Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/4/2015

In a newly-released video, the Islamic State executed twenty-five captured Syrian soldiers in the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre in Palmyra. The executioners who shot the prisoners in the head were young mujahideen, some just barely into their teens.

In other news, dozens of migrants entered the restricted zone around the Channel Tunnel entrance near Calais, blocking traffic and attacking vehicles. Their actions forced the temporary closure of the tunnel.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» China: Shanghai Shares Hit Historical Low, Losing US$ 2.4 Trillion in Three Weeks
» Grexit Could Cost Italy 11 Bn in Interest — S&P
» Guess What Happened the Last Time the Chinese Stock Market Crashed Like This?
» Leftist Spanish Parties Back ‘No’ Vote in Greek Referendum
» Top Economists See ‘No’ Vote as Greece’s Least-Worst Choice
» Update: Texas Wants Its Gold Back Inside the State’s Borders
» Varoufakis Accuses Creditors of ‘Terrorism’
» What it All Comes Down to on Sunday
 
USA
» #WeWillShootBack: ThinkProgress Glorifies Black Militant Violence
» California Democrats Now Target Adults for Forced Vaccinations
» California Woman Killed by Brain-Eating Amoeba
» Exposing Hollywood Pedophiles
» Feds ‘Lose’ Audits for Fort Knox Gold
» Health Insurance Companies Seek Big Rate Increases for 2016
» Just Before Round of Negotiations on the Proposed ‘Trade in Services Agreement’ (TISA), WikiLeaks Releases Updated Secret Documents
» Leaping Sturgeon Kills Five-Year-Old Girl Boating in Florida
» Newly Discovered Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup is Alarming
» Revealed: Documents Prove EPA Knew Glyphosate Was Carcinogenic 30 Years Ago
» They Want to Use ‘Hate Speech Laws’ To Destroy Freedom of Speech in America
 
Canada
» Air Canada Passenger Paulette Metuq Charged With Assaulting Flight Attendant
 
Europe and the EU
» Alternative for Germany Party Picks Conservative as New Leader
» Alto Adige, Vienna Discusses Passport and Self-Determination
» Champagne Granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO
» Cyprus’ Solid Waste One of Highest in the EU
» German Anti-Euro Party Marks Shift to Right With New Leader
» Germany’s Euroskeptic AfD Elects Conservative Leader Petry
» Islamic State Fighters Reportedly Travelling in EU on Bulgarian Passports
» Italy: Casalesi Mob: Ex PD MP Bilked 23 Mln in Methane Scam
» Man Grabbed, Crushed to Death by Factory Robot: “This is Just the Start… Machines Will Take Over Our Lives”
» Norway: Where Wealth Brings Worries
» Spanish Police Arrest Moroccan Man on Suspicion of Trying to Recruit Jihadi Fighters
» UK: Angela Wrightson Killed by Teen Girls With ‘Kettle’ Who Put Pictures on Snapchat
» UK: Arab Tourist Nasser Al-Ansari Arrested Under Terrorism Act in Brighton
 
Balkans
» Croatia Starts Procedures to Join Schengen
 
North Africa
» Egypt President Says Situation ‘Stable’ Following Sinai Attack
» Egypt’s Sisi Rallies Troops in Sinai After IS Attacks
» Libya Magnet for Jihadists From Tunisia and Beyond
» Tunisia Beach Attack: State of Emergency Declared
» Tunisia Declares State of Emergency After Massacre
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Expo 2015 Ambassador Chef Varese’s Cooking in Jerusalem
» Islamic State Reportedly Claims it Fired Rockets Into Israel
 
Middle East
» Hundreds March in Istanbul to Protest Against China’s Treatment of Uighur Minority
» Iraqi Officials Say Bombings Targeting Public Places Kill 15 People in and Around Baghdad
» IS Video Shows Mass Execution in Ruins of Syria’s Palmyra
» Islamic State ‘Murders 25 Men in Palmyra’
» US Sending Foreign Mercenaries to Syria to Topple Assad: Rodney Martin
 
Russia
» Mesmerized by the Bear: The Great Soviet Deception
» Ukraine: In Russia Toilet Paper With Text of Sanctions
 
South Asia
» Thailand: Bangkok: Thousands of Workers on Strike Against Illegal Fishing Regulations
 
Far East
» China Passes National-Security Law
» Japan Seeks Influence in Mekong Region With Aid Pledge
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Boko Haram’s ‘Female Suicide Bombers’ Kill Scores in Nigeria
» Zanzibar: Muslims Target Two Churches
 
Immigration
» Britain Sends £300m to Africa and the Middle East to Stop Flow of Of Migrants
» Dozens of Calais Migrants Try to Storm Channel Tunnel
» Eurotunnel Increases Security Over Migrant Activity
» Man Arrested in Connection With San Francisco Killing Had Been Deported Several Times, Officials Say
» Wrist Slap for Top Alien Smuggler?
 

China: Shanghai Shares Hit Historical Low, Losing US$ 2.4 Trillion in Three Weeks

Stocks ended the week with a six per cent loss. The government has tried to breathe new life into the market by broadening collateral, but traders remain sceptical.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Shanghai stocks plunged by more than 6 per cent at the close on Friday as the country’s key benchmark posted its worst three-week decline since 1992.

Share prices lost 28.6 per cent, to 3,886 points down from 5,166 three weeks ago.

The collapse worries Chinese authorities. Even though the stock market is 80 per cent larger on annual basis, the rout wiped out US$ 2.4 trillion in value, down to US$ 7.3 trillion capitalisation.

In an effort to revive the stock market, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reduced deposit rates by 25 basis points, whilst the financial authorities have lowered fees for stock trading.

Under new rules announced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the list of assets as collateral for Chinese traders has been extended to include real estate, unlisted shares and more.

The decision is designed to tell the market that is still worthwhile to invest in the stock market, or at least, not to sell. However, traders are very sceptical about real estate as collateral for buying shares.

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

Grexit Could Cost Italy 11 Bn in Interest — S&P

Agency says cost for whole zone would be 30 bn for 2015-16

(ANSA) — Milan, July 2 — Greece’s exit from the eurozone could cost Italy an extra 11 billion euros to service its debt due to higher interest rates, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s forecast on Thursday. The agency said Italy would be the eurozone country to face the “biggest” rise in interest costs in the case of a ‘Grexit’. It forecast this could cost the eurozone as a whole an extra 30 billion euros in the 2015-2016 period.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Guess What Happened the Last Time the Chinese Stock Market Crashed Like This?

The second largest stock market in the entire world is collapsing right in front of our eyes. Since hitting a peak in June, the most important Chinese stock market index has plummeted by well over 20 percent, and more than 3 trillion dollars of “ paper wealth” has been wiped out. Of course the Shanghai Composite Index is still way above the level it was sitting at exactly one year ago, but what is so disturbing about this current crash is that it is so similar to what we witnessed just prior to the great financial crisis of 2008 in the United States. From October 2006 to October 2007, the Shanghai Composite Index more than tripled in value. It was the greatest stock market surge in Chinese history. But after hitting a peak, it began to fall dramatically. From October 2007 to October 2008, the Shanghai Composite Index absolutely crashed. In the end, more than two-thirds of all wealth in the market was completely wiped out. You can see all of this on a chart that you can find right here. What makes this so important to U.S. investors is the fact that Chinese stocks started crashing well before U.S. stocks started crashing during the last financial crisis, and now it is happening again. Is this yet another sign that a U.S. stock market crash is imminent?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Leftist Spanish Parties Back ‘No’ Vote in Greek Referendum

Six Spanish leftist parties and platforms on Friday backed a “No” vote in Sunday’s Greek referendum on its bailout terms.

“We think that the Greek people will be courageous, that they will be on the ‘No’ side,” said Rommy Arce, a Madrid city councillor who belongs to a leftist “Ahora Madrid” citizens platform that took power in the capital last month.

Voting “No” to the latest bailout terms offered to Greece by the IMF and the European Union “is a rejection of all the governments that apply these policies on the rest of Europe,” she added.

“Ahora Madrid” is made up partly of Spain’s anti-austerity “Indignado” protest movement that staged occupations in city squares across the country…

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

Top Economists See ‘No’ Vote as Greece’s Least-Worst Choice

While polls in Greece show the country evenly divided going into Sunday’s crucial bailout referendum, some of the world’s top economists are united in arguing that a ‘No’ result is the country’s best — or least-worst — choice.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Columbia University in the United States, this week wrote that voting ‘Yes’ for the conditions tied to the bailout or ‘No’ both carry “huge risks”.

But “a no vote would at least open the possibility that Greece… might grasp its destiny in its own hands” and shape a future that “though perhaps not as prosperous as the past, is far more hopeful than the unconscionable torture of the present,” he said…

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

Update: Texas Wants Its Gold Back Inside the State’s Borders

Forget Fort Knox or the Federal Reserve. Texas has decided to start keeping its gold holdings within in its own borders. But what makes sense politically in such a sovereignty-loving place is creating a logistical conundrum.

Texas is the only state that owns an actual stockpile of gold, according to public sector and financial industry experts — not just gold futures or investment positions, but approximately 5,600 gold bars worth around $650 million. The holdings, stored at a New York bank, for some harken back to century-old fears about the security of currency not backed by shiny bullion.

The Legislature’s decision this summer to bring its gold cache home was hailed by many conservatives, and even some on the far left, who are suspicious of national government.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Varoufakis Accuses Creditors of ‘Terrorism’

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis accused Athens’ creditors of “terrorism” in an interview published on Saturday, a day before Greeks vote in a high-stakes referendum on their bailout.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

What it All Comes Down to on Sunday

As expected (and as tipped here on Thursday immediately after news broke that an IMF study conducted prior to the imposition of capital controls in Greece suggests debt relief for Athens is necessary if anyone hopes to create some semblance of sustainability), Greek PM Alexis Tsipras is now leaning hard on voters to carefully consider the fact that one-third of the troika has effectively validated the Greek government’s position on creditor writedowns.

“This position was never proposed to the Greek government over the five months of negotiations, wasn’t included in final offer tabled by creditor institutions, on which people are going to vote on July 5,” Tsipras said in a televised address, making it clear to Greeks that the proposals they are voting on effectively do not reflect the views of the institution that is perhaps the country’s most influential creditor.

“This IMF report justifies our choice not to accept an agreement which ignores the fundamental issue of debt,” he added, driving the point home.

Clearly, this puts Europe, and especially Germany, in a rather unpalatable position. Many EU officials have for months insisted that IMF participation is critical if the Greeks hope to secure a third bailout. The IMF meanwhile, has stuck to a position first adopted years ago (something we’ve noted in these pages multiple times of late); namely that official sector writedowns will ultimately be necessary if Brussels hopes to finally put the Greek tragicomedy to bed. This means Brussels (and Berlin) will now be forced to choose between IMF involvement (which the EU says is a precondition for a deal) and haircuts (which the EU says aren’t possible)…

By now it should be clear to all that the only reason why Germany has been so steadfast in its negotiating stance with Greece is because it knows very well that if it concedes to a public debt reduction (as opposed to haircut on debt held mostly by private entities such as hedge funds which already happened in 2012), then the rest of the PIIGS will come pouring in: first Italy, then Spain, then Portugal, then Ireland.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

#WeWillShootBack: ThinkProgress Glorifies Black Militant Violence

A protestor uses a lighter and an aerosol can to burn one of two American flags during a protest in the Chinatown area of Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Author Trevor Loudon predicts that Communist-driven violence is ‘ imminent’ New violent hashtag #WeWillShootBack glorified by Soros-funded ThinkProgress ThinkProgress announces “ black-only” weapons training The Nation of Islam planning an October 10 rally in D.C. menacingly titled “ Justice… .or else!”

Trevor Loudon, expert on socialist and radical movements from New Zealand, predicts that the same rabid pro-communist organizations that incited both the Ferguson and Baltimore riots are applying the pressure for a “ black spring” which will further terrorize America in the coming months.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

California Democrats Now Target Adults for Forced Vaccinations

Big pharma moves to mandate even more California residents

The battle over state-mandated vaccines is erupting into an all-out political war.

A recall effort has begun against state Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat and pediatrician who sponsored S.B. 277, along with a referendum campaign to repeal the bill.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

California Woman Killed by Brain-Eating Amoeba

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

A 21-year-old California woman died from an amoeba that settles in the brain and destroys its tissue. The disease she contracted is called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). It is rare, with only zero to eight cases reported a year, says Inyo Public Health officer Dr. Richard Johnson. But it is almost 100 percent fatal.

Humans are infected by the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, when swimming or diving in fresh, warm water. The amoeba then migrates through the nose and skull, where it reaches the brain and begins to destroy brain tissue.

“I advise people to be cautious when using untreated hot springs in the Sierras,” Dr. Johnson said, “The best way to do that is to keep your head above water.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Exposing Hollywood Pedophiles

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Director Amy Berg exposed the cover-up of pedophilia in the Catholic Church in her 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary, “Deliver Us from Evil.” On Friday night, July 3, New Yorkers can see her explosive new documentary on how pedophiles operate in Hollywood and cover up their crimes. Her film, “An Open Secret,” is being shown at the Cinema Village at 22 East 12th Street in New York City…

It includes interviews with victims and identifies by name those who have been caught, prosecuted and convicted for sexual abuse. The film identifies a pedophile ring once led by a convicted sex offender named Marc Collins-Rector, who had ties to the rich and famous in Hollywood.

Collins-Rector established an Internet-based TV company called Digital Entertainment Network (DEN), whose investors reportedly included movie director Bryan Singer, David Geffen and Arianna Huffington’s ex-husband Michael Huffington…

Conservatives may not like parts of the film, since it attempts to separate the rampant homosexuality in Hollywood from the pedophilia that is described in excruciating detail. But there is no doubt that Hollywood is an industry dominated by homosexuals, some of whom don’t want this film to be seen by the American people.

The claim that the film is not about homosexuality, but rather pedophilia and child abuse, is strictly true. However, all of the cases described in the film involve adult males molesting boys. What’s more, the founder of the modern gay rights movement, Harry Hay, was a supporter of the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA).

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Feds ‘Lose’ Audits for Fort Knox Gold

The blog, goldseek.com, recently published a report on a Freedom of Information Act request they recently filed with the US government.

They were seeking seven reports from federal audits of the gold at Fort Knox.

The government’s response? They can’t find those reports — even though they reference those reports as evidence of the gold stored at Fort Knox in a number of ways.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Health Insurance Companies Seek Big Rate Increases for 2016

Health insurance companies around the country are seeking rate increases of 20 percent to 40 percent or more, saying their new customers under the Affordable Care Act turned out to be sicker than expected. Federal officials say they are determined to see that the requests are scaled back.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Just Before Round of Negotiations on the Proposed ‘Trade in Services Agreement’ (TISA), WikiLeaks Releases Updated Secret Documents

Today, Wikileaks released a second batch of the most updated draft texts on the proposed TISA, along with substantive analysis, on each of four massive services sectors: Financial Services, Telecommunications Services, Electronic Commerce, and Maritime Transport. This follows on their release yesterday of cross-cutting annexes on Domestic Regulation, the “Movement of Natural Persons,” Transparency, and Government Procurement, and the Agenda for next week’s negotiations, along with what Wikileaks called the journalistic holy grail: the Core Text of the proposed agreement. The negotiating texts are supposed to remain secret for five years after the deal is finalized or abandoned.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Leaping Sturgeon Kills Five-Year-Old Girl Boating in Florida

A leaping sturgeon struck and killed a 5-year-old girl boating with her family on a river in Florida, and a similar incident injured two adults in a different part of the state, wildlife officials said on Saturday.

Jaylon Rippy was boating with her family on the Suwannee River in northwest Florida near Fanning Springs on Thursday evening when the jumping fish injured the young girl along with her mother and her 9-year-old brother, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission said in a statement.

The family members, who were from nearby Trenton, were airlifted to a hospital in Gainesville but the girl did not survive. The conditions of the girl’s mother and brother were not clear…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Newly Discovered Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup is Alarming

It’s no mystery that packaged and prepared foods in our grocery stores are full of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Though while more food makers are omitting this ingredient due to health dangers (and consumer demand), some companies are still including this health-damaging ingredient. Now, new troubling scientific studies reveal how high fructose corn syrup-containing foods are causing yet another unwanted side effect — heart failure.

The Big Food Sugar Switch

Professor for cell biology at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Molecular Health Sciences, Wilhelm Krek summarizes the problem with today’s nutrition. He explains that fructose was a replacement for glucose, which at one point in time, was believed to be better for consumers.

At first blush, you can see why this was believed. While glucose spikes blood sugar levels and causes insulin secretions, fructose hardly makes them budge. And since it ‘tastes’ sweeter, food manufacturers thought it was an ideal food additive. Unfortunately, the assumption that fructose (including high fructose corn syrup) was any better, was dead wrong. The liver converts fructose directly into fat. People who consume lots of fructose end up developing high blood pressure, suffering from obesity, and developing insulin resistance, among other health issues. Doctors usually call this metabolic syndrome — and for some time, they couldn’t figure out why so many Americans were so overweight.

In the past 30 years, the obesity rates in the US (and other fast-food nations) have absolutely sky-rocketed. It isn’t even necessarily because we are eating more and lacking physical exercise, or even because of genetics.

Medical bills to treat diseases associated with obesity are more than $200 billion annually now. Much of the obesity problem lies in food additives like fructose which food companies are so eager to put in their products.

Fructose, since it is sweeter, also causes us to desire sweeter and sweeter foods to satiate that taste while also limiting the secretion of leptin, a hormone which tells our brains we are satiated.

Furthermore, mercury is used in the production process of many types of fructose. So products which contain fructose also often contain traces of mercury.

This is old news though. These dangers of fructose are well established. In a new paper by Krek and Peter Mirtschink, an even more troubling side effect of fructose is described.

Fructose Causes an Overgrown Heart Muscle

Unknown previously, but verified through their research and recently published in Nature, fructose has been discovered to be a key driver for a molecular mechanism that drives uncontrolled growth of the heart muscle. This condition can eventually lead to complete heart failure, as the heart literally outgrows its ability to function within the body.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Revealed: Documents Prove EPA Knew Glyphosate Was Carcinogenic 30 Years Ago

Documents from 1985 have recently been uncovered which show how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was fully aware of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential for the last 30 years — yet the organization has done nothing to lessen glyphosate’s use.

It helps that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) IARC recently announced that not only was Monsanto’s glyphosate ‘probably carcinogenic,’ and then followed with a determination that three other pesticides (2,4-D, Lindane and DDT) were likely causing cancer. But the declarations are a day late and a dollar short.

In an EPA memorandum titled: Second Peer Review of Glyphosate, one scientist involved in the discussion wrote in lieu of his signature ‘do not concur.’ Interesting tidbits within the document state: “. . .in 1985 glyphosate was found to be a Group C carcinogen.” “. . .an increase in interstitial cell tumors of the testes of male rats was found.” No carcinogenic effect was found in high-dose female rats, but “pancreatic tumors” were prevalent.

Furthermore, the document itself admits that control data for carcinomas, adenomas, hyperplasia, and other carcinogenic responses in the rats was provided by none other than MONSANTO.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

They Want to Use ‘Hate Speech Laws’ To Destroy Freedom of Speech in America

Hate speech laws are going in all around the world, and progressive activists in the United States want to use these kinds of laws to destroy free speech in America.

You see, the truth is that these hate speech laws that are being implemented all over the planet are not just about preventing speech that promotes violence or genocide against a particular group of people. Instead, these laws are written in such a way that anyone that says something that “offends” or “insults” someone else is guilty of “hate speech”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Air Canada Passenger Paulette Metuq Charged With Assaulting Flight Attendant

Paulette Metuq, 24, was on an Air Canada flight from Ottawa to Vancouver when her behaviour on board forced the captain to make an unscheduled landing in Winnipeg.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Alternative for Germany Party Picks Conservative as New Leader

BERLIN — The upstart Alternative for Germany party has replaced its euroskeptic leader with a conservative from the east who wants to place greater emphasis on immigration.

A majority of AfD members backed Frauke Petry in the leadership vote Saturday against Bernd Lucke, who led the party during its successful bids in the past two years to enter the European Parliament and five German state assemblies.

Petry, a 40-year-old businesswoman who previously led the party in the state of Saxony, has accused Lucke of focusing too much on opposing the euro currency.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Alto Adige, Vienna Discusses Passport and Self-Determination

Decision sparks row, South Tyrol right party protests

(ANSA) — BOLZANO/BOZEN — Dual-nationality passport, Italian-Austrian, and self-determination: the relations between Vienna and Tyrol are the focus of political debate in Austria.

With regard to the issue of dual-nationality passports, local media quoted the Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who spoke during a visit to Innsbruck in the Tyrol region. Kurz, who appears very skeptical, said that Austria, as a rule, seeks to avoid dual-nationality passports and refer the matter back to Parliament. From Bolzano/Bozen, Governor Arno Kompatscher, said — speaking with German-language daily newspaper Dolomiten — that this issue is important, but some other issues are even more important to Alto Adige/South Tyrol. Philipp Achammer SVP’s political secretary, claims to have no intention of putting pressure on the Austrian partners.

A document submitted to parliament by SPOE (liberal-national party) was rejected. The parliamentary committee, instead, approved a document issued by the ruling parties, which does not mention self-determination of South Tyrol, referring loosely to ‘support for the development of autonomy’. The decision sparked protests from the right party in Bozen (South Tyrol).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Champagne Granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO

The industry behind champagne production has been handed world heritage status by the United Nations’ cultural arm.

Unesco decided that the vineyards, wine cellars and sales houses where champagne is produced and sold were culturally significant.

It was one of 11 sites given World Heritage status by Unesco at a meeting in Germany on Saturday.

The status should ensure the sites receive special protection in future.

Unesco said the champagne industry was “a very specialised artisan activity that has become an agro-industrial enterprise.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Cyprus’ Solid Waste One of Highest in the EU

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, JUNE 29 — Cyprus is one of the EU countries with the highest production of solid waste per citizen. It was announced at an event in Nicosia on “The contribution of immigrants from EU countries in the achievement of a viable waste management in Cyprus: The role of effective information and participation at the level of local communities.” As Cyprus News Agency reported, speaking on behalf of the Agriculture Ministry, Athina Papanastasiou said that Cyprus is one of the countries with the highest production of solid waste per citizen, noting that in average Cypriots produce around two kilos of waste per day. Explaining the various reasons for Cyprus’ lack of adequate waste management, she said that the country has to make extensive efforts to comply with EU regulations and pointed out that Cyprus prepared a new waste management plan and set its quantitative and qualitative objectives. She also urged citizens to be more active toward this direction.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

German Anti-Euro Party Marks Shift to Right With New Leader

Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ousted its co-founder and frontman Bernd Lucke Saturday to elect a new leader from its right wing, signalling a shift in focus to immigration from its anti-euro origins.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany’s Euroskeptic AfD Elects Conservative Leader Petry

Members of Germany’s euroskeptic AfD hope they’ve put a contentious power struggle behind them by electing conservative Frauke Petry their leader. She had previously shared the role with rival Bernd Lucke.

Some of the 3,000 members of the AfD party conference booed Lucke when he spoke against completely condemning Islam during his speech. Petry had supported talks with the anti-Islam, anti-immigration group PEGIDA, which stands for People Against the Islamization of the West.

Many AfD members lent their vocal support to Petry’s comment that there are “massive integration problems linked to the fact that a religion like Islam conveys a vision of the state that is totally foreign to that which we know in Europe.”

Founded in 2013, the AfD has emerged as a minor player in German politics since it was founded two years ago, having won seats in five state assemblies and the European Parliament. It is currently polling at around 5 percent support.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Fighters Reportedly Travelling in EU on Bulgarian Passports

An article in German newspaper Die Welt claims that a Bulgaria-based cell of Islamic State is supplying jihadist militants with Bulgarian passports that allow them to travel freely in the European Union.

Being the the poorest member state of the EU, Bulgaria is a very convenient route for the transit of Islamic State (IS) militants, infiltrated into groups of refugees from Syria and other countries, to western Europe where they are to settle by orders of their superiors, Die Welt quoted Lorenz Berger (a nickname it gives to a freelance agent working with different intelligence services) as saying.

Berger, who is described as a mercenary fighting in the Middle East, claims that “the Bulgarian mafia provides real passports for travel to some of the fighters, earning 20,000 to 30,000 euro per document.”

Border police in Germany has already detained jihadists wanted by Interpol who were travelling on real Bulgarian passports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Casalesi Mob: Ex PD MP Bilked 23 Mln in Methane Scam

Pact between mobsters and cooperative ‘dated to 2000’

(ANSA) — Naples, July 3 — The CPL Concordia cooperative paid the Casalesi clan of the Camorra more than 23 million euros in bribes from public funds obtained for methane contracts in the province of Caserta, ANSA sources said Friday.

The extent of the Naples’ crime gang’s lucrative takings in the methane business emerged as Carabinieri arrested six people and disclosed that former parliamentarian Lorenzo Diana is under investigation in the probe of the racket.

Diana, a former senator for Premier Matteo Renzi’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD), acted as a “facilitator” for relations between CPL and the vicious Casalesi clan in Caserta province prosecutors said. Naples Prosecutor Giuseppe Borrelli said Diana had “ a role of absolute importance”.

The agreement between CPL senior managers and the mobsters dated to as far abck as 2000 and was mediated also by Antonio Piccolo, a businessman closely linked to underworld circles led by the Camorra kingpin Michele Zagaria, the sources said.

Antonio Iovine, a senior member of the Casalesi clan, made the arrests possible by turning state’s evidence.

CPL took over the concession for providing methane to seven administrative districts after the firm originally holding the concession, Consorzio Eurogas, was pushed out and forced to hand over the concession for free following Camorra intimidation, said the sources.

Clan affiliates were given jobs at the cooperative and CPL did not bill Camorra boss Michele Zagaria and his family for gas consumption worth 47,000 euros, said the sources.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Man Grabbed, Crushed to Death by Factory Robot: “This is Just the Start… Machines Will Take Over Our Lives”

“This is just the start… machines will take over our jobs, lives and world.”

That was one man’ s reaction to news that a deadly accident during the installation of an assembly line robot at a Volkswagen plant in Germany led to the robot coming to life, grabbing a man and slamming him against a metal plate. The man, reportedly a 22-year old contractor, died from the injuries in the hospital.

The Hindustan Times reported:

A scene out of the movie Terminator just happened for real. A robot killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen’ s production plants in Germany, the automaker said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said…

Perhaps it was human error to blame, but nevertheless, the factory death underscores several factors as robots are increasingly poised to take over human work, and play an enormous role in running our lives.

The impact that robotics will have on manufacturing, labor, delivery (truck drivers, airport personnel and pilots, logistics and shipping companies), services jobs and office jobs will be enormous. (Just last week, the world was introduced to “Hadrian,” the robotic automated bricklayer, designed to speed up housing construction, a direct threat to masonry and various types of skilled and unskilled labor.)

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Where Wealth Brings Worries

Norway may appear to be a rich country, but are oil rich Norwegians living far beyond their means? According to recent figures from the OECD they are, and the problem is particularly rife among young Norwegians.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Spanish Police Arrest Moroccan Man on Suspicion of Trying to Recruit Jihadi Fighters

Spanish police say they have arrested a Moroccan national in the northeastern city of Badalona on suspicion of having spent months praising jihadi terrorism and disseminating propaganda for the Islamic State group.

The suspect also allegedly tried to assess possible jihadi militants for “combat duties” in Syria and Iraq or for terror activities within their respective countries of origin, a statement said.

Spain and Morocco have arrested dozens of suspected jihadi militants and recruiters in recent years, with networks often centered in Spain’s north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

The arrest in Badalona, which is 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Barcelona, took place early Saturday, the statement said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Angela Wrightson Killed by Teen Girls With ‘Kettle’ Who Put Pictures on Snapchat

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Angela Wrightson, 39, (pictured) was subjected to a ‘sustained and brutal’ assault before her half-naked body was found at her home in Hartlepool, last December, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Teenage girls took selfies and posted them on Snapchat while they battered a woman to death with a television set, computer printer and a kettle, a court heard today.

Angela Wrightson, 39, was subjected to a ‘sustained and brutal’ assault before her half-naked body was found at her home in Hartlepool, in December, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Two teenage girls, who were aged 13 and 14 at the time of the killing, are accused of carrying out the attack, while the younger girl is said to have published a selfie taken at Ms Wrightson’s home after the violence began on social media app Snapchat.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Arab Tourist Nasser Al-Ansari Arrested Under Terrorism Act in Brighton

Nasser Al-Ansari was recording a condolence message in Arabic for terrorist bombing victims in his native Kuwait when he was arrested outside Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Croatia Starts Procedures to Join Schengen

First EU evaluation in 2016, decisions expected by mid-2017

(ANSA) — ZAGREB — Two years after its full EU membership, Croatia has formally launched yesterday the procedure to enter the area of free movement of people, known as the Schengen area. This step was announced by Croatia’s Interior Ministry.

According to the Accession Treaty, yesterday was the first ‘deadline’ set for the country to start the procedures to join Schengen. First of all, the government in Zagreb is expected to answer, by the beginning of August, a long questionnaire regarding the progress made in fulfilling the standards which the country has to meet in order to join Schengen. The EC has announced that its first evaluation visit will take plase at the beginning of 2016, while the procedure is expected to end by mid- 2017.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt President Says Situation ‘Stable’ Following Sinai Attack

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, wearing battle dress for the first time in over a year, declared Saturday that the country’s security situation was “completely stable” following a coordinated assault on the military in the troubled northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

Wearing his old uniform, which he said he had hung up for good when he ran for president, the general-turned-politician met members of the army and delivered a televised speech to troops in Sinai, his first public comments on Wednesday’s attack.

“We want all Egyptians to rest assured that the situation … it’s not enough to say it’s just under control. We are saying the situation is completely stable,” said el-Sissi, standing before a group of soldiers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt’s Sisi Rallies Troops in Sinai After IS Attacks

Egypt’s president made an unannounced visit to the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday to rally troops following a wave of deadly jihadist attacks on security forces, his office said.

“President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is inspecting troops and police in the North Sinai,” his office said without specifying where in the restive province.

Sisi’s government called in air strikes on Wednesday after a spectacular attack by Islamic State group jihadists in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid left dozens dead.

The army said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. But medical and security officials said the death toll was at least 70 people — mostly soldiers — as well as dozens of jihadists…

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

Libya Magnet for Jihadists From Tunisia and Beyond

Lawless Libya has become a magnet for radical militants who receive weapons training in jihadist camps before launching deadly attacks in other countries, like last week’s beach massacre in Tunisia.

The oil-rich North African country bordering Tunisia has rival governments and parliaments as well as a slew of armed groups vying for power in the aftermath of its 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The chaos in Libya has “serious security implications for the region”, said Michael Nayebi-Oskoui, senior Middle East analyst at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm based in the US city of Texas.

Libya has witnessed “a small but steady return of fighters” from the conflict in Syria, he said…

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

Tunisia Beach Attack: State of Emergency Declared

Tunisia has declared a state of emergency, just over a week after 38 tourists, mainly Britons, died in an attack in the resort city of Sousse.

The state of emergency gives security forces more powers and limits the right of public assembly.

Authorities had already tightened security, deploying more than 1,400 armed officers at hotels and beaches.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said in a national address that “exceptional measures” were needed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia Declares State of Emergency After Massacre

Tunisia’s president has declared a state of emergency a week after an Islamic militant attack on the resort town of Sousse. The country last imposed such a measure during the 2011 uprising that launched the Arab Spring.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Expo 2015 Ambassador Chef Varese’s Cooking in Jerusalem

Menu at Israeli restaurant Adom for a week

TEL AVIV — Dishes by Viviana Varese, Chef Ambassador per Expo 2015, have been at Jerusalem’s prestigious Adom restaurant for the past few days and will stay for a week. The restaurant is located in the historic Ottoman station from which trains used to leave three times a week for Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast.

‘Takana’ Rishona’ has been carefully restored and is now an architectonic gem of Jerusalem and well known both for hosting important events as well as numerous gourmet restaurants. “Jerusalem,” Varese said, who is in the country for the first time as part of an initiative by the Israeli tourism bureau in Milan, “will taste my cooking, and I will taste a bit of Israel.” Varese is originally from Salerno and is the head — along with her partner, Sandra Ciciriello, who is with her in Jerusalem in these days — of the Alice restaurant on the second floor of Milan’s Eataly Smeraldo building. In the menu that she came up with for the week in Israel, there are five dishes with some influenced by local cuisine as well as a dessert to represent Italian contemporary cuisine. “It wasn’t easy,” she told ANSA at Adom, “to choose the dishes, and I inevitably had to change some things to adapt to local ingredients and tastes. The greatest effort so far has been to organize the kitchen, since in Milan we work in a much larger space with more personnel and for fewer customers, which means being able to pay greater attention to every detail.” The dishes range from oysters with cucumber juice, green apple slushies and and balls of cream and passion fruit to ‘cacio e pepe’ risotto cooked in pecorino and grana padana cheese, with seven types of pepper. There will also be two dishes influenced by the most popular local products, hummus and baba ghanoush. “The dish that I think will do best, however,” Varese said, “is the fried pizza with local mozzarella, candied cherry tomatoes, basil, and ‘bavarese’ with tomatoes and lemon.” “I will try to understand and satisfy local tastes,” she added, “but at the same time, I would like to convey that Italian cuisine is not just pizza and pasta. Abroad, if it weren’t for Massimo Bottura, high-level Italian cuisine would be unknown. This is partially the fault of chefs, who in Italy — unlike in France and Spain — are not good at working as a team.

In part it is the government’s fault, as it does not help.

Actually, not even in Italy is there the awareness of where high-level Italian cuisine is going…”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Reportedly Claims it Fired Rockets Into Israel

The Islamic State’s affiliate group in Egypt reportedly claims it fired three Grad rockets Friday in southern Israel.

The Telegraph reports ISIS said the rocket launches were retaliation for Israel’s support of Egypt’s armed forces Wednesday after the militants attacked army checkpoints in northern Sinai.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hundreds March in Istanbul to Protest Against China’s Treatment of Uighur Minority

ISTANBUL — Hundreds of people have marched in Istanbul to protest against China’s treatment of its minority Muslim Uighur community.

The group, which has cultural ties to Turkey, has complained of cultural and religious suppression under Chinese rule.

The protesters on Saturday carried flags representing the Uighurs’ homeland and called for a boycott of Chinese goods. The demonstration was peaceful but the Dogan news agency said a group of nationalists tried to attack a group of Korean tourists which they mistook for Chinese nationals. Police rescued the tourists.

Relations between China and Turkey have been strained over Turkish reports that Uighurs were banned from worshipping and fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. China expressed displeasure after Turkey this week took in 173 Uighur refugees from Thailand.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraqi Officials Say Bombings Targeting Public Places Kill 15 People in and Around Baghdad

Iraqi authorities say bombings targeting public places have killed 15 people in and around Baghdad.

Police officials say the deadliest attack occurred Saturday night when a car bomb exploded on a commercial street in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of Amil, killing nine people and wounding 24 others.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

IS Video Shows Mass Execution in Ruins of Syria’s Palmyra

The Islamic State group on Saturday released a video showing several dozen Syrian government soldiers being executed by teenagers in the ancient amphitheatre in the city of Palmyra.

The video documented an execution that reportedly happened shortly after the group captured the city on May 21, showing 25 soldiers being shot dead on the amphitheatre’s stage in front of the group’s black and white flag.

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

Islamic State ‘Murders 25 Men in Palmyra’

A video apparently released by the Islamic State group shows 25 men being shot dead in the ancient city of Palmyra, in Syria.

IS said the men were soldiers captured in the city of Homs. They were shot dead inside Palmyra’s amphitheatre.

Stills from the video showed the killers to be young males, possibly even as young as 13 or 14.

IS captured the site and the neighbouring city of Palmyra in late May.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US Sending Foreign Mercenaries to Syria to Topple Assad: Rodney Martin

Former US congressional staffer Rodney Martin says the United States is sending foreign mercenaries to Syria to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He made the comments after The Washington Post reported the Pentagon is preparing to send its first batch of trained militants into Syria as a ground force against the ISIL terrorist group in the next several weeks.

A US military official said that American and allied forces are finishing the training of the first group of the so-called “moderate” militants in Turkey.

The fighters, numbering fewer than 100, will be sent south into neighboring Syria by the end of the summer, according to the unnamed official.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mesmerized by the Bear: The Great Soviet Deception

This is a rather prophetic lecture, if you ask me, by Don McAlvany on the false demise of Communism. It was recorded 25 years ago, in 1990, shortly following the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the beginning of the Weidervereinigung des Deutschlands (Reunification of Germany).

What I find particularly fascinating about McAlvany’s presentation are his references to KGB defector Anatoliy Golytsin’s book New Lies for Old. I have written previously (see here) about Anatoliy’s Golytsin’s startlingly accurate predictions concerning Soviet plans to deceive the West into believing Communism was dead, and that the Soviet Union was a thing of the past. Golytsin went on to write his second book entitled The Perestroika Deception in 1995.

Most of Golytsin’s predictions have proven true in hindsight. In 1984, when New Lies for Old first hit the bookshelves, Golytsin predicted that the Berlin Wall would be torn down in order to fool the West into believing that the Soviet Union was shattered. What makes Golytsin’s prediction even more eye-opening is the fact he had written the manuscript years before New Lies for Old reached publication.

The Soviets were masters at disinformation and deception. The sophistication of their subversive techniques are breathtaking in scope and audacity. Many in the West have failed to grasp the incredible lengths the Soviets and the KGB were willing to go to in order to deceive and subvert their enemies—namely, the United States and the entire Western world.

Many of the strategies and tactics employed by the Soviets—such as the dialectical and the “two steps forward, one step” back strategies—are foreign to many Western minds. But a thorough understanding of these strategies is paramount if one hopes to counter them. (You might’ve noticed I’ve switched to the present tense. I’ll get to that.)

Take the dialectical strategy, for example. Without getting into a dissertation on Marxist dialectics, the dialectical strategy entails the manipulation of friend and foe alike—playing both sides of the fence, so to speak. Communists are known for setting up “false opposition” groups in order to control and herd their opposition. Vladimir I. Lenin once said, “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.” Leading the opposition requires infiltration, also referred to as “controlled opposition.”

[…]

For those who may still be of the opinion that talk of a “one-world government” (i.e. “new world order”) is strictly relegated to the realm of crackpots and so-called “conspiracy theorists,” consider the words of the unelected full-time President of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, who has openly referenced the agenda for “global governance” on more than one occasion. Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky has referred to the European Union as a “pale version of the Soviet Union.”

In 2009, Van Rompuy said:

“2009 is also the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen, is another step towards the global management of our planet.“…

The one thing Communists and their ilk cannot withstand is their strategy and process being exposed. Communism is a form of psychological warfare (i.e. psyops) based on deception. Psyops only work if the party who is being deceived and manipulated is unaware of the tactics being employed against them. In essence, it’s a mind game. This is why it absolutely crucial to understand the dialectic process when it comes to Marxism-Leninism, if one wishes to have any success at countering such subversive and deceitful tactics.

Unfortunately, for many Americans and Westerners, it is still inconceivable that such a conspiracy is, and has been, employed against them. As one long-time and well-known researcher on Russian (i.e. Communist) strategy and tactics, J.R. Nyquist, recently wrote:

This last point is not to be made in polite society, and few are well-informed enough to know something of its validity. For 99 out of 100 persons, it is preferable to believe a lie. As a former British MP once said within my hearing; “Reagan and Thatcher saved the West from socialism.” But a former Russian GRU colonel, sitting across the table, whispered in my ear, “But America is the Marxist paradise.”

If you still find it hard to believe that the U.S.A. is already a “Marxist paradise,” and the world is moving toward global governance (i.e. worldwide socialism), I would encourage you to read the Communist Manifesto. Pay particular note to what has been referred to as the “10 planks of the Communist Manifesto” in Chapter Two. And then ask yourself, how many of these 10 points have already been implemented in the United States?

[Comment: Read it all. Watch the video lecture.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine: In Russia Toilet Paper With Text of Sanctions

Initiative of a group of Siberian entrepreneurs

(ANSA) — MOSCOW — A group of Siberian entrepeneurs have started to produce rolls of toilet paper with the text of the European and American sanctions against Russia, decided because of the Ukrainian crisis, as a sign of support of the foreign policy of the Kremlin. The group has already sent the rolls of toilet paper to the embassies of US, Britain and Germany.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Thailand: Bangkok: Thousands of Workers on Strike Against Illegal Fishing Regulations

Under new government rules adopted in response to EU demands, fishermen now need licences, registered fishing equipment and navigation systems. Poor fishermen cannot afford the new costs, ask for “more time”.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Thousands of fishermen went on strike in 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, following the government’s decision to enforce new regulations against illegal fishing.

The European Union gave Thailand a “yellow card”, threatening to suspend its fish imports if the Asian country did not comply with certain standards within six months.

What is more, illegal fishing is a major problem in many Southeast Asian nations because of its negative impact on workers’ safety, tax revenues, the environment and fish habitat, especially due to the widespread use of explosives and cyanide.

New government regulations call for licences, registered fishing equipment and navigation systems.

However, some fishermen have been unable to take their boats out to sea because they did not meet the new regulations.

Others said they feared being caught. Those who do not comply with the regulations face up to three years in jail.

Some registered fishermen have refused to go out in solidarity with their colleagues.

Thailand’s National Shippers’ Council said around 40,000 vessels have been registered to date, with 3,000 still unregistered.

A high percentage of the Thai fishing fleet is outside of government control, making it difficult to track vessels. Some registered vessels sail without catch documentation and operation certificates.

Kamolsak Lertpaiboon, secretary-general of the Fishing Association of Thailand, and Aphisit Techanitisawad, president of the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association, agree that fishermen need more time to comply with the new laws, and that the government could have imposed a more lenient timeframe for changes.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha called for calm yesterday and urged fishermen whose boats met the required standards not to go on strike.

“We can’t avoid this crackdown because if we don’t pass international assessment, what will happen?” he said. “Those vessels that can go out to fish must go.”

Thailand is the world’s third-largest seafood exporter. Its overall fish exports were worth about US$ 3 billion last year, this according to the Thai Frozen Foods Association. Its estimated annual fish exports to the European Union is between US$ 640 and US$ 810 million.

Mr Wiriya Sirichaiekawat, vice-chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, fears that a prolonged strike could lead to layoffs.

Thailand’s fishing industry employs more than 300,000 people, many of them illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries.

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

China Passes National-Security Law

Tightens govt control over many areas of life

(ANSA) — Rome, July 1 — China’s legislature on Wednesday passed a wide-ranging and controversial national-security law which tightens government control over many areas of life.

The law broadly defines national security as covering everything from finance and cyber security to religion.

State media said it would “protect people’s fundamental interests”.

It is part of a raft of policies by President Xi Jinping that have drawn criticism from foreign governments, businesses and rights groups.

The vaguely worded legislation authorises the government to take “all necessary” steps to protect China’s sovereignty.

Included in the law, passed by the standing committee of the rubberstamp National People’s Congress, is a move to make key network infrastructure and information systems “secure and controllable”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Japan Seeks Influence in Mekong Region With Aid Pledge

Japan has pledged around $6 billion in development aid to five nations on the Mekong River. The move is a bid to counter China’s growing influence in the region, notably through the launch of a new investment bank.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the pledge of $6.1 billion (5.5 billion euros) at a summit in Tokyo attended by his counterparts from the “Mekong Five” countries — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam — which all lie along the lower section of the Mekong River.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Boko Haram’s ‘Female Suicide Bombers’ Kill Scores in Nigeria

At least 55 people have been killed in an attack by suicide bombers in a Nigerian village near Maiduguri. According to local residents, the bombers were women who had exploded themselves in the midst of fleeing people.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Zanzibar: Muslims Target Two Churches

by Raymond Ibrahim

“Radicals” on the Muslim-majority island of Zanzibar recently targeted two churches for persecution, through legal means and otherwise.

They drove Pastor Philemon, a father of five, into hiding and took over his New Covenant Church’s worship hall by getting the landlord to rent it to them before the church’s lease ended. Once a congregation of 100, members now account for 25. “The church faithful are so scattered,” said Philemon. “Some members are always knocking at my door requesting a place for worship.” The pastor is also helping care for several converts from Islam who fled their homes due to persecution and is struggling financially to help them while also providing for his own family, which includes five children…

           — Hat tip: K [Return to headlines]
 

Britain Sends £300m to Africa and the Middle East to Stop Flow of Of Migrants

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the growing migrant crisis in Calais and the Mediterranean was proof that ‘the world’s problems touch our lives here in Britain’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Dozens of Calais Migrants Try to Storm Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel services have been disrupted after about 150 migrants tried to storm the Calais terminal.

Migrants entered restricted areas on the French side overnight, delaying and cancelling services, Eurotunnel said.

A spokesman for the firm called for “immediate action” from authorities to protect the tunnel and provide a solution to the migrant crisis.

Passenger services are back to normal but there are still delays to freight journeys, Eurotunnel said.

Dan Cook, operations director at Europa Worldwide, a transport and logistics business, said “marauding mobs” of migrants were breaking into the company’s vehicles.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Eurotunnel Increases Security Over Migrant Activity

Eurotunnel says it is preparing for a “difficult night” and has increased security after 150 migrants tried to storm the Calais terminal.

Services were disrupted after migrants accessed restricted areas on Saturday.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee said the EU must tackle the “problems of people arriving in the EU itself”.

Calais’s deputy mayor, Philippe Mignonet, wants the UK to introduce ID cards and employment controls.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Man Arrested in Connection With San Francisco Killing Had Been Deported Several Times, Officials Say

The man arrested in connection with the seemingly random killing of a woman who was out for a stroll with her father along the San Francisco waterfront is an illegal immigrant who previously had been deported five times, federal immigration officials say.

Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement says San Francisco had him in their custody earlier this year but failed to notify ICE when he was released.

“DHS records indicate ICE lodged an immigration detainer on the subject at that time, requesting notification prior to his release so ICE officers could make arrangements to take custody. The detainer was not honored,” ICE said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Kathryn Steinle was killed Wednesday evening at Pier 14 — one of the busiest tourist destinations in the city.

Police said Thursday they arrested Francisco Sanchez in the shooting an hour after it occurred.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Wrist Slap for Top Alien Smuggler?

The plea agreement speaks of a maximum imprisonment of five years “as to each count” and what appears to be a rather hefty maximum fine until one realizes how truly lucrative Eury’s alien smuggling scheme has been through the years. Presumably, the judge could order Eury to be locked up for 10 years, or more, depending upon what “each count” means, but he is under absolutely no pressure to do so, quite the contrary, in fact. You see, just as the mainstream press completely blacked out the news of the expanded indictment and almost blacked out the news of the initial indictment, they have reported nothing about the guilty plea. In fact, the one major newspaper to break the news of the initial indictment, The Washington Post, with a story submitted by a North Carolina freelancer, has now taken that article down from its web site and it can only be found on the obscure web page of the National Guestworker Alliance.

Worse yet, for agreeing to give what seems to be unneeded testimony against his co-conspirators, the fair-haired boy of the U.S. Department of Labor, Wicker, has apparently been allowed to go free to continue to render services that—outrage of outrages—the Raleigh News and Observer told us with a June 27 article are still vitally needed. That brazen article prompted me to send the following email on June 29 to the journalist who penned it, Mary Katherine Wildeman:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

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