B have long needed new rail lines, with 58.3 million euros budgeted to begin replacements between 2015 to 2017, he said.
But replacing aged infrastructure “has a major cost and (senior) government participation would be necessary,” Marino added.
On the crumbling ATAC transportation service overall, Marino said change was essential to avoid throwing good money after bad, adding he had been meeting with Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti about the system’s future.
“It is never intelligent to give a blood transfusion if there is no chance of recovery,” said Marino, a transplant surgeon.
“I think it is important to search for a private partner to manage (Rome’s) metro, tram and bus system,” he said. Still, about 178 million euros have been allocated in the 2015 city budget for the recapitalization of ATAC.
At the same time, Marino said the city administration is finally get a grip on its accounting, slashing fiscal emergency spending by 97%.
Rome’s administration has also “cleaned up” its budget process, applying “rigour and seriousness,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mattarella Says Italy Determined to Fight for Marines
Arbitration for case that has strained Italian-Indian relations
(ANSA) — Rome, July 27 — President Sergio Mattarella and Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Monday that Italy was ready to defend two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012 at international arbitration. The Indian government has said it will tell a hearing at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg on August 10 that it is opposed to the case being decided at arbitration, arguing that it has jurisdiction.
“I confirm the government’s commitment to defend the arguments of marines Massimiliano Latore and Salvatore Girone at the international bodies we have decided to turn to,” Gentiloni told the XI conference of ambassadors in Rome. Mattarella vowed Monday that Italy will battle hard to defend the Italian marines. “Italy is a country that is ready to protect its citizens and it intends to keep battling with determination (for the two marines),” he said at the conference.
The case has caused a long diplomatic dispute between Rome and New Delhi.
Latorre and Girone are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for pirates and opening fire on their fishing trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala on February 15, 2012.
India granted Latorre leave to return to Italy last year after he suffered a stroke.
Rome has protested the many delays in the case, part of the reason that prompted it to take the case to arbitration.
Formal charges have not yet been presented.
Italy successfully fought to ensure New Delhi took the death penalty off the table and dropped the application of a severe anti-terrorism, anti-piracy law, which it said would have equated Italy with a terrorist state.
Rome argues the case is not in India’s jurisdiction as the incident took place outside the country’s territorial waters.
It also says the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India, because they are servicemen who were working on an anti-piracy mission.
The EU has said the dispute risks endangering international anti-piracy efforts.
Mattarella also stressed that Italy was doing its utmost to free four Italians taken hostage in Libya this month as well as Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, an Italian Jesuit priest taken captive in Syria in 2013.
“The Italian commitment remains at the maximum level,” Mattarella said. On Sunday, Pope Francis made an appeal for the release of peace activist Dall’Oglio during his Angelus service.
According to unconfirmed reports earlier this year, Dall’Oglio was in a prison run by militant Islamist group ISIS between Raqqa and Aleppo in the north of Syria. The four Italians captured in Libya last week, Gino Pollicardo, Fausto Piano, Filippo Calcagno and Salvatore Failla, are workers for oil construction firm Bonatti. Secret service undersecretary Marco Minniti told the intelligence oversight committee Copasir last week that the abductions were probably the work of a gang with no links to terror who are just out for ransom money.
Mattarella said that Italy was a leading force in the battle to stop ISIS. “Italy is at the side of the countries that, on the other side of the Mediterranean, are on the front line in the fight against the obscurantism and barbarity,” he said. “Fundamentalist terrorism is a serious phenomenon that should be addressed in the right way, with firmness and determination, while rejecting Islamophobic impulses”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Supreme Court Blasts Furore Over Catholic School Tax Ruling
Cassation ruled Catholic schools should pay property levy
(ANSA) — Rome, July 27 — Giorgio Santacroce, the head of the Court of Cassation, on Monday blasted the furore that followed the supreme court’s ruling that property tax should be paid by Catholic Church schools. Nunzio Galantino, the secretary general of Italian Bishops Conference CEI, criticised the ruling, telling ANSA on Saturday that it was “dangerous”, “ideological” and would damage the right to educational freedom and threaten many Catholic schools.
Santacroce said in a statement on Monday that the furore over the ruling on the city of Livorno’s demand for payment of ICI, a property tax that has been replaced by another levy, from Catholic schools was “largely out of place”.
He added that the EU is probing Catholic schools’ exemption from property tax in Italy on suspicion that it was State aid.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Valentino Dresses Bride in Borromeo-Casiraghi Nuptials
Italian blue-blood journalist wore pale pink
(ANSA) — Milan, July 27 — Valentino fashion house has published some images of the wedding of Italian model, journalist and blue-blood Beatrice Borromeo to Pierre Casiraghi, the third-born son of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
The bride wore a Valentino Haute Couture pale pink gown with embroidered sleeves, while the groom wore a double-breasted grey suit.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Leading Force Against ISIS Barbarity, Mattarella Says
Rome -President Sergio Mattarella said Monday that Italy was a leading force in the battle to stop extremist Islamist group ISIS. “Italy is at the side of the countries that, on the other side of the Mediterranean, are on the front line in the fight against the obscurantism and barbarity,” he said, referring to ISIS. President Sergio Mattarella said Monday that Italy was a leading force in the battle to stop extremist Islamist group ISIS. “Italy is at the side of the countries that, on the other side of the Mediterranean, are on the front line in the fight against the obscurantism and barbarity,” he told a conference of ambassadors at the foreign ministry in Rome, referring to ISIS.
He added that: “fundamentalist terrorism is a serious phenomenon that should be addressed in the right way, with firmness and determination, while rejecting Islamophobic impulses”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
King Salman’s French Holiday: A Throne, Motorcades and a Lift to the Beach
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has arrived in the south of France for a three-week break — but the monarch is not your average holidaymaker.
Locals are already upset after a public beach was closed so he can relax in private, while a 300m (985ft) exclusion zone has been implemented around his villa.
Many businesses are, however, more than happy to meet his demands. They claim the Saudis bring much-needed revenue to the area.
King Salman and his entourage arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two private planes operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines.
A 10-vehicle motorcade was there to greet the 79-year-old monarch and his guests, before whisking them away to his private residence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mafia Milks Italy’s Green Energy Boom
Thousands of solar panels glint in the sun, but the prized farmland beneath lies barren.
While the Italian island of Sardinia revels in a renewable energy boom, the long arm of organized crime risks sullying its clean power ambitions.
Famed for its lush plains and emerald waters but racked by poverty and unemployment, Sardinia has jumped at the chance to boost the economy by converting its long months of sunshine into green energy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Rotterdam Mayor Speaks Out on ‘Hurt’ Caused by Wilders’ Anti-Moroccan Stand
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has urged PVV leader Geert Wilders to come clean about how he intends to reduce the size of the Moroccan population in the Netherlands. Moroccan-born Aboutaleb was speaking on Zomergasten, a summer series of long television interviews with a single guest broadcast on Sunday evening by the VPRO. During the interview, which pulled in an audience of 800,000, Aboutaleb spoke about his parents’ fears that they will be ordered to leave the Netherlands, and how much this hurts him.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Public Anger After Gang Beat Up French Sunbather for Wearing a Bikini in Reims Park
French social networks exploded with anger after a young woman was reportedly beaten up by a gang of girls and young women for wearing a bikini in a park.
Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims.
The five attackers, aged 16 to 24, were quickly arrested and the three oldest have been remanded to appear in court in September, while two girls aged 16 and 17 face further questioning. The authorities have not named them but said that they all came from housing estates with large Muslim populations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Second Scottish Referendum ‘Inevitable’
A second Scottish referendum on independence is inevitable, according to former first minister Alex Salmond. “The question of course is not the inevitability, it is the timing,” he told the BBC. Scottish voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in a referendum last September.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
While the possibility of Greece’s exit from the eurozone has preoccupied European policymakers in recent months, some economists say it’s actually Germany that has to leave the currency union. But others disagree.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Madrid Hosts UN Meet on Homegrown Jihadism
Security experts and ministers gather in Madrid on Monday for two days of UN-sponsored talks on how to stop radicals leaving their countries to join armed jihadist groups abroad.
Spain’s government said it will also chair a meeting of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee on Tuesday, the day after the talks involving international experts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sunken Foreign Submarine Discovered Off the Swedish Coast
A sunken mini-submarine has been discovered in the waters off of Sweden’s eastern coast, according to the online version of the tabloid Expressen.
Ocean X Team, who led the search for the wreck, writes on its website that the submarine is roughly 20 meters long and three meters wide, that it has Cyrillic characters on the hull which indicates that it is Russian, and that it does not show any visible signs of damage. The submarine is said to lie about 2,750 meters away from land.
Stefan Hogeborn, a diver for the team, writes on the website that the submarine is completely in tact and that all the hatches are closed, which he writes, can mean that the crew may not have been able to get out.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: High-Speed Solar-Powered Commuter Boat Planned for Stockholm
Testing of commuter boating at higher speeds than currently allowed will soon begin. In September the results of a several-years-long EU project will be released: a new electric-powered hovercraft with a maximum speed of 30 knots.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Chairman of the Lords Privileges and Conduct Committee Filmed Snorting Cocaine With Prostitutes
Scotland Yard has been called in to investigate the deputy speaker of the House of Lords after a video emerged of him allegedly snorting cocaine with prostitutes.
Lord Sewel resigned from his £84,500 per year post after the video was leaked to the Sun newspaper and published in an expose on Sunday.
Even if police take no further action, Sewel, 69, is facing calls to quit parliament altogether, and he could become the first peer to be expelled under new rules he was instrumental in implementing.
The footage show’s Sewel naked with two women at his apartment in Dolphin Square, a luxury residence close to parliament. Flats in the block, which are popular among MPs and Lords, are also being investigated as part of the inquiry into alleged historic child sex abuse.
The video shows the Lord snorting white powder, which the paper alleges to be cocaine, from between the breasts of a prostitute using a five pound note, which a different shot shows Sewel wearing a bra and leather jacket while smoking a cigarette.
He is further believed to have paid one of the women £200 for the night.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why is EU Free Movement So Important?
Why does free movement of people — one of the founding principles of the European Union — look set to become so important in the debate about whether Britain should remain in the EU?
Free movement of people — alongside free movement of goods, services and capital — is one of the four founding principles of the European Union. It gives all citizens of EU countries the right to travel, live and work wherever they wish within the EU.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Accord With Johnson Electric for 2,400 New Jobs
(ANSAmed) — NIS, 23 JULY — Serbian government officials and Johnson Electric top managers signed on Thursday in Nis (Southern Serbia), where this company has a factory, a memorandum of understanding envisaging new investment and job creation. The signing of the memorandum, which stipulates investing 50 million euros into a new production plant and hiring additional 2,400 people.
The expansion of the existing capacities should be completed in the next five years, according to plans. The company currently hires 365 people, the number of employees by 2020 is planned to stand at 2,765. Johnson Electric manufactures engines, coils, switches, flex circuits and microelectronics.
The company signed the first contract with the Serbian government in late 2013. Johnson Electric is a global company based in Hong Kong. It employs over 30,000 people in over 30 countries across the world.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Concern for ISIS, Italians Avoid Tunisia and Egypt
Survey on travel agencies, strong drop in reservations
A view of the beach where tourists were shot dead in front of the Hotel Imperial Marhaba in Sousse, Tunisia, on June 26
MILAN — ISIS is “threatening” the holidays of Italians with 98% reportedly influenced by the fear of attacks when picking a holiday destination and reservations, mostly in North Africa, plunging as a consequence, according to a survey by Allianz Global Assistance on 177 travel agencies across the country.
In particular, the survey registered a downward trend in bookings for Tunisia and Egypt after the recent attacks “with a drop often exceeding 50% from 2014. Morocco is the third destination resenting the most from recent attacks with a drop in reservations in 74.8% of agencies”.
The ISIS effect, as defined by the survey, has also affected Kenya, Turkey and Israel.
“On the other hand, Ebola is now a faraway recollection and only 26% of operators in the tourism sector have reported it as an influence in travel choices. The Greek crisis is not discouraging Italians, for whom Greece remains the second most sought-after destination in Europe”. As for the rest, “Italians feel safer in Italy (85.4%) or look for serenity and relax in European sea resorts (Spain with 90.3% of preferences precedes Greece while Croatia has 38.2%), Asia (21.2%), and the Americas”.
The choice of North America as a destination, in particular, appears not to suffer from the current unfavorable exchange rates with the euro, while “center-south America (24.2%) and in particular the Caribbean islands retain a strong attraction”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
SACE Assessing Possible 4.9-Bln-Euro Investment in Egypt
Announcement during PM’s visit to Expo
(ANSAmed) — ROME, JULY 23 — SACE is currently assessing projects worth some 4.9 billion euros for SMEs and large businesses in Egypt, it announced on Thursday at Expo Milano 2015.
As part of Egypt’s National Day and on the occasion of the Egyptian prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab’s ongoing visit to Italy, the Italian export credit agency has strengthened its commitment in the North African nation and is preparing to announce significant actions to support Italian enterprise export and investment in one of the most strategic markets for Italy in the Mediterranean area. SACE noted that the group already has a portfoglio of about 415 million euros in commitments secured, mostly in the energy, petrochemical and industrial technologies sectors. The commitment was strengthened by an MoU signed in February by SACE and the Egyptian industry ministry, which lay the groundwork for closer collaboration in Egypt’s strategic sectors, in which Italy has much to offer: infrastructure, electricity, renewable energy, agro-industry, irrigation systems and water treatment.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Protests Over Proposed Israeli Airport Near Aqaba
The Kingdom complains to the UN
(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, JULY 27 — Jordan has protested to the UN against Israeli plan to build an airport on the borders of Aqaba in the south, on grounds that the new facility pauses danger to the airspace of the kingdom, officials said today.
Officials from ministry of transport and the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) filed the complaint to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN offshoot, in order to seek inquiry into the issue.
Captain Gabriel Sivzattian, chief commissioner of CARC said Jordan rejects the establishment of the planned Timna Israeli Airport to the north of Aqaba, 360km south Amman insisting that the construction is in violation of 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and breaches public safety requirements.
Jordan also claims that sovereignty of its skies will be violated when aircraft approach the proposed airport for landing.
Jordanian officials said ICAO has addressed Israel to discuss the question of the Timna airport but Israel continues to construct the controversial site, they said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Defector reveals the horrors and corruption inside ISIS’ feared police
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi personally sanctioned a woman to be beheaded as a wedding present for a sadistic female ‘judge’ in the terror group’s feared religious police, MailOnline can reveal.
The notoriously cruel woman asked to kill an unbelieving ‘infidel’ in return for taking a new husband following the death of her mujahedeen husband in a battle.
But al-Baghdadi insisted she could only take the life of another woman in line with the group’s strict segregation of affairs between men and women. He ruled she could cut off the head of another female ISIS judge who had been accused of spying — but who in reality had probably just fallen out of favour.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) — The Iraqi central government has ordered to transfer to Baghdad 4 thousand soldiers and police who previously worked in the north provinces of Iraq — including the province of Nineveh — and this has provoked strong reactions on behalf of organizations and Christian politicians. This provision reveals the ambiguity and confusion of political leaders and national military with regards to the many times announced “offensive” to liberate Mosul, the Nineveh Plain and areas in Iraq fallen for more than a year under the rule of the jihadist Islamic State (Daesh).
In particular, the police and Christian military who were stationed in the Nineveh plain — and currently are mainly located in Erbil and other areas of Iraqi Kurdistan — do not intend to move to the capital, simply because they intend to be on the front line of the possible next release of the villages where they had to flee because of the Daesh offensive. Anwar Hidayat, a member of the provincial Council of Nineveh — Iraqi media reports — called on the central government and the Iraqi Interior Ministry to reconsider its decision, to avoid police and Christian military to be excluded from the announced operations to reconquer the Nineveh Plain, and perhaps be involved in military campaigns in other regions of Iraq, that they do not know. Similar arguments had been used in recent days by Christian politician Imad Youkhana, a member of parliament in Baghdad.
The objections of those who consider the transfer of the Christian military in the Nineveh Plain to Baghdad incongruous, were answered by Ryan-Keldani, a member of the so-called “Brigades of Babylon”, according to whom the transfer to Baghdad is necessary in order to allow almost 350 policemen and Christian soldiers of the Nineveh Plain to attend training courses. Also — said al-Keldani — Iraqi Christian soldiers may be called upon to defend their Country in every area, not just in the regions inhabited by them if they really want to contribute to the defense of a plural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation, and counteract the division on sectarian basis that loom ominously over the Country. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 22/07/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Holding Rare Emergency Meeting to Review Islamic State Threat, Turkey’s Reaction
For just the fifth time in its 66-year history, NATO ambassadors will meet in emergency session Tuesday to gauge the threat the Islamic State extremist group poses to Turkey, and the debated actions Turkish authorities are taking in response.
The extraordinary meeting at NATO headquarters was requested by Turkey under Article 4 of the treaty that founded the U.S.-led alliance, which empowers its 28 member states to seek such consultations when they consider their “territorial integrity, political independence or security” to be in jeopardy.
It comes as Turkey’s security situation “has deteriorated dramatically,” Bruno Lete, senior officer for foreign and security policy at the German Marshall Fund, a Brussels think tank, said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Top Diplomat Tells EU Official Iran Still Shows ‘Hostility’ In Region, Despite Nuke Deal
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat has told visiting EU foreign policy chief that Iran is still showing “hostility” toward countries in the region, following a landmark deal on curbing Tehran’s nuclear program earlier this month.
Adel al-Jubeir spoke Monday after talks with EU’s Federica Mogherini who was in the kingdom to assuage its concerns over the nuclear deal she helped broker.
Al-Jubeir says Saudi Arabia rejects Iran’s words and actions — a veiled reference to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statement that the deal won’t sway his country’s support for the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Syria’s government and Shiites in Bahrain and Yemen.
Mogherini, who heads to Tehran on Tuesday, is also pushing for a political solution to the conflict in Yemen, where Saudi-led airstrikes are targeting the Iran-backed Shiite rebels.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Stunning: Obama Gives Turkey Green Light to Bomb Former US Soldiers Fighting ISIS
Retired US Marine Jordan Matson joined the YPG Kurdish fighters to fight ISIS in September 2014.
Jordan told Greta Van Susteren in February that there are 40-50 Americans fighting with Kurdish forcesagainst ISIS.
He also said the Kurds are very hospitable to Christians and Yazidis.
This week Obama gave a green light to Turkey to bomb the Kurds.
[Comment: Kurds are effective against ISIS (which is sponsored, supplied, and funded by NATO/US/UK/Saudis — do you really think all those air drops were accidental?). That is why obama and his conspiractors gave the green light to attack the kurds. What does it tell you when American soldiers are fighting with Kurds against ISIS and obama bombs the Kurds, and by extension American soldiers.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Archbishop Hindo Becomes “Almost-Mayor” Of Hassaké
Hassaké (Agenzia Fides) — In the Syrian city of Hassake, where the counter-offensive of the Kurdish forces and the Syrian army has put the outlying suburbs under siege still occupied by jihadi militias of the Islamic State (Daesh) that had attacked the town in late June, public health and food emergencies that affect the civilian population have pushed Syrian Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo to take even positions of public character.
“I have become responsible for the cleaning, the waste emergency, the pest control and all the services that have to do with public health”, says to Agenzia Fides Mgr. Hindo. “The conflict — added the Archbishop — puts the population in danger and at risk of epidemics. It all becomes even more complicated with the summer heat. I have taken charge of these needs because I saw that no one would do it, and I coordinate a team of 130 operators — including almost 100 Muslims — who work in neighborhoods inhabited by 400 thousand people, and do not ask for any money. People say: ‘the bishop has almost become the mayor of the city’. We need trucks to collect waste. But now we do not know exactly where to find them”.
Syrian Catholic Archbishop Hassaké-Nisibi highlights the problems the Syrian population faces, caught between the violence of the conflict and the urgency of addressing daily needs.
With regard to developments in the conflict, Mgr. Hindo rejects interpretations circulating in the West that see in the Syrian civil war a consequence of the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis: “The Islamic State — the Archbishop told Fides — is the son of Wahhabi ideology and the money of Saudi Arabia, that wants to get its hands on everything. The majority of Sunnis have nothing to do with those of Daesh. Their mass movement, in our country, is made up of tribes that until some time ago did not know a single Sura of the Koran. Families with many children now enlist in the ranks of Daesh and earn a lot of money which they have never seen in their entire lives. They are people used to siding with those who pay them and with those in power”. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 21/07/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Armenians and Kurds Fight Together Against the Jihadists in Hassaké
Hassaké (Agenzia Fides) — There are at least 70 volunteer Armenian soldiers in the predominantly Kurdish ranks of the Popular Protection Unit (YPG), which in parallel with the Syrian army units are fighting to liberate the northeastern Syrian city of Hassake from the presence of the militia of the Islamic State (Daesh). This is confirmed by Kurdish sources, providing updates on the situation on the ground, that sees jihadi militias in clear difficulty, with 1,200 militants besieged in some neighborhoods of the city.
On Sunday, July 19 the government army helicopters bombed city areas still under the control of the Islamic state. Local activists linked to Kurdish information networks report a gradual return of the inhabitants to their homes, who fled before the jihad offensive. According to local sources contacted by Agenzia Fides, also the Syrian Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo has returned to Hassaké, after having taken refuge in Qamishli together with the faithful for several weeks.
The Syrian city of Hassake, largest town in the northeastern province of Jazira, in late June was the subject of a vehement militant attack of the Islamic State (Daesh), that had managed to occupy several areas, causing the mass exodus of at least 120 thousand people (see Fides 30/07/2015). Among the first to flee were also 4 thousand Christian families belonging to various Churches (Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syrian Catholics and Syrian Orthodox) who still live as refugees in the neighboring urban area of Qamishli. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 20/07/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Kurds Accuse Turkey of Attacking Their Forces
Kurdish forces in Syria have accused Turkey of repeatedly attacking their units across the border.
Turkey said it was investigating the claims but insisted the Syrian Kurdish units remained “outside the scope of the current military effort”.
Turkey launched air raids on Islamic State fighters in Syria and positions of the Kurdish militant PKK in Iraq following violent attacks in Turkey.
Turkey has also said it has no plans to send ground troops into Syria.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the main Syrian Kurdish party (PYD), said that Turkish tanks had shelled the Kurdish-held village of Zormikhar inside Syria late on Sunday evening.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Persecution of Christians is Intensifying as Anti-Christian Hatred Sweeps the Entire World
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
There is very little that the entire world seems to agree upon, but there is one very frightening trend that is now taking hold literally all over the globe. A passionate hatred of Christianity is sweeping across the planet, and very few global leaders have been willing to step forward and speak out against this rising persecution of Christians. In many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, believers are being relentlessly attacked by extremists, churches are being destroyed, and laws are being passed to try to prevent the spread of the Christian faith. In some areas, the violence has become so extreme that Christians knowingly risk their own lives just to go to church services each week. Would you risk your life to go to church? In North America and Europe, the persecution is often more subtle. Even though violent attacks are still fairly rare, Christian beliefs are being undermined by new laws, comedians and television shows regularly mock the Christian faith, and many employers will immediately mentally disqualify a potential candidate for a job if they discover that an individual is a Bible-believing Christian. Sadly, this is just the beginning. In the years ahead, those that choose to be followers of Jesus Christ will face even greater persecution than we have seen already.
When most people think of “Christian persecution”, they immediately think of what is happening in the Middle East. And without a doubt, what ISIS is doing to Christians in Iraq and Syria is beyond horrifying. But that is only part of the story. In this article, I am going to share with you 10 examples that show how the persecution of Christians is intensifying as anti-Christian hatred sweeps the world, and most of them are from outside the Middle East. I have specifically done this to show that this is truly a global phenomenon.
But to start off this list, let’s begin with how ISIS has been treating Christians in areas that they have conquered…
[…]
#10 The United States
If Christians stay in their homes and don’t say anything, normally they don’t get physically persecuted in this country. But in recent years there have been an increasing number of incidents where street preachers and others that do try to actively influence the culture have been violently assaulted. The following is one recent example that happened in Seattle…
Two street preachers were brutally beaten—punched and kicked—by a crowd at a gay pride festival in Seattle and the entire melee was captured on video.
The preachers were holding signs reading “Repent or Else” and “Jesus Saves From Sin.” The video shows a group of people initially screaming and threatening the men during Pridefest at the Seattle Space Needle.
Television station KOMO reported that some of the attackers belonged to a group called NOH8.
A group of women tried to steal their signs but were unsuccessful. The video then shows a group of men grabbing onto one of the preacher’s signs and dragging him to the ground. At some point he was punched in the back of the head a number of times while others can be seen kicking the man.
Of course all of this is just the beginning…
Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus told us that his followers would be hated and persecuted. So none of this should be any surprise to us. Consider what Jesus had to say in John chapter 15…
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world therefore hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My words, they will keep yours also.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Arrests Dozens of Suspected is and Kurdish PKK Militants
Turkish police have arrested dozens of suspected ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and Kurdish militants during early morning raids in Ankara. Shelling on the Turkish-Syrian border has continued into the start of the new week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Requests Emergency NATO Meeting on Syria
Turkey is stepping up airstrikes against Islamic fighters in Syria and Kurdish PKK separatists in Iraq as the regional conflict escalates.
On Sunday (27 July) Turkish F-16s hit Kurdish militant camps in northern Iraq in response to a car bomb attack blamed on the rebels.
The moves are likely to unravel any chance of peace between the two sides and follow a separate Turkish attack against Islamic state fighters in Syria on Friday.
Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara’s military excursions “can lead to consequences which can change the game in Syria, Iraq and the entire region”, reports the BBC.
Davutoglu said Turkey has no plans to send ground troops into Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Detains More Than 1,000 People in Crackdown on Suspected Militants, PM Says
Turkey has detained 1,050 people in a crackdown on militant groups including the Islamic State (IS) group and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in recent days, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.
Davutoglu, who made the comments in an interview broadcast live on Turkey’s ATV television, added that 50 to 60 of those detained are foreign nationals.
Turkey’s crackdown on suspected militants, in which the ultra-leftist DHKP-C group is also being targeted, come after a week of deadly attacks on Turkish soldiers and police officers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Airstrikes ‘Very Damaging’ To Kurdish Peace Process
Turkish airstrikes against the PKK Kurdish minority have jeopardized a 2013 ceasefire with the group. EU lawmaker Kati Piri told DW the Turkish response has been “disproportionate.” Martin Kuebler reports from Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US, Turkey Negotiate Syria ‘Safe Zone’ Against ISIS as Turkey Targets Kurds
The complex alliances in Middle Eastern conflicts took another turn Monday, as Turkish forces targeted Kurds who have been fighting ISIS in northern Syria, even as Turkey and the U.S. were negotiating plans to intensify the battle against the terror group.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
You Won’t Believe This Stunning and Credible Theory on the Secret Iranian Nuclear Side Deals
A note from a reader struck a chord with me and I thought I’ d pass it along, edited slightly for clarity:
John Kerry is lying when he claims he doesn’t know what is in the Iranian side deals. He would rather pretend ignorance than admit their contents.
No one calls the ruling class on their lies. With a dysfunctional media — that is now fully intertwined with the government — the American people are left bereft of real news and thoughtful analysis.
We live in an alternate reality. Nothing is real, except their lies and only their lies. Lies are now the truth.
As for me, I believe the secret side deals with Iran are quite specific. Incredibly specific.
And I believe they call for an international military alliance and a protective force for Iran. An international force, sponsored by the United Nations.
And that deal is to protect Iran… from Israel.
We already knew this administration represented an existential threat to Israel, from the 1967 “ Holocaust borders” to its repeated intelligence leaks.
This sets the stage, ladies and gentlemen, for global aggression. Against Israel. And reprisals. Financial. Diplomatic. Even the boys in blue, firing their weapons for the very first time in recorded history.
Against the Jews.
It’ s called Armageddon.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Fleet: Permanent Presence in the Mediterreanean Sea
Putin signs new ‘naval doctrine’
(ANSA) — MOSCOW — A “permanent” presence of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, to turn it ‘in an area of ‘military-political stability and good-neighbourliness”: this is one of the steps included in the new Russian maritime doctrine, approved yesterday by the Kremlin leader, Vladimir Putin, on the Day celebrating the Navy. The text was published on of the Presidency’s website.
“Our country has proved to be a major maritime power, thanks to the courage of its sailors, the talent of its shipbuilders, the audacity of its famous explorers, pioneers and leaders of our Navy”, Putin said during the celebrations held in Baltisk, in the Kaliningrad enclave. “We feel a great responsibility towards this status, before history and our ancestors, who built Russia’s maritime glory and, of course, the future generations to whom we have to deliver a modern and powerful navy”, he added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Sees Arctic as Naval Priority in New Doctrine
Russia will strengthen its naval forces in the Arctic and Atlantic as a response to Nato activities close to Russia’s borders, the Kremlin says.
Russia’s plans are outlined in a new naval doctrine, launched on Sunday as the nation celebrated Navy Day.
The navy will get a fleet of new icebreakers, because the Arctic region gives Russia unrestricted access to the Atlantic and Pacific, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.
The Arctic is also rich in minerals.
The new doctrine calls for close co-operation with China in the Pacific region and India in the Indian Ocean.
At a ceremony by the Baltic Sea, attended by President Vladimir Putin, Mr Rogozin said “the main emphasis is in two directions — the Arctic and Atlantic”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Considers Ban on Imports of Cut Flowers From the Netherlands
Russia says it is considering banning imports of cut flowers from The Netherlands, a move that would aggravate tensions between the two countries already at odds over the downing of flight MH17.
National veterinary agency Rosselkhoznadzor said Monday it has urged the European Union’s organization for plant protection to review certification for Dutch flower exports to Russia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine’s Justice Ministry Bars Communists From Elections
In last year’s parliamentary election garnered less than 4%
(ANSA-AP) — KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s justice ministry has barred three Communist parties from running in the upcoming local elections, citing recent legislation. Ukrainian news agencies on Friday quoted Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko as saying that the three parties will be barred from the October elections. The minister also pledged to file a lawsuit to ban the three organizations. The Communist party has been an important force in Ukraine, polling 13 percent in the 2012 parliamentary election, but its popularity plummeted over its support for ex-President Viktor Yunukovych. In last year’s parliamentary election the Communist Party of Ukraine garnered less than 4 percent of the vote. Ukraine passed several laws in April banning the use of symbols from the Soviet years and denouncing Communist ideology.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
India is jostling its way towards becoming the most populous country in the world. At 5pm on July 11, World Population Day this year, the Republic clocked in at 1.27 billion, give or take a couple million, accounting for 17.5% of global population. Most projections indicate that with 1.63 billion people by 2050, India will have surpassed China as the world’s most populous country. The numbers will peak at 1.71 billion people in 2060 before they start to recede, but India will remain the most populous country going into 2100.
India, with its diverse and plural population, is already the motherlode of modern migration with a diaspora estimated at 30 million worldwide. From farming in South America and Africa to entrepreneurship and academia in the US, to cheese-making in Europe, Indians have been one of the great migratory forces in the 20th century.
But New Delhi needs to facilitate emigration of 300 million or more, not just 30 million, to allow itself some breathing space and gain greater global heft. It has to be in a formulation that constitutes a win-win to both giver and receiver. Already, it is accepted that fears of a brain drain were overblown. India has benefited more on account of its emigrating population. Emigration may yet be seen as an act of patriotism that carries the syncretic ethos of India worldwide.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nepal Police Arrest 11 in Suspected Human Sacrifice Killing of Boy
Police arrested 11 villagers in southwestern Nepal after finding the body of a boy with his throat slit, whom they believe was the victim of a human sacrifice.
Kodai Harijan, 35, his brother Suryabhan Harijan, Bijay Harijan, shaman Ganga Harijan, neighbor Rudal Harijan and four others were arrested after police in Nawalparasi found the decomposing body of Jivan Kohar, 10, of Kudiya Thursday.
Kohar—who had been missing since Tuesday — was found dead with his throat slit on the bank of the Patera river, the Kathmanadu Post reported.
The newspaper said Kodai had confessed to killing Kohar “to chase away the evil spirits” from his own ailing son, Bijaya, on the advice of a village shaman.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Karachi (Agenzia Fides) — In Pakistan every year at least a thousand girls, from local Christian and Hindu communities are forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. This was affirmed in a recent report produced by the NGO Aurat Foundation in Karachi. In a note sent to Fides, Mahnaz Rehman the directress of the Foundation, describes the difficult situation for women in Pakistan, specifically with regard to discrimination on a religious basis. The crime of forced conversion and marriage is common but receives little attention on the part of the local police or civil authorities, the note explains.
According to figures and documentation supplied by the report, every year in Pakistan an average number of 1000 girls are forced to become Muslim and marry Muslim men. The majority of the girls involved belong to Christian and Hindu communities.
The girls and the families receive threats and pressure. The practice is constant -Aurat Foundation affirms — the girls, often minors, are forced without their consent to marry their abductor or another man. If the family lodges a complaint, the abductor makes a counter complaint, accusing the family and stating that the girl converted of her own free will. When called to testify in court, the girl, under unspeakable threats and pressure, declares that her conversion and consent to marriage was voluntary. The case is then closed. “These cases are never investigated seriously to shed light on the phenomenon and mechanism of the crime”, says the Report. One factor would appear determinant: “From the time in which the complaint is filed and the controversy begins up to the time of the hearing in Court, the girls are held in custody by the abductors and suffer all kinds of abuse and violence”. One manner of pressure on these fragile and vulnerable adolescents, is to convince them that they have become “Muslims” to every effect and if they change their religion they would be apostates for which the punishment is death “. The Report urges the police and civil authorities to unmask this practice and rescue the girls members of religious minority groups. The Aurat Foundation has also proposed a Bill to impede forced conversions. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 25/7/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China Woman Dies After Falling Into Escalator
A woman was killed after falling into an escalator in a shopping centre in central China, local media report.
Surveillance footage from Sunday’s incident shows a metal panel at the top of the escalator giving way, causing the woman and her toddler to stumble.
The woman, identified by local media as Xiang Liujuan, 30, was able to push her child to safety as she fell in.
The incident in Jingzhou, in Hubei province, has sparked widespread anger at the department store.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Woman Trapped in Escalator Dies, But Saves Toddler Son
A Chinese woman died after being trapped in a shopping mall escalator, but not before pushing her 2-year-old son to safety.
Sunday’s horrific accident in the central city of Jingzhou was caught on surveillance camera footage that circulated heavily on the Internet in China.
The woman — identified in media reports as 30-year-old Xiang Liujuan — is shown reaching the top of the escalator when the section of landing platform she had stepped onto suddenly collapses, trapping her inside the still-moving machinery.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mother is Killed After Falling Into an Escalator That Collapsed at a Chinese Department Store…
…but heroically saves her son, 2, by throwing him to safety
A mother was killed when she fell into an escalator at a shopping mall in China, after she heroically threw her toddler to safety.
Xiang Liujuan, 30, was travelling up the escalator at Anliang department store in Jingzhou, in the central province of Hubei, with her two-year-old son.
When the pair reached the top, however, a floor-plate gave way and the woman fell through the floor, as captured by CCTV.
Seconds before falling to her death, the mother was able to thrust her toddler towards mall staff, who dragged the child to safety.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
North Korea Marks Korean War Ceasefire Anniversary With Huge Fireworks Display
North Korea on Monday marked the end of the hostilities in the Korean war, which the North recognises as “Victory Day”. A huge firework display took place in the capital Pyongyang.
Earlier, leader Kim Jong Un paid tribute to his country’s former rulers with a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum for former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, along with North Korean officials and commanding officers of the Korean People’s Army.
Hostilities between North and South Korea lasted from 25 June 1950 until an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953.
The conflict, which left up to five million people dead, wounded and missing, ended without a permanent peace treaty and the two Koreas have been locked in a tense standoff ever since.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Remains of a Child Found in a Suitcase in South Australia Unlikely to be Madeleine McCann
Police have debunked unfounded speculation that the remains of a child found dumped in a suitcase in the South Australian bush are those of British girl Madeleine McCann who disappeared in Portugal in 2007.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens told a parliamentary estimates committee hearing it was ‘pure speculation’ to suggest the bones are of the world’s most high-profile missing child.
The suitcase was discovered beside the Karoonda Highway about 2km west of the Wynarka township, east of Adelaide, on July 15 by a motorist who claimed they were ‘drawn to something on the side of the road’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
TPP: Australia on the Verge of Joining Huge New Pacific Trade Deal
Australia is on the cusp of joining a huge new United States-led trade deal which will “set the rules” for doing business in the region at the expense of China.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, involving twelve Pacific-Rim nations, could be sealed in coming days, after talks that had drifted for five years narrowly escaped death in the US Congress.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘German-Somali’ Behind Mogadishu’s Jazeera Hotel Blast
A German of Somali origin is suspected to have been the suicide bomber who struck in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday, a Somali intelligence officer has told the BBC.
The male bomber was believed to be from the city of Bonn, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as investigations were continuing.
The attack on the five-star Jazeera Palace Hotel killed 15 people.
Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, said it carried out the bombing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Amnesty International: Mexico Corpse Discoveries Highlight ‘Shocking’ Crisis of Disappearances
Amnesty International says the discovery of 129 bodies during the search for 43 missing students highlights a “crisis of enforced disappearances” in Mexico.
The international human rights watchdog calls the situation “shocking” — not only in the state of Guerrero, where the students disappeared last September, but also elsewhere in Mexico.
Amnesty’s statement Monday came in response to an AP report the previous day in which federal officials said the bodies had been found in 60 clandestine graves over the last 10 months.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
1,300 Migrants Rescued Off Italy
Around 1,300 migrants over the weekend were brought to port in Sicily, reports AFP. More than half were plucked from the sea off the coast of Libya by the Norwegian cargo ship Siem Pilot, including women and children. Most come from sub-Saharan Africa and Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Police Intercept 201 Migrants Without Proper Documents on Train Bound for Munich
Austrian police say they found 201 migrants without proper travel documents on a train bound for Munich from the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
Police spokeswoman Michaela Rossmann said the men, women and children were intercepted early Monday. She said some likely applied for asylum while others who didn’t would have been charged with illegally staying in Austria, given written orders to leave and then allowed to continue their trip.
Neither she nor the Interior Ministry had further details. The daily Kronen Zeitung said the men, women and 27 children come from 13 nations. It said most of them were from Syria and Afghanistan.
Public anger after French sunbather beaten up by gang for wearing a bikini in Reims park
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Blast Damages Pro-Immigrant German Councilor’s Car
Incident amid growing tensions in the area
(ANSA-AP) — BERLIN — German police said Monday they were investigating an early-morning explosion that damaged the car of a left-wing politician who had been working in support of refugees in a Dresden suburb that has seen anti-immigrant demonstrations.
The incident comes amid increasing tensions in the area and elsewhere in Germany following a growing influx of refugees from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and also from the Balkans. The number of asylum applications is expected to at least double this year from around 200,000 in 2014.
Police said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the explosion that damaged the car of the opposition Left Party’s Michael Richter, a town councilor in the Dresden surburb of Freital, but that detectives were treating it as intentional. No one was hurt.
In the first half of 2015, Germany has seen almost as many far-right crimes against refugee accomodation as in all of 2014, according to the Interior Ministry. Of the 173 crimes recorded, 19 were violent.
Incidents have been reported in recent weeks in several regions, primarily vandalism against new refugee homes being built. In Freital, there were protest recently against a new asylum home and clashes with pro-refugee activists.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Coast Guards Aided More Than 1,500 Migrants in Aegean Since Friday
The Greek coast guard collected more than 1,500 migrants from boats in the Aegean Sea between Friday and Monday morning. Patrol boats were called out on 54 search and rescue missions off the coasts of eight Aegean islands. A total of 1,635 undocumented migrants were led to safety.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: In 2015 Migrants Exceed 450,000 Threshold
Media, total cost up to 6bn, more than double the number in 2014
(ANSA) — BERLIN — While in Germany the protests and attacks on refugee centres are increasing, especially those under construction, the German authorities need to prepare for accomodating this year many more immigrants than the 450,000 which had been previously estimated by the government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Reception and settlement will cost the Federal Government, the Laender and the involved municipalities between 5 and 6 billion euros. These data were highlighted in some estimates provided by the local press.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Migrants in Athens Park: ‘People Here Fight for Food’
Thousands of migrants have arrived in Athens in the past week after being smuggled onto Greek islands.
Many of the migrants have run out of money and are being forced to camp out in one of the city’s main parks where they are relying on charities for help.
The BBC’s Chris Morris spoke to Fatima, a 12-year-old girl who had come from Afghanistan, and wanted to get to Sweden
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary PM Links Migrants With Terrorism
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban on Saturday said there is a link between irregular migrants and terrorism, reports Reuters. “There is a clear link between illegal migrants coming to Europe and the spread of terrorism”, he said. He also said Europe needs to be preserved for Europeans.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Orders Obama Administration to Release Illegal Immigrants From ‘Deplorable’ Facilities
A federal judge in California has ruled that hundreds of illegal immigrant women and children in U.S. holding facilities should be released, another apparent setback for President Obama’s immigration policy, according to The Los Angeles Times.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee said Friday that the conditions in which the detainees are being held are “deplorable” and violate parts of an 18-year-old court settlement that put restrictions on the detention of migrant children.
The ruling also raises questions about what the administration will do with the estimated 1,700 parents and children at three detention facilities, two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania.
Last year, tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied minors from Central America arrived at the Southwest border, with many believing a rumor that unaccompanied children and single parents with at least one child would be allowed to stay.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
At a Tuesday Senate hearing dedicated to the families who lost loved ones thanks to illegal aliens, Laura Wilkerson gave testimony on her youngest son Joshua’s horrific death while some in the silent audience wept.
Wilkerson called on Congress to place American lives and interests over foreigners, especially those illegally living in the country.
During the hearing, titled “Oversight of the Administration’s Misdirected Immigration Enforcement Policies: Examining the Impact on Public Safety and Honoring the Victims,” Wilkerson broke from her written testimony to deliver a dire warning.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
MSNBC Reporter Shut Down by Trump Admits Watching Illegal Border Crossing
Who’s he going to believe, liberal dogma or his own lyin’ eyes?
The day after an MSNBC reporter was shut down by presidential hopeful Donald Trump at a Texas border town, he announced to his viewers that he’d personally witnessed two immigrants illegally cross into the United States in broad daylight.
[Comment: And yet even seeing the evidence he still continues drinking the kool-aid.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Refugees in Sweden to Get Free Bus Passes
Refugees living in Kalmar in southern Sweden are to receive free bus passes valid for the whole county, as part of a unique venture to increase mobility and integration within the migrant community.
Launched by the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket), the County Council and Kalmar County Transport (KLT), the new bus pass will be available to all asylum seekers living across the county.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Asylum Seekers in Kalmar Get Free Bus Passes
Kalmar county is the first in Sweden to offer asylum seekers free bus cards, with the hope that it reduces isolation for people living further from town centers.
The project has been active for a year now, and is a collaboration between the Migration Agency, the Kalmar county council and the Kalmar traffic authority. The traffic authority sells the bus cards at a reduced price, and the cost to the Migration Agency is around SEK 500,000 per month, Swedish Television in Småland region reported.
Lars Borgemo, department head at the Migration Agency in Högsby, is positive about the project and hopes that it will help integration and fight isolation, which sometimes inflicts those living in asylum housing, he said to Swedish Television.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“Hen” Gender-Neutral Pronoun Now an Option on Swedish Facebook
The Swedish gender-neutral pronoun “hen” is now available for Swedish Facebook users, when they choose a gender for their profile.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Babylon, Satanic Churches, Virtual World Sex, And the Rebirth of Love
In the last several weeks alone several important news stories have been released which have caused a lot of people to recoil in shock.
First several videotapes surfaced of officials with Planned Parenthood eating salad, drinking wine, and talking about the harvesting of the organs of aborted babies for sale to select customers. Several news networks televised a video of Deborah Nucatola of Planned Parenthood, who was recorded saying:
“Yesterday was the first time … people wanted lungs,” said Nucatola, “Some people want lower extremities, too, which, that’s simple. …
“I’d say a lot of people want liver. … We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.”
It sounds sub-human, Nazi-like and barbaric, but if the people who claim to be shocked were really honest, what did they really expect Planned Parenthood and other groups around the world were doing with the body parts of aborted babies? Hundreds of millions of Americans, many of them devoutly religious, have allowed American children to be indoctrinated by the media and education system into believing that there is no God, that scientific fact exposes the Bible as myth, and that Man is nothing more than an evolved animal. These hundreds and millions of Americans as far back as 1859 were perfectly content to allow the Theory of Evolution to be taught as a fact in the public schools. They offered little or nothing as a scientific or cultural challenge to Evolution. Yet the acceptance of Evolution teaches any thinking young person that the entire Bible along with its moral laws is untrue because science has proved the Bible is false. Ideas have consequences!
It was due to that one single idea that 60 million babies have been aborted since the Roe vs. Wade decision and a minimum of 30 million of those 60 millions babies were aborted by women and men who claimed to be Bible believing Christians. Decade after decade Christians have voted for both Republican and Democratic candidates who support abortion “rights” and the continued indoctrination of children through globalist organizations like UNESCO…funded by Republican presidents. So to act shocked when Planned Parenthood sells body parts for medical research is somewhat hypocritical…
Ideas do produce consequences and the sexual revolution of the 1960s, women’s liberation, gay liberation, drugs, and free love all came from the idea that Man is God and “if it feels good, do it,” which is merely a rewording of Satanist Aleister Crowley’s maxim “do what thou wilt.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Commenting on President Clinton’s proposed national standards, two months after his State of the Union address, former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities Lynne Cheney wrote: “Whose National Standards?” (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, April 2, 1997) referring to an earlier attempt to develop national history standards and stating: “Ninety-nine members of the U.S. Senate voted to reject history standards that would have students learning more about Joseph McCarthy than George Washington, more about Indian chief Speckled Snake than about Thomas Edison.”
The same is occurring under Common Core (CC) today. College Board (CB) president (and Rhodes Scholar) David Coleman announced the 34 Advanced Placement (AP) courses high school students take would be aligned with CC. Now AP teachers must teach the CB’s “Framework” defining “the required knowledge of each period” in history. The CB website states that “all questions (in the AP exam) are derived from the course’s stated objectives.” In the “required knowledge” for the American Revolutionary period, there’s no Jefferson, Adams, Madison or Franklin. In the Civil War period, there’s no Gettysburg Address. In the World War II period, there’s no Hitler, D-Day or Truman. Regarding the Civil Rights movement, there’s no Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, etc.
The primary entity promoting CC has been Achieve, which was founded in 1996. Its first president was Robert Schwartz (who had worked at NIE where I worked), and one of its first co-chairmen (from 1996-2002) was IBM’s former CEO Lewis Gerstner. Shortly after Achieve was founded, Gerstner made an announcement that indicated that he and other CEO’s would consider locating/expanding or not their corporations’ facilities in a particular place in the U.S. based upon whether the locality or state had adopted Achieve’s internationally benchmarked standards!
Relevant to these internationally benchmarked, most people do not realize that CC is part of a much larger international effort. As part of a New Transatlantic Agreement, on May 5-6, 1997 the U.S. and the European Union convened a major conference, “Bridging the Atlantic: People-to-People Links” calling for “thematic networks for curriculum development” and stating that “governments too are obliged to adapt their economic, training and social welfare programs.” The “Partners in a Global Economy Working Group” of the conference discussed “what redesigning of curricula is required…(i.e., what career skills are needed)….”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Liberals Sign Petition to Impose 10% “Male Privilege Tax”
Liberals signed a petition to address “income inequality” by imposing a 10% “male privilege tax” on all men in the latest Mark Dice ‘man on the street’ video which illustrates how much leftists are divorced from reality.
Asked to support an additional 10% tax on men’s income, one woman responded, “I’ll definitely sign for that,” before adding, “Yeah I’ve never heard of that before but whatever they’re trying to do right now is clearly not working so I’m all for giving it a shot.”
Dice then talks to a couple, telling the woman the petition is to “fight sexism in this new world order.” She signs right in front of her boyfriend, who doesn’t dare raise a whimper of dissent. Two more women sign the petition, with one saying it helps her “feel better,” before adding, “When that actually happens, that would be great though.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Now Archangel Battles Devil in Detroit
After weeks of speculation and protests by Christian leaders in Detroit, the unthinkable took place.
Just after 11 p.m. on July 25, a satanic organization unveiled a 9-foot statue of the goat-headed Baphomet, a pagan symbol of Lucifer. The 1-ton statue features two young children looking up adoringly at the devil…
Church Militant described the scene of the unveiling on its website:
“At 11 p.m., two men in leather S&M attire grabbed each side of the sheet and yanked it off, to loud applause and shouting. The men then stood directly in front of the monument and began kissing lewdly while the crowd cheered, and afterwards a steady stream of VIP ticket holders — who had paid $75 for the chance to approach the statue — took turns sitting on Baphomet’s lap while engaging in sexual groping, mostly homosexual in nature.”
Church Militant also crashed the indoor “unveiling party” and photographed the satanic supporters — and while some interviewed by a local TV station said they don’t actually worship Satan others did describe themselves as anti-Christian. Visible in one of the photographs is an illuminated, upside-down cross.
Satanic party-goers paid $25 for a ticket, and $75 to get photographed on Baphomet’s lap.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Lectures His Fellow Kenyans on ‘Gay Rights’
Exclusive: Lord Monckton shares highlights of president’s ‘triumphant return to birthplace’
Mr. Obama’s triumphant return to his birthplace was always going to be interesting. For Jomo Kenyatta, a former Kenyan president and father of the current president, had sacked his father, a small-time economist in the Kenyan ministry of tourism, for trying to apply Western communist values to African society.
Uhuru Kenyatta, now president of Kenya, would probably have sacked Mr. Obama Jr. if he could. For Barack Hussein, during his visit to his homeland, repudiated not only his Muslim heritage but also his African heritage by demanding so-called “gay rights” for Kenyans.
In Kenya, as in most of Africa, the biggest killer is infectious disease. Accordingly, those who willfully indulge in activities known to be likely to spread disease are heavily punished. Homosexuality is well established in the medico-scientific literature as being a particularly efficient vector of various sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
For this very good reason, African political culture has always been strongly opposed to homosexuality, which carries a 14-year prison sentence in Kenya.
Embarrassingly, Mr. Obama chose a joint press conference with Mr Kenyatta to issue one of his whinnyingly pietistic Communism-101 lectures. This is what he said:…
The totalitarian left is eager enough to blame smoking on evil capitalist tobacco companies and to bully both smokers and those who supply them with their poison. However, the U.S. Communist Party in the 1920s, while publicly opposing homosexuality, was privately recommending to its cadres that they should promote “gay rights” as a way of undermining and destroying the family life that was at that time America’s greatest strength.
Ever since then, the hard left has been relentless in advancing the cause of so-called “gays.” There was never any electoral advantage in this, for “gays” represent perhaps 0.5 percent of the population — a numerically insignificant fraction. The advantage was purely political: Destroying the family would destroy the hated West.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Stockholm Pride Opens Today
Monday marks the beginning of Pride week in Stockholm, with everything culminating in the big parade through the city on Saturday.
Even though the official festivities begin on Wednesday, Pride week, celebrating the LGBTQ community, has already begun. And the week is brim-filled with activities, events and performances. Music, burlesque and events for children are among the week’s schedule.
Pride House, in the Culture House (Kulturhuset) in downtown Stockholm, opened Monday and features a series of events and exhibits of art, music, debates, film, workshops and will be a place for people to meet throughout the week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Almost Half of Pride Marchers Are Straight
As Stockholm Pride begins today, research suggests that almost half of the people who take part in the parade are straight, far higher than the proportion in, for example, London’s parade.
Researcher Mattias Wahlström, at Gothenburg University, tells Radio Sweden that Stockholm Pride has worked hard to make it clear that everyone is welcome; he also points out that they surveyed people in an election year, when politicians were eager to engage with the public.
In 2014 the proportion of straight people in the Pride parade was 43 percent, comparing with the proportion of 16 percent in London.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Facebook Debut for Gender Neutral ‘Hen’
A new gender neutral pronoun sparked headlines in Sweden on Monday when it made its debut on social media as Scandinavia’s biggest gay pride festival kicked off in Stockholm.
English-language users on Facebook are already able to identify themselves in a variety of ways, such as intersex, androgynous, transgender, gender fluid or transsexual.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Windows 10 Review: Should You Upgrade?
Windows 10 is an exercise in rectifying the wrongs of Windows 8. That may be the only reason you need to upgrade.
Microsoft is set to release Windows 10 on July 29. That will end an experiment in an operating system that tried to force-feed a touch interface to consumers who — for the most part — had no appetite for it. More specifically, with Windows 8, Microsoft tried to impose its vision of a touch-first ethos that wasn’t very well conceived.
Let me touch on some highlights of what to expect from Windows 10.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |