Christianity is now the fastest-growing religion in India, according to just-released data from the 2011 census. India’s Muslim population grew by 0.8% in a decade to reach 14.2% of India’s 1.2 billion people. The Hindu community increased by 0.7%, but dropped below 80% of the total population. The Christian population rose by 15.5% to 2.3% of India’s population. In other words, there are now almost 28 million Christians in India. More than in Britain, actually, if only practicing Christians are counted.
In other news, four people have been arrested in connection with the truck loaded with dead migrants that was abandoned several days ago on an Austrian highway. Three of the detained trafficking suspects are Serbs Bulgarians, and one is an Afghan. The death toll from the truck has reached 71, with four of those children. It is thought that they suffocated in the closed cargo compartment of the truck.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Margita, MC, MM, 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.
Croatia: After Six Years, Economic Recovery Becomes Real
GDP increase estimated between 0.6% and 0.8% in second quarter
(ANSAmed) — ZAGABRIA, AUGUST 26 — The Croatian economy seems to be definitively headed towards a constant — albeit slight — recovery, after six years of recession and stagnation that cost the loss of about 15% of national GDP.
The first estimates by experts indicate that the March-June quarter will be the third consecutive quarter with positive signs in nearly all macroeconomic indicators. The first of these is GDP which should see an increase of 0.6% to 0.8%, due to an excellent tourist season, retail growth of 2.5% thanks to an income tax reduction introduced at the beginning of the year, and low oil prices. Increased demand from nearby EU countries for raw materials and finished products gave a strong push to exports, which show an 11.5% increase since the start of 2015, when compared to the same period in 2014. Industrial production is also up, with a 2% increase. The only important sector still at a halt is the construction industry.
All forecasts from international institutions, from the European Commission to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicate that in 2015 Croatia’s GDP will grow (between 0.4% and 0.6%) for the first time since 2007.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Draghi ‘Would Back Euro Zone Finance Minister’
‘In favour of ECB board member Coeuré’s position’ says FAZ
(ANSA) — Berlin, August 28 — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi would back a plan to set up a euro zone finance minister, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Friday.
It said Draghi is in favour of the position voiced on the issue by ECB board member Benoit Coeuré. Coeuré, FAZ said, has suggested moving towards the new post under the control of the European Parliament — with Draghi’s “backing”, it said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Fitch Lowers Ukraine’s Rating on Debt Restructing Deal
Ratings agency Fitch has lowered its rating for Ukraine saying the debt restructuring deal Kiev struck with a group of creditors was tantamount to default.
Fitch lowered Ukraine’s rating of long-term public debt from “CC” to “C,” after the deal was announced Thursday because it led to major losses for the bondholders.
“Fitch considers that this represents a Distressed Debt Exchange (DDE) under its criteria that results in material losses to bondholders and is being conducted in order to avoid default,” the agency said in a statement released late Thursday…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Sale Process for 5 Overseas Properties Launched
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, AUGUST 27 — The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (Taiped) has announced that it is moving ahead with the sale of five overseas properties in its portfolio as Kathimerini online reports. The sales had been on hold since the January elections, but the sale process that started in July 2014 has now been picked up by Taiped’s new administration, with the notice for sale made public last Friday, a day after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned. The properties are located in the United States, South Africa, Italy and Slovenia. Their sale is expected to generate at least 20 million euros for the fund. Interested parties have until October 26, 2015 to submit their bid. Taiped’s executive board will complete the bid approval process by November 5. The US properties are located in New York and Washington DC. The New York property is in Manhattan, near the United Nations Headquarters. It is a second-floor office complex called ‘The 3 Dag Condominium,’ with a total area of 1,416 square meters. The minimum acceptable bid has been set at 9.1 million dollars. The Washington DC property is located at 2211 Massachusetts Avenue in the Historic District of the US capital. The three-floor building has a total usable area of 754 sq.m. The minimum acceptable offer is 2.7 million dollars. The Italian property is a former hotel in the historic center of Rome near Via Veneto and is surrounded by luxury residences and high-quality office buildings. The five-floor 1,600 sq.m. building also has a basement and an attic. The minimum acceptable bid is 8 million euros. The Slovenian property in Ljubljana is a listed building located in a prime residential area. The surrounding area is home to several embassies, government buildings, retail stores and Tivoli City Park. The two-story building has a total area of 1,215 sq.m. and a starting price of 800,000 euros. The South African property is located on Pretoria’s most central avenue, in Hatfield, a short distance from the Union Building. The complex comprises a two-story building with a total area of 350 sq.m. The minimum acceptable bid is set at 240,000 US dollars.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Financial Times Calls for Ending Cash, Calls it a “Barbarous Relic”
Earlier this week, as the financial world was mesmerized by a min-stock market crash, the Financial Timespublished a dastardly little piece of fascist propaganda.
There is no more egregious anti-liberty economic policy imaginable than banning cash. I covered this earlier in the year in the post, Martin Armstrong Reports on a Secret Meeting in London to Ban Cash. Here’s an excerpt:…
Three months later, the Financial Times publishes an article titled, The Case for Retiring Another “Barbarous Relic.” When you start to see increased propaganda about banning cash, you know the status quo is very scared and things are getting very serious. You’ve been warned.
So what about the reasoning for ending people’s ability to physically hold on to their own money? Wait, you’ll never guess, yes, it’s apparently necessary in order to give the least democratic, most destructive entities on planet earth, Central Banks, more power.
Naturally, it’s all about state power, control and the ability to make sure the slave population is easily and efficiently milked.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Autonomous Cars Are Learning Our Unpredictable Driving Habits
IN THE near future, you may have to share the road with a robot. Or perhaps we should say that a robot will have to share the road with you.
Enthusiasts are excited that self-driving vehicles could lead to fewer crashes and less traffic. But people aren’t accustomed to driving alongside machines, says Driggs-Campbell. When we drive, we watch for little signs from other cars to indicate whether they might turn or change lanes or slow down. A robot might not have any of the same tics, and that could throw us off.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Beyond Pluto: 2nd Target Chosen for New Horizons Probe
NASA’s New Horizons probe, which flew past Pluto last month, now has a second target to aim for.
The New Horizons team has selected an object named 2014 MU69, which lies roughly 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto, as the next target for up-close study by the spacecraft, NASA announced today (Aug. 28).
However, the space agency still must officially approve a New Horizons mission extension for the second flyby to take place in 2019.
Alan Stern, principal investigator for New Horizons at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, called 2014 MU69 a “great choice,” for the secondary mission. Discovered in 2014 by the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists estimate it is just under 30 miles (48 km) in diameter, or between 0.5 and 1 percent the size of Pluto.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bush Returns to New Orleans for 10th Anniversary of Katrina
Former President George W. Bush returned Friday to New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, praising the resilience of residents of the Big Easy who “looked into the eye of the storm, and refused to back down,” and touting the region’s recovery from the nation’s costliest natural disaster.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Buzz Aldrin Joins University, Developing ‘Master Plan’ For Mars Settlement
Buzz Aldrin is working with the Florida Institute of Technology to develop a “master plan” for colonizing Mars within 25 years.
The second man to walk on the moon took part in a signing on Thursday at the university, less than an hour’s drive from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Buzz Aldrin Space Institute is set to open in the fall.
Aldrin, 85, will serve as a research professor for aeronautics as well as a senior faculty adviser for the institute. Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Congressional Fight on Iran Deal is All But Over
Opponents of the Iran nuclear deal in Congress admit they can no longer kill the accord. Their focus now is making sure there will be a vote on the agreement at all, and salvaging some political benefit from their well-funded bid to stop it.
Lawmakers, Congressional staffers and lobbyists opposed to the deal reached in Vienna last month tell us they are now fighting to get more than 60 votes in the Senate for a resolution of disapproval to avoid a filibuster by Democrats supporting President Barack Obama. That is a far cry from the 67 votes in the Senate needed, along with two thirds of the House, to overturn an expected presidential veto of that resolution.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Is Notorious Islamophobic Think Thank Inspiring More Far-Right Terrorist?
More worrying is the prestige that the Gatestone Institute seems to be able to flaunt along with its considerable resources.
By Hilary Aked
Islamophobic policies and rhetoric increasingly permeate everyday life in North America and Western Europe. Helping to shape this reality is a well-resourced and organised network of anti-Muslim think tanks, activists and journalists. At the heart of this constellation is an American think tank called The Gatestone Institute. A relative newcomer on the anti-Muslim hatemongers scene, it did not rate a mention in the Centre for American Progress’s (CAP) ground-breaking 2011 study, Fear Inc. But, backed by big money, it has rapidly since become a central player in what Nathan Lean has called the ‘Islamophobia industry’.
The Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum has some significant European links. Most notably, its ‘Legal Project’ has provided financial support to Geert Wilders during court cases related to hate speech laws. Other ‘critics’ of Islam it has helped with legal costs include France’s Christine Tasin, president of the counterjihad group Résistance Républicaine and Peder Jensen aka ‘Fjordman’, the prolific but little-known Norwegian blogger who was perhaps the greatest individuals influence on Brievik (cited at least 114 times in his manifesto). Fjordman, in turn, is a protégé of Swiss-British ‘historian’ Bat Ye’or (real name Gisele Littman), the grandmother of contemporary anti-Muslim pseudo-intellectualism, who developed the Eurabia conspiracy theory which lies behind concepts like ‘Islamisation’ and Muslim ‘no-go areas’. She too has been published by Gatestone and was cited in Breivik’s manifesto.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jeb Taps Voter-Tossed Eric Cantor for Campaign
Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader who was tossed from Congress by voters in 2014 who perceived him as making too many concessions to Democrats, has not only come forward to endorse Jeb Bush for president — but he’ s also going to be leading up the former Florida governor’ s campaign efforts in Virginia.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Sentenced to 28 Years for Selling ‘Kids for Cash’ To Prisons
A Pennsylvania judge in Pennsylvania was just sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling “kids-for-cash.”
The bribery scandal made headlines when Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was alleged to have taking $1 million in bribes from juvenile detention centers to fill their cells with children who came before him in court.
Now that Ciaverella has been locked up, that solves one problem, but raises an important question that few are asking: was this an isolated incident, or are there more just like him who have made similar deals with prisons across the United States.
The fact that this sort of bribery would even be proposed to the judge suggests that this is a much broader problem, and this one incident was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
[Comment: Very possible that from these juvy centres kids are kidnapped into organized pedo operations at the highest levels. In UK, Saville was just the tip of the iceberg.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Slaps Down EPA Water Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency received a big face-slap from a federal judge in North Dakota who ruled the entity cannot go forward with a new rule that would give it massive control over waterways, at least for the time being.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson issued a temporary injunction against the rule, which has been widely criticized as a massive bureaucratic overreach that would lead to brutal crackdowns on developments near the smallest of bodies of waters, as WND has previously reported, here and here, and again, here.
Basically, critics of the rule had argued the regulation would give the EPA the power to regulate developments and other land activities next to even puddles of water — something the government derided as untrue. Critics also said the rule would result in costly compliance measures for developers, energy companies, businesses, farmers and ranchers and other private property owners — all denied by the government.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Private Prisons Threaten to Sue States Unless They Get More Inmates for Free Labor
Freedom is apparently bad for business. That’s the message from the private prison industry which is threatening to sue states if they don’t start locking more people up.
The private prison companies, well-known for profiting off of incarceration and crime, is now saying that the state’s they have contracted with aren’t keeping up their end of the bargain. The private prisons rely on a certain number of inmates for free and virtually-free slave labor.
That labor is used for a variety of trades, including making uniforms for popular restaurants like McDonalds and Applebee’s. But if the private prisons don’t have enough inmates locked up then production goes down correlative with the decrease in free labor (i.e. slavery).
It comes as a surprise to many Americans, but slavery was never actually abolished in the United States. That’s not a metaphor, it’s a matter of careful reading of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. That amendment — often lauded for abolishing slavery — actually makes an exception for prisons. Slavery is still completely legal as “punishment for a crime.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sampling Enceladus: Is Earth Ready for Pieces of Saturn Moon’s Plumes?
Many astrobiologists are champing at the bit to bring back samples from Saturn’s ocean-harboring moon Enceladus, but others say it may be best to exercise a little patience.
In 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered that geysers blast from Enceladus’ south polar region, sending material from the ice-covered moon’s subsurface ocean far out into space. It’s tempting to grab samples from Enceladus’ plume and return them to labs on Earth for analysis as soon as possible, but a slower, more methodical plan may be the right way to assess the moon’s life-hosting potential, one prominent space scientist says.
“Who is going to approve a sample-return mission if we’re not sure the stuff in the plumes is worth bringing back to a terrestrial lab?” Brent Sherwood, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Chicago in June.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Town Fires Police Dept., Hires Private Citizens for Security — Guess What Happened to Crime?
The community of Sharpstown, Texas decided that they didn’t need the police any longer. They made a controversial decision to fire the local police department and hire private citizens, granted no special rights that ordinary citizens do not have, to keep them safe.
That was back in 2012, and since then, Sharpstown residents say the private security company, SEAL Security Solutions, have done a much better job than the police used to. Crimes is down 61% in only 20 months.
James Alexander, the director of operations for SEAL Security Solutions says that, “Since we’ve been in there, an independent crime study that they’ve had done [indicates] we’ve reduced the crime by 61 percent,” according to Guns.com.
All of that and they don’t have any special rights that you or I don’t have. That means they can’t arrest for misdemeanor crimes… and why should people be arrested for them anyway? It also means that they are held accountable the same way as anyone else.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
USA 2016: Trump Aims to Buy Pope’s Favourite Football Club
(AGI) New York, Aug 28 — American business tycoon Donald Trump, who continues to lead the race for the Republican party’s U.S.
presidential nomination, has reportedly placed an offer to buy the San Lorenzo de Almagro football club in Buenos Aires, of whom Pope Francis is a renowned and avid fan. The news was reported on Friday by The New York Post, citing confidential sources in Trump’s staff, who said Trump’s business partner Alessandro Proto is also in on the acquisition offer. According the tabloid, Trump’s move might be an attempt to win over a slice of Catholic support. San Lorenzo’s Vice-President and Argentine TV host Marcelo Tinelli, however, dismissed the reports as “totally crazy”. “San Lorenzo belongs to its members and IS NOT FOR SALE,” Tinelli affirmed, adding: “In any case, I prefer Donald Duck, he’s more serious”. Trump and Proto have vied for football clubs in the past: they reportedly offered 100 million dollars to buy the Colombia’s Atletico Nacional, but gave up on the venture after the club’s counter-offer of 150 million dollars.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
British Library Declines Taliban Archive Over Terror Law Fears
The British Library has declined to store a large collection of Taliban-related documents because of concerns regarding terrorism laws.
The collection, related to the Afghan Taliban, includes official newspapers, maps and radio broadcasts.
Academics have criticised the decision saying it would be a valuable resource to understand the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan.
The library said it feared it could be in breach of counter-terrorism laws.
It said it had been legally advised not to make the material accessible.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Police Seize Passports of ‘Foreign Fighters’
The East Justland Police on Friday confiscated the passports of three people suspected of preparing to leave Denmark to fight in the Syrian civil war.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Elections: Poll Shows Major Indecision Among Voters
While Alexis Tsipras remains the most popular political leader
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, AUGUST 28 — The Greek electorate appears to have been surprised by the announcement of general elections in September, with a survey showing that the majority of voters are undecided, while Syriza’s lead over New Democracy is dwindling. According to the survey carried out by ProRata and which was published in the Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper, when asked about who intend to vote for in the upcoming elections, the respondents answered the following: Undecided 25.5%; Syriza (radical Left) 23%; New Democracy (center right) 19.5%; Golden Dawn (extreme right) 6.5%; Communist Party (Kke) 5%; Pasok (socialist) 4.5%; To Potami (The River, center) 4%; Popular Union (radical left) 3.5%; Union of Centrists 3% and Independent Greeks (right) 2%.
The leader of Syriza Alexis Tsipras remains the most popular political leader, followed by New Democracy’s provisional president Evangelos Meimarakis and the head of To Potami Stavros Theodorakis. The overwhelming majority of voters support the euro and over 50% do not consider the new bailout agreement to be good.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Police Nab Casamonica Clan Member
On suspicion of attempted extortion
(ANSA) — Rome, August 27 — Police on Thursday arrested Salvatore Casamonica, 27, on suspicion of attempted extortion. The member of the mafia clan led by the late Roman crime boss Vittorio Casamonica allegedly threatened a pub owner in the capital’s Tuscolano district with physical harm and property damage unless he shelled out 500 euros a week.
The pub owner refused to be intimidated and Casamonica returned a little later with an accomplice and reiterated his request.
When the pub owner’s friend intervened, the latter was beaten up and left with a 10-day prognosis, sources said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Exor 6-Mth Consolidated Profit Up to 219.3 Mn Euros
From 57.4 last year
(ANSA) — Turin, August 28 — Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli group, closed the first half of the year with a consolidated profit of 219.3 million euros, up from 57.4 million in the same period last year, thanks largely to bigger profits from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Exor said it expected to close 2015 with a positive result both at a consolidated and group level.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Conservators Restore Frescos in Stabiae Villa
Murals dating to the first century B.C. in Stabiae’s Villa Arianna were conserved by a team from the Ethnographic Archaeological Monuments Conservation Laboratory of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. The wealthy town of Stabiae, like Pompeii and Herculaneum, was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The conservators, working as part of the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation and the Soprintendenza Speciale per I Beni Archeologici di Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia, removed layers of dirt and materials added during previous restoration projects from the wall paintings, which resemble marble cladding and architectural elements including columns, pilasters, and decorated cornices.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Knotty Network Could Have Powered Universe’s Early Growth Spurt
It’s one of life’s minor irritants, but it could explain why we’re here. Next time the cable for your headphones ends up in a tangled mess, take a closer look before straightening it out — knottiness might explain the early expansion of the universe, along with why we live in three dimensions.
The universe is thought to have expanded rapidly just a fraction of a second after the big bang, undergoing a period of what physicists call inflation. The process helped generate the cosmic structure we see today.
Arjun Berera of the University of Edinburgh, UK, and his colleagues have come up with a new source for inflation that would also explain why the universe has three spatial dimensions. They say the early universe was flooded with particles resembling gluons — the force-carriers responsible for sticking quarks together to form protons and neutrons. As the universe cooled, stringy objects called flux tubes formed between these particles.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Madrid Terrorist Suspect Ran ISIS Cell Planning Massacres in Spain
A 26-year-old who called himself “Salami Jihadi” is accused of running an Islamic State recruitment network that wanted to “carry out massacres and create a climate of mass panic and instability” in Spain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Neanderthal Cave Featured Hot Water, One Bedroom
Some 10,000 Neanderthal artifacts, hearths, and a sleeping area have been found this month at Abric Romaní, an archaeological site in the Catalonia region of Spain. Archaeologists from The Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) found a hole among the hearths and heated rocks near a wall of the rockshelter that may have been used to heat water some 60,000 years ago. Other artifacts from this level of the cave suggests that the Neanderthal inhabitants used different parts of the cave for butchering game, tool knapping, and trash disposal. An area in the inner part of the rockshelter is thought to have been used for sleeping because it had a lower density of artifacts. The researchers say that this is the first time that a sleeping area has been identified at a Neanderthal site.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands Should Move to End ‘Black Pete’ Stereotypes, UN Says
The Dutch state should actively work to end the negative racial stereotypes in the portrayal of “Black Pete,” the infamous black-faced helper to the national version of St. Nicholas, a United Nations committee said Friday.
Long controversial, Black Pete has increasingly been the target of international scrutiny, especially since a UN report two years ago questioned whether the depiction of the character, who appears all over the Netherlands for nearly a month in the run-up to the national St. Nicholas holiday, is racist. Last year, almost 100 people were arrested for protesting at a nationally televised parade.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Next-Generation X-Ray Source Fires Up
Swedish synchrotron promises to open up new avenues for researchers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Radar Image ‘Almost Certainly Nazi Train’
A Polish official says ground-penetrating radar images have left him “99% convinced” that a World War Two German military train is buried near the south-western city of Walbrzych.
Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said images appeared to show a train equipped with gun turrets.
Local legend says a Nazi train filled with gold, gems and guns went missing near the city in 1945.
Mr Zuchowski called the latest evidence an “exceptional” discovery.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists Send Kombucha to Space in Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Kombucha, a fizzy, fermented tea and trendy new favorite of hipsters and health nuts everywhere, has reached stellar heights as part of an experiment on the International Space Station.
Scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) have placed the same bacteria and yeasts used to make Kombucha tea on the outside of the orbiting laboratory to see how the organisms fare in the unprotected environment of space.
The Kombucha experiment is one in a series of “Expose” studies run by ESA to find out if multicellular biofilms — a community of microorganisms that can stick together on a surface — can survive in the unshielded environment above Earth’s atmosphere.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Special Trains for Chinese Tourists
A mountain resort in Switzerland is launching special train services for Chinese tourists to defuse tensions with other visitors, it is reported.
Noisy throngs of Chinese tourists disturb those who visit Mount Rigi in the Alps in search of peace and relaxation, reports the Swiss newspaper Blick.
They crowd the corridors while taking pictures from the train, there has been rudeness in packed carriages, and some even report seeing tourists spit on the floor, the paper says. Visitors from Asia have helped to bring the struggling local railway company back on track, but, according to its chief Peter Pfenniger, “their strong presence is a challenge”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Text Messages to Warn Swedes of Terror Attacks
The Swedish government wants to step up its fight against terror with a new strategy that includes warning civilians to stay away from certain geographical areas via text message.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Top Scientist Who Exposed GMO Now Silenced by Biotech
Along with many other censored researchers.
“If I had the choice, I certainly wouldn’t eat it,” said scientist Arpad Pustazai in an interview conducted after his study of GMOs.
Have you heard his name before? Likely not, since biotech made an example of him in 1998, launching an attack against any scientist that exposed just how toxic GM crops truly are. What did Pustazai find when he conducted trials on animals given genetically modified food? Read on to find out what Monsanto has suppressed for decades.
Dr. Pustazai’s comments about GMOs were aired on British television in the summer of 1998, and they were a viral flame that biotech decided to hose down as fast as they could. Dr. Pustazai has credentials as a world-renowned expert on food safety. He worked at one of the UK’s leading food safety research labs, the Rowett institute. The scientist has more than 300 articles to his credit, as well as three books. Nonetheless, just a few days after his public statement, he was suspended and gagged by the research institute where he worked.
Dr. Pustazai’s curriculum vitae is what afforded him a $3 million grant by the UK government to study GMOs. Dr. Pustazai was possibly the first, if not a primary scientist to point out that GM food was not at all substantially equivalent to non-GM foods.
He also pointed out that the testing procedures employed by the UK, and incidentally, this is true for the US as well, were inadequate to determine toxicity due to the short durations used. He said that this only ‘superficially’’ tested foods, and only longer-term studies would reveal their true detriment to human and animal health.
The biotech industry set out to make Dr. Pustazai look like a senile idiot, but what he found in his own longer-term studies was extremely telling. Later, 24 additional scientists in countries around the world confirmed Pustazai’s findings to be true.
[Comment: GMO = slow-kill depopulation agenda. Force GMO on public with known side effects all the while raking in tons of money in pharmaceuticals to “treat” the symptoms of GMO poisoning.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: MP Wes Streeting Condemns “Anti-Muslim’ Attack on Woodford Green Islamic Centre
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting has spoken out against vandalism on a Woodford Green faith centre, saying it appears “to be fuelled by anti-Muslim hatred”.
Police are investigating after the Woodford Muslim Cultural Centre, in Snakes Lane East, had a brick thrown through its window late on Monday night.
Previous incidents against the centre include the word “bacon’ reportedly being daubed on the door, and a note saying: “A mosque is not wanted in Woodford. The rivers of blood are close to overflowing.”
Mr Streeting said: “There can be no excuses for this appalling act of vandalism and I hope that the police investigation finds those responsible so that they can face the full force of the law.
“This attack follows other reported incidents at the centre that appear to have been fuelled by anti-Muslim hatred.
“The harmony of our diverse community is something that is widely cherished and I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of residents will be appalled by these incidents.”
The Labour MP said he was organising a meeting with the Metropolitan Police, anti-Muslim violence awareness group Tell MAMA and local community groups.
In a statement online Redbridge Council leader Cllr Jas Athwal said: “There is no excuse for violence, in any form, and this, alongside reports of other anti-Muslim incidents at the centre are truly despicable.
“They are pure and simply hate crimes — mindless acts of violence and threats against a centre because of its religion.”
The centre has been unpopular with residents as it acrimoniously gained planning permission in July, after previously being rejected, following an appeal decision by an independent planning inspector.
| — Hat tip: Margita | [Return to headlines] |
Utøya Survivor to Sue Norway Over Citizenship
An Utøya survivor who lost a brother in the shooting is suing Norway for withdrawing his citizenship because his parents lied about their nationality, his lawyer said on Friday.
Mubarak Haji Ahmed, who arrived in Norway at the age of 10 and is now 23, has twice had his case rejected by Norwegian authorities.
His family, originally from Djibouti, lied to obtain the right to stay in Norway, claiming they were Somalian. Ahmed later obtained Norwegian citizenship.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Set to Receive Ka-52 Attack Helicopters
Gareth Jennings, London — IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly
Egypt is set to receive about 50 Ka-52 attack helicopters, to be delivered between 2016 and 2019. Source: Russian Helicopters
Egypt is to receive about 50 Kamov Ka-52 ‘Hokum-B’ attack helicopters before the end of the decade, a company report has disclosed.
The report by the Research and Production Corporation Precision Instrumentation Systems (JSC SPC CPR) company, which is developing the helicopter’s new ECO-52 electro-optic (EO) sensor turret system, reveals that 50 of the turrets are to be delivered to Egypt between 2016 and 2019.
While each Ka-52 helicopter is to be equipped with one ECO-52 turret in place of the incumbent GOES-451 sensor, the report posted online on 25 August does not say if the stated 50 is the exact number of helicopters to be equipped or if (as is likely) it includes spare turrets.
No further details were released.
Operated by the Russian Air Force and set to enter service with the Russian Navy, the co-axial Ka-52 (Ka-52K in naval service) is largely based on the single-seat Ka-50 ‘Hokum’ (named Black Shark/Werewolf by Kamov). With both the Ka-50 and Ka-52 sharing an 85% common airframe, the principal differences are a redesigned frontal fuselage on the Ka-52 to accommodate two crew side by side and a flattened nose for additional avionics (hence the helicopter’s company moniker of ‘Alligator’).
Designed to engage and destroy armoured and non-armoured ground targets, as well as low-speed aerial targets, the Ka-50/52 can also be used as an armed reconnaissance platform. The helicopters is fitted with four underwing hardpoints for carrying a wide range of weaponry, including 80/120 mm air-to-surface rockets, 9A4172 Vikhr-M (AT-12) laser-guided air-to-surface missiles, Igla or R-73 (AA-11 ‘Archer’) air-to-air missiles, Kh-25MP (AS-12 ‘Kegler’) anti-radiation missiles, FAB-500 bombs, and/or dispenser weapons. It is also equipped with a single-barrel 30 mm 2A42 gun mounted on the starboard side of the fuselage, with up to 240 armour-piercing or high-explosive fragmentation rounds.
Specifications listed in IHS Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft: In Service give the Ka-52 a maximum take-off weight of 11,900 kg, a service ceiling of 18,040 ft (12,800 ft in the hover), a top-speed of 189 kt (350 km/h; 217 mph), and range of 248 n miles (459 km; 285 miles).
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Court Issues Preliminary Death Sentence to 12 is Supporters for Violent Crimes
An Egyptian court sentenced 12 alleged Islamic State sympathisers to death on Thursday after convicting them of plotting attacks against police and troops in Egypt.
A key defendant in the case, Khaled Maghawry, is accused of “recruiting youths and sending them to Syria and Iraq to receive training (on jihadism) and how to use weapons.”
Six of the defendants are being tried in absentia while the rest are behind bars.
The court convicted them of “carrying out attacks on police and the military in Egypt” and joining the Islamic State group, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq and is expanding its presence in Libya.
Under Egyptian law, capital cases should be forwarded to the grand mufti, one of the country’s most senior figures, for consultation. His opinion, however, is not binding.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
One Rocket a Month Since Hamas ‘Ceasefire’
Figures show 12 rockets have hit Israeli sovereign territory 1 year since last summer’s ‘truce,’ many more fired but didn’t clear border.
This Thursday marked a full year since a ceasefire was sealed between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization last August 27, bringing Operation Protective Edge to a close — but the ceasefire has been anything but quiet.
Gaza terrorists marked a year since the end of Hamas’s third terror war seeking to destroy Israel by firing a rocket on Wednesday night, giving an ironic edge to the anniversary of the “ceasefire.” The IDF responded by hitting a Hamas weapons manufacturing site.
But Wednesday’s attack was far from the first Gazan breach of the ceasefire.
A review of official IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA) figures released by Channel 2 on Friday shows that no less than 12 rockets have been fired into Israeli sovereign territory from Gaza since the truce.
That figure doesn’t include the many dozens of rockets fired at Israel that didn’t make it over the security border, falling short within Gaza. Just earlier this month alone three such rockets fell in Gaza, landing short of their mark.
Twelve rockets since the ceasefire works out to an average of one rocket a month hitting Israel since the ceasefire. No more than three months went by without a Gazan rocket striking Israeli territory; fortunately, no one was wounded in any of the ongoing rocket fire.[…]
[An article like this cannot put across what it is like to be in the target zone, each time a rocket is fired, men women and especially children cringe because all of us have seen what happens if one of these devices is on target. Each of thes missiles was/is a WAR CRIME, but the institutionalized anti-Semitism of orgnisations like the UN and ICC means that ‘Jewish lives don’t matter’.]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
David Cameron Takes the War Against ISIL Onto Twitter
David Cameron has taken the war against the so-called Islamic State onto Twitter with a new account entitled ‘UK Against ISIL.’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Explosion in Bahrain Kills Police Officer, Wounds 7 Others
An explosion in Bahrain has killed one police officer and wounded seven other people, among them a child, the country’s Interior Ministry said late Friday.
The explosion took place west of the capital, Manama, in a predominantly Shiite village called Karanah.
The explosion, described by the ministry as a “terrorist blast,” wounded four policemen as well as a married couple and their child. The statement did not disclose further details on the location or target of the explosion.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Huckabee: The Staggering Stupidity of Iranian Self-Inspections
By Mike Huckabee
Fresh off a golf vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama is back to doling out disparaging dialogue about critics of his Iran nuclear deal. Even now, after learning that the deal includes trusting Iran to self-inspect, the president calls opponents “crazies.” What’s crazy, is putting trust in the hands of Iranian leaders.
They say when the cat’s away, the mice will play. But when America abdicates its leadership role in the world, the rats run riot. President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran is a rat ship.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Premieres Top-Budget Epic Film ‘Muhammad’
Iran’s most expensive ever movie, “Muhammad”, which chronicles the childhood of the Muslim prophet, opened nationwide on Thursday, winning praise from early audiences.
Directed by Majid Majidi, the 171-minute, visually stunning film cost around $40 million (36 million euros), partly funded by the state, and took more than seven years to complete.
Majidi has said the aim of his work, the first part of a trilogy, is to reclaim the rightful image of Islam, which he said extremists have wrongly made violent.
“Muhammad,” which captures Saudi Arabia more than 1,400 years ago, offers much more than stereotypical trains of Arabs on camels riding across yellow sand dunes.
It takes cinemagoers from the miraculous birth of the future prophet up to his teenage years, and is packed with miracles. The crew of “Muhammad” is indicative of the film’s ambition.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon Garbage Protests Highlight a Country Rotting From the Inside
To the casual visitor, Lebanon may seem like a tiny slice of Mediterranean modernity and coexistence in a turbulent region plagued by violence and extremism.
But for many Lebanese, it’s a rotting state eaten away by a political class that has long used the country’s sectarian power-sharing system to perpetuate corruption and nepotism.
And while recent protests over uncollected trash have challenged an arrangement almost universally denounced by Lebanese, they also can’t seem to shake it. Many argue that system is what has allowed the country of 4.5 million people from 18 recognized and often rival sects to survive.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Opposition: 100,000 Displaced in South-East Violence
Amid curfew and militarized areas after end of truce with PKK
(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, AUGUST 27 — Almost 100,000 residents of south-east Turkey have been forced to abandon their homes due to emergency measures taken by Ankara’s government due to violent clashes between security forces and Kurdish PKK militants, Levent Gok, former deputy whip of leading opposition Social democratic party Chp, told Zaman daily.
According to data provided by Gok, about 100 areas across 15 provinces in the east and south-east have been declared “temporary military security zones”, after a truce with Kurdish PKK ended in July. The truce had been in place since 2013.
These security measures decided by the executive or local governors can last for a period ranging from 15 days to six months, an indefinite time forcing residents to leave their homes in order not to end up in the middle of clashes. According to the Chp, the situation reproduces the macro-region Ohal in south-east Turkey which was governed with an emergency legislation from 1987 until 2002.
Thousands of people moreover left their homes during ceasefires imposed in various districts including Silvan, Semdinli, Varto and Yuksekova.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Will a Turkish Border Deal Block IS Recruits?
By Frank Gardner
Fifteen months after the jihadists of so-called “Islamic State” overran Mosul and announced their controversial “caliphate”, measures are in train that could seriously disrupt their supply of recruits.
In co-ordination with Washington and other NATO allies, Turkey is now considering imposing a buffer zone along part of its 700-mile common border with Syria.
The stated aim is to deny access by would-be jihadists to IS-controlled areas of northern Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Juncker Promises Ukraine Visa-Free Travel
Jean-Claude Juncker has said he’ll back EU visa-free travel for Ukrainians by the end of the year, despite the political climate on migration. The European Commmission president made the announcement alongside Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko in Brussels on Thursday (26 August).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India Census: Muslims Grew Faster Than Hindus But Less Than Christians
Census data covering 2001-2011 show Muslims increased by 0.8 per cent whilst Hindus rose 0.7 per cent. Muslims and Hindus are 172 million and 966 million respectively out of a total of a population of 1.2 billion. Christians make up 2.3 per cent of the population, but grew by 15.5 per cent.
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) — For the first time, India’s Muslims are growing faster than Hindus. More significantly, Christians grew faster than both, this despite numerous attacks against the community, including the pogroms in Kandhamal in 2008, whose anniversary was commemorated yesterday.
The Registrar General of India yesterday released the 2011 Census data for religious groups. During the period under consideration (2001-2011), Muslims increased by 0.8 per cent, from 138 million to 172.2 million, or from 13.43 per cent to 14.23 per cent of the total population.
The Hindu community grew by 0.7 per cent. For the first time in the history of the world’s largest Hindu nation, the Hindu proportion of the population dropped below 80 per cent (79.8 per cent) for a total of 966.3 million out of 1.211 billion people.
Except for Madhya Pradesh, the increase in the Muslim population in all big states — Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — remained above the national average of 24.6 per cent.
By comparison, Christians grew by 15.5 per cent and now represent 2.3 per cent of the total population at 27.8 million. The Sikh population stood at 20.8 million (1.7 per cent), Buddhists are 8.4 million (0.7 per cent), and Jains are 4.5 million (0.4).
Whilst there has been no significant change in the proportion of Christians and Jains, that of Sikhs has declined by 0.2 percentage point and of Buddhists by 0.1 percentage point during the decade.
It is important to note that, despite anti-Christian persecution and several attacks on churches by Hindu radicals, the average growth rate of the Christian community (15.5 per cent) over the same period tops that of Muslims and comes close to that of Hindus (16.8 per cent).
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Why Pakistan’s Nuclear Obsession is Reason for Concern
A new report indicates that Pakistan is rapidly increasing its nuclear stockpile. Keeping in mind the country’s proliferation record and terrorism threat, its nuclear obsession should be a worrying trend, say experts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hong Kong Government’s Vendetta Against Students and Occupy Central Founders
Three student leaders — Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and Alex Chow — have been accused of unlawful assembly and inciting others to take part in. Benny Tai, Robert Chung, and Daniel Chua have been accused of receiving anonymous donations to promote pro-democracy referendum, and conducting public opinion studies on the matter.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) — Police have charged three student leaders in last year’s Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong with unlawful assembly. Occupy Central founder Benny Tai and two other professors face a temporary professional ban or even dismissal for receiving funds for and conducting research on pro-democracy referendum.
For many, this is a vendetta by Hong Kong and mainland authorities against the ‘umbrella movement’. For 79 days beginning on 26 September, protesters held peaceful sit-ins in central Hong Kong, an event seen by many as a revival of Hong Kongers’ sense of political and civic duty, especially among young people.
The three student leaders — Scholarism leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Federation of Students secretary general Nathan Law Kwun-Chung and his predecessor Alex Chow Yong-kang — went to police headquarters in Wan Chai this morning to hear the charges, which include taking part and inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly.
The trio are due in court on 2 September. It is not known whether they will plead guilty or not. However, this morning, about 100 activists gathered outside police headquarters to show their support for the three.
The peaceful occupation of the Admiralty and other parts of the city was the response to yet another attempt by Beijing to deny Hong Kong full democracy.
The Occupy movement, which goes back a while, sought to raise awareness among Hong Kongers about the value of democracy through political training, debates, and discussions. Both Catholics and Protestants played a role in it.
Successful actions included a referendum to determine the best way to elect the chief executive. The latter was a success with the participation of about 800,000 people.
For their part, Benny Tai and two other HKU professors were targeted because of the work on referendum
The HKU governing council has accused Tai of receiving funds from anonymous donors rather than registered sponsors to organise the referendum.
Together with HKU Public Opinion Programme director Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, and Prof Daniel Chua, who did research on the referendum, Tai risks a three-year ban on assuming managerial posts.
For some, this is a way for him to avoid the risk of dismissal, which some Beijing loyalists had wanted.
Beijing has often accused the Occupy movement of being “sponsored” by foreigners. The charge of “anonymous donations” follows the same line.
The three defendants have countered such allegations, saying that anonymous donations are just an example of philanthropy, which is very different from sponsorships that might entail some conditions favourable to the sponsor.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kim Jong UN Fires Top Military Officials After Standoff With South Korea Eases
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed several top officials in the wake of a recent standoff with South Korea, state media reported Friday, in personnel changes that suggest that Kim was holding them responsible for the confrontation that developed in a way that he did not expect.
The rival Koreas earlier this week threatened strikes against each other before agreeing on measures to reduce animosity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UN Warns South Sudan Rivals That it Will Impose Sanctions if Peace Deal Isn’t Implemented
The U.N. Security Council is warning South Sudan’s feuding president and ex-vice president that it is ready to impose an arms embargo and sanctions if they don’t immediately stop fighting and implement a new peace agreement.
A presidential statement approved Friday was aimed especially at President Salva Kiir, who signed the deal Wednesday with reservations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cocaine Production Plummets After Dea Kicked Out of Bolivia
Bolivia — After the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was kicked out of Bolivia, the country was able to drastically reduce the amount of coca (cocaine) produced within its borders. According to data released by the United Nations, cocaine production in the country declined by 11% in the past year, marking the fourth year in a row of steady decrease.
It was just seven years ago that the DEA left Bolivia — and only three years after that, progress was finally made. The strategy employed by the Bolivian government may be a surprise to many prohibitionists because it did not involve any strong-arm police state tactics. Instead, they worked to find alternative crops for farmers to grow that would actually make them more money.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Bishop Accused of Pedophilia Dies
Jozef Wesolowski was on trial in Vatican for child sex abuse
(ANSA) — Vatican City, August 28 — The former papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic and former archbishop Jozef Wesolowski died Thursday night in the Vatican, ANSA learned Friday. The Vatican later confirmed the death, saying it was most probably from natural causes and that results of an autopsy will be made known as soon as possible.
A Vatican canon law tribunal defrocked the Polish ex-prelate, who was 66 at the time, in June 2014 after finding him guilty of child abuse. The Vatican arrested Wesolowski last September, after Pope Francis gave the green light, and put him on trial for paying for sex with minors while he was a Vatican ambassador in Santo Domingo as well as possession of child pornography.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Luis Fleischman: What’s Next as Brazil Faces a Government Crisis?
The Brazilian government is now in the midst of its worst crisis of confidence since 2003.
The government has been the object of protests from large sectors of civil society but mostly from the middle class. The protests stem from Brazil’s now unstable economic situation as well as a major scandal involving bribery of politicians connected to the Brazilian state owned oil giant, Petrobras. A massive corruption scheme at Petrobras saw billions being paid in bribes through inflated contracts and kickbacks to politicians, entrepreneurs and Petrobras executives. The Petrobras scandal involves more than 20 big companies and more than 50 politicians, most of them from the ruling coalition led by the Workers Party (PT).
It has been reported that on August 9th close to 800,000 people took to the streets in 15 Brazilian states demanding, among other things, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff who was reelected last October. But mega-corruption is not the only problem. Inflation is now up to 9 % and unemployment is on the rise. Likewise, public debt increased dramatically and the gross domestic product is in a state of recession, having contracted to negative growth of 0.1%.
According to polls, more than 60 percent of the Brazilian population supports impeachment against the President. The president currently has no more than 7 percent support among the population. Furthermore, two political parties that are part of the ruling coalition, the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) and the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) announced that they will no longer support Rousseff in Congress. Both parties have 46 representatives in the lower House and 10 % of the entire Congress. Their withdrawal could result in a serious blow for Ms. Rousseff and the 12-year domination of her ruling Workers Party. The Brazilian justice system is now investigating whether part of the Petrobras scheme also served as a mechanism to provide undeclared funds to the Workers Party electoral campaign, including the presidential one. It is estimated that the Petrobras corruption scandal involved embezzlement of 10 billion dollars.
The crisis that the country is experiencing is aggravated by the fact that it seems to involve not only government members but also members of the opposition including Rousseff’s chief adversary and speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha and Senator Fernando Collor de Melo who is also a former President, impeached in 1992 over campaign finance violations…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
2000 Refugees a Day Cross Into Macedonia
A small town on Macedonia’s border with Greece is stretched to the limit as large numbers of migrants arrive on foot, seeking to progress toward richer states in the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
300,000 Refugees Crossed Med, 2,500 Died Says UNHCR
Two-thirds landed in Greece, one third in Italy
(ANSA)- Geneva, August 28 — The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday more than 300,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean in an effort to reach Europe and 2,500 have died or gone missing in the attempt since the year began.
Of these, 200,000 reached Greece and 110,000 reached Italy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Rights Expert: ‘Border Fences Ineffective’
An Austrian human rights expert has said that border fences against asylum seekers like those being installed by Hungary are “ineffective” and only have a symbolic effect.
Human rights expert at the University of Graz Wolfgang Benedek has said efforts to better protect border does not help the situation and instead calls for openness towards asylum seekers.
“The question about better protection at the borders does not help. The Hungarians will see that the fence that they plan to build there has mainly just a symbolic meaning.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Refugee Council Head Warns of Armageddon Scenario Facing Europe
The secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council calls for new ways to tackle the situation
The current refugee crisis could lead to total collapse of European society, worries Andreas Kamm, the secretary general of Dansk Flygtningehjælp (Danish Refugee Council).
While the numbers of refugees and migrants seeking asylum in Europe are historically high, political institutions handling the flow of refugees are under increased pressure.
Kamm believes the European community is facing “an outright Armageddon scenario”.
“We are experiencing a historical imbalance between the very high numbers of refugees and migrants and the global capacity to provide them with protection and assistance,” Kamm told Jyllands-Posten.
“We are running the risk that conflicts between the migrants and local populations will go awry and escalate.”
Kamm estimates the current stream of refugees represents a permanent challenge and calls for new ways to address and solve the problems.
“We cannot be required to destroy our own society,” Kamm stated.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Free Movement Put Into Question at Vienna Summit
EU politicians are threatening to dismantle the bloc’s free-movement rights amid calls to revamp asylum rules, due to the surge in the number of people seeking refuge in Europe.
On Thursday (27 August), the bodies of up to 50 people, who had suffocated, were found in the back of a refrigerated food truck on the outskirts of Vienna.
News of the tragedy came the same day EU and Western Balkan leaders and ministers met in the Austrian capital for a summit on migration issues.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The city of Izmir on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast has long been known as a tourist destination. But now people fleeing Syria’s civil war are using it as a staging post on their journey to Europe and providing shopkeepers with an unmissable business opportunity, reports the BBC’s Manveen Rana.
Tourists have always flocked to Izmir, drawn by the ancient ruins and the beauty of the Aegean coast. But now the city is attracting hordes of people for a very different reason: it is fast becoming one of the largest hubs for smuggling people into Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Asks Facebook to Remove ‘Racist’ Anti-Migrant Posts
Germany is calling on Facebook to remove “xenophobic and racist” anti-migrant posts from its website and apps.
Heiko Maas, the German justice minister, has written to the company to demand an urgent review of its policy over hate messages.
“Photos of certain body parts are automatically deleted because of moral concerns, yet racist and xenophobic statements aren’t immediately removed,” Mr Maas wrote.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Rescues 665 Migrants Off Its Islands
Greece’s coast guard says it has rescued 665 migrants at sea in 20 search-and-rescue operations off the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Agathonissi, Kos and Megisti in the 24 hours from Thursday morning to Friday morning.
The figures do not include the hundreds more who reach the islands’ shores from the nearby Turkish coast each day, most of them using inflatable dinghies. The vast majority of those arriving in Greece are Syrian and Afghan refugees.
The migrants pouring into Greece are hoping to travel north via the Balkans and apply for asylum in wealthy European Union nations like Germany, Austria or Sweden. Greece, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary have been overwhelmed this summer by the tens of thousands of migrants traveling through their countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Muslim Mayor Refuses to Take in Refugees
A Muslim mayor in the Tuscan seaside community of Monte Argentario has provoked a political outcry for refusing to accept any refugees.
Centre-right mayor Arturo Cerulli has openly rejected growing political pressure for councils to do more to welcome the thousands of asylum seekers landing in Italy and help to ease the worsening refugee crisis.
“We don’t want refugees here, we don’t have the facilities for them,” Cerulli told The Local on Friday. “We don’t know where to put them, we don’t know what to do with them.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mediterranean Migrant Crossings Top 300,000 in 2015, Says UN
The number of refugees and migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe has soared past 300,000 this year, and some 2,500 more have died trying, the UN said Friday.
Nearly 200,000 people had landed in Greece since January, while another 110,000 had made it to Italy, UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said, compared to some 219,000 last year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mexico Warns Texas Not to Deny Illegals Birth Certificates
(Fox News) The Mexican government is warning that Texas’ denial of birth certificates for U.S. children born here to undocumented immigrants stands to imperil the relationship between Mexico and the Lone Star State.
The concern was raised in an amicus brief filed Monday evening to lend support to immigrants parents who sued Texas after being denied birth certificates for their U.S.-born children, even after showing their “ matrí culas,” the ID cards issued by the Mexican consulate to undocumented immigrants.
Mexico says the practice stands in stark contrast to the historical practice among countries to accept passports or other forms of ID to issue birth certificates.
[Comment: According to Mexico’s own laws, any child of a Mexican citizen is automatically a Mexican citizen regardless of where he/she is born. Check out Mexico’s own laws on this and its laws on illegal immigrants. Very sensible and stringent. US should follow Mexico’s example.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mexico Warns Texas Not to Refuse Its Immigrants’ Babies U.S. Birth Certificates
The Mexican government is warning that Texas’ denial of birth certificates for U.S. children born here to undocumented immigrants stands to imperil the relationship between Mexico and the Lone Star State.
The concern was raised in an amicus brief filed Monday evening to lend support to immigrants parents who sued Texas after being denied birth certificates for their U.S.-born children, even after showing their “matrículas,” the ID cards issued by the Mexican Consulate to undocumented immigrants.
Mexico says the practice stands in stark contrast to the historical practice among countries to accept passports or other forms of ID to issue birth certificates.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Crisis: Four Arrests Over Austria Lorry Deaths
Hungarian police say they have arrested four people over the discovery of the bodies of 71 migrants, thought to be Syrian, in a lorry in Austria.
Three of those arrested are Bulgarian and one is Afghan.
The victims included 59 men, eight women and four children who are thought to have been dead for about two days.
The decomposing bodies were discovered by Austrian police on Thursday morning in the abandoned lorry, near the Hungarian border.
Officials said the victims probably died after suffocating in the vehicle.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 300,000 Refugees Crossed Mediterranean in 2015
UN data show that more than 300,000 refugees have tried to reach Europe so far this year. Some 2,500 have died or gone missing in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Ready to Help EU Navies on Sea Migrants, If Asked
Nato remains ready to help clamp down on migrant smugglers in the Mediterranean, as plans to expand the EU’s naval military operation get under way.
A Nato official told this website on Thursday (27 August) the alliance remains “ready to help if there is a request” made by the European Union.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Minister Urges Mayors to Find Homes for New Refugees
The Dutch cabinet has allocated an extra €58.5m to take care of refugees outside Europe and is urging councils to find more beds and houses to accommodate those who make it to the Netherlands, the Volkskrant says on Friday. The influx of refugees from war zones like Syria and Iraq is so great that extra capacity is needed in the short term, ministers say. The Netherlands is one of the EU countries which has agreed to take extra refugees under a scheme designed to ease the burden on Greece and Italy. Junior immigration minister Klaas Dijkhoff tells the Volkskrant in an interview to be published on Saturday that he has been personally phoning local mayors urging them to help.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police Say 71 Migrants Suffocated to Death in Food Truck, 3 Suspects Arrested
Police arrested several people believed to be part of a human smuggling operation in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants who likely suffocated in a refrigerated truck found abandoned on Austria’s main highway, law enforcement officials said Friday.
Austrian police said three people had been arrested while their Hungarian counterparts said four were in detention. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
This year has seen tens of thousands of people risking everything to seek a better life or refuge in wealthy European countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Report Confirms Rising Number of Immigrants
Immigration is continuing to drive Switzerland’s growth in population, which rose by almost 100,000 to more than 8.2 million by the end of 2014, official government figures confirm.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Destabilization used to push a clash of civilizations.
Illegal Muslim refugee trafficking is now creating chaos at the Greece-Macedonia border and the constant flood of boats arriving from Libya reveal a network that uses structured routes that seem unstoppable as they generate money for the mafia and the terrorist organizations involved like ISIS.
This scenario seems to fit perfectly with a secret plan of the New World Order known as the Coudenhove-Kalergi Plan that some people in European right-wing circles say was created for the systematic genocide of the people of Europe.
[Comment: This plan is being implemented right now in ALL western nations via migration.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK Net Migration Hits Record High
Net migration to the UK is at an all-time high, reaching 330,000 in the year to March, the Office for National Statistics has said.
The figure — the difference between the number entering the country and those leaving — is more than three times higher than the government’s target.
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire called the rise “deeply disappointing”.
Figures also show 8.3m people were born abroad — 13% of the UK population — the first time the number has passed 8m.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the “figures reflect ‘Borderless Britain’ and total impotence of the British government” and called on the prime minister to negotiate controls on migration from EU countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police have arrested 27 suspected illegal immigrants who were found inside a lorry at a motorway service station today.
Surrey Police said the discovery was made at Cobham Services between junctions 9 and 10 on the M25 at around 10.50am.
Officers detained the group — which appears to consist mainly of men — as well as the lorry driver.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of Agana, Guam has posted a message on his archdiocesean website stating that the “true intention” behind the push for same-sex marriage “has always been about the destruction of the family and the imposition of a totalitarian system.”
The archbishop also predicted the next step in the process would be to use the education system so “that our children, your children, will be forced to assimilate to this pattern of non-gender.”
“It is important to understand that the political pressure to push the agenda for same sex ‘marriage’ has never been about gay rights; the true intention behind this agenda has always been about the destruction of the family, and the imposition of a totalitarian system,“ Archbishop Apuron said. (Bold in the original.)
“The next step will be to implement this theory in the educational system of Guam,” said the archbishop. “This means that our children, your children, will be forced to assimilate to this pattern of non-gender; that there is no-such-thing as ‘male’ or ‘female’; they will be encouraged to explore their sexuality earlier, and parents will have no voice in the education of their children.”
[Comment: He speaks the truth.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Rutgers University Warns Students — “There is No Such Thing as Free Speech”
Ironically, U.S. college campuses are rapidly becoming the least free, most censored places in the country. Many people have commented on this, including high profile, enormously talented comedians such as Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. In fact, Chris Rock was so appalled that he stopped playing colleges because audiences had become “too conservative” Before getting all bent out of shape, this is what he meant:
Not in their political views — not like they’re voting Republican — but in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody. Kids raised on a culture of “We’re not going to keep score in the game because we don’t want anybody to lose.” Or just ignoring race to a fault. You can’t say “the black kid over there.” No, it’s “the guy with the red shoes.” You can’t even be offensive on your way to being inoffensive.
Although I’ve touched upon this subject before, I haven’t given it nearly the amount of attention it deserves. That said, I would suggest rereading a powerful post published earlier this summer, A Professor Speaks Out — How Coddled, Hyper Sensitive Undergrads are Ruining College Learning. Here’s an excerpt:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Sister Wives’ Family Cites Gay Marriage Ruling in Polygamy Case
SALT LAKE CITY — A polygamous family says the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage shows that laws restricting consensual adult relationships are outdated, even if certain unions are unpopular.
Kody Brown and his four wives argue in court documents that their reality TV show “Sister Wives” shows polygamous marriages can be as healthy as monogamous ones.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican Denies Encouraging Gender Theory With Author Letter
Missive to Francesca Pardi ‘was supposed to remain private’
(ANSA) — Vatican City, August 28 — The Vatican on Friday denied encouraging gender theory via a letter from Pope Francis to an author who writes about gay marriage.
“In no way does the letter from the Secretariate of State mean to endorse behaviour and teachings not in line with the Gospel,” the Vatican press office said.
It said the letter to Francesca Pardi, in response to a letter from her to the pope after Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro banned ‘gay’ books from the city’s schools, was meant to remain private, something which “unfortunately did not happen”. Pardi published the letter as a sign, she said, that things were changing in the Catholic Church, whose doctrine considers homosexuality a disorder and denies sacraments to sexually active gays.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
HIV-Related Virus Has Existed in Primates for Millions of Years
Viruses related to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have infected Old World monkeys as far back as 16 million years ago, according to a new study. The research provides insight into how monkeys evolved and adapted to the simian version of HIV, and why some viruses can jump from one species to another, researchers say.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
World Health Organization Only Requires 90 Days ‘Safety Testing’ On GMOs
Organization won’t test long-term effects.
[Comment: Check out the photos of mice/pigs fed GM grain on the net. Be prepared, the photos are shocking in the number of tumors mice gained. This is the same crap they want to feed to humnas. All part of the “slow-kill” depopulation agenda.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the “figures reflect ‘Borderless Britain’ and total impotence of the British government” and called on the prime minister to negotiate controls on migration from EU countries.
Farage still playing the laissez-faire good immigration, bad immigration game that points the finger at internal European immigration while ignoring the external Empire immigration that has swamped the UK with enrichers.
Guess the skyrocketing immigration numbers go over Nigel’s head and land at Heathrow arrivals as laissez-faire good immigration.
Whats up with all the serb hate?
NO! THE ONES TRAFFIKING THE 71 DEAD IN AUSTRIA WERE NOT SERBS,THEY WERE 3 BULGARIAN(i suspect bulgarian roma) AND 1 AFGHAN.
See for yourself using googletranslate
This is from the state official bulgarian tv
“четиримата задържани – трима българи и един афганистанец”
“the four detainees – 3 bulgarians and 1 afghani
http://bnt.bg/news/svyat/pred-ungarski-sa-d-byaha-izpraveni-chetirimata-zada-rzhani-zaradi-zaginalite-v-kamion-71-sirijtsi
from state official Serbian tv
http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/3/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD/2021379/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%92%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE+%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE+%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B8+%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%86+%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0+%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0+%D0%B7%D0%B0+%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D1%83%D0%BC%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B5.html
Since you wrote that and not one of your news contributors,please check your sources a bit thouroghly.
It would be a shame for such a good site(https://gatesofvienna.net) to to get discredited for containing false info.
Keep up the good work!
Sorry, that was my error. It was late at night, and I obviously got confused.
I’ve corrected it.
Baron, unfortunately SERB HATE is ingrained in the “news” media and their continued propaganda against the SERBS is still growing.
I respect your site and I know that YOU would never just assume the villains were Serbs due to your fairness to them over the years.
Sleepy and tired happens to me as well and I also miss some facts in news stories.
THANK YOU for correcting the article. Although not a Serb, I know quite a few former YUGOSLAVIAN SERBS in my city. Nice hardworking and religious people despite their years under the commies.
The SERBS and SerboCroats were the first victims of modern pro-Islam (Muslim Brotherhood) western aggression, we the supposed ‘good’ guys set about dismantling their countries at the behest of our Islamofascism paymasters.
It is an unforgivable war crime of immense proportion, which played citizens of all the NATO countries as stupid dupes, and thank-you to our wonderful MSM for selling the lies.
The SAUDIS own Bosnia now .Paying men to make their wives wear the black garbage bag look and to send their children to SAUDI radical schools.
Up in the hills where so many Serbs once lived in Bosnia, the Sunni radicals have moved into village after village and now run them with an iron Islamic hand.
It is absolutely incredible whatever the Hell is going on. I remember back in the 90’s when I first heard Clinton had bombed our very old and sad fast allies – the Serbs. American bombers taking off daily from bases in Italy to routinely 9 to 5 bomb the Serbian Capitol. This was so wrong and a great injustice. We were to experience some insight to Serbian concerns a few years later on 9/11. (Apparently we ignored the first go an the towers.) any Serbs I have bumped into I have found to honest and civilized by any western stand. Just the words ‘Muslim’ ‘Islam’ equates with dishonest victim liar. Surely we are not about to embrace the Muslim over the Christian Serb? Is the problem that Serbia is one of those pesky buffer zones?
‘Very old and steadfast allies…..’
I will eat my hat if they are NOT gentlemen of the Roma persuasion (a.k.a.gypsies).
Eugene, so far as I am concerned I still call them Gypsies.
>> Basically, critics of the rule had argued the regulation would give the EPA the power to regulate developments and other land activities next to even puddles of water — something the government derided as untrue. Critics also said the rule would result in costly compliance measures for developers, energy companies, businesses, farmers and ranchers and other private property owners — all denied by the government. <<
EPA Fines Man Millions For Pond He Built on His Property, Conservabyte.com, August 28, 2015
“A rancher is taking the Environmental Protection Agency to federal court, asking a judge to stop the agency from fining him more than $16 million because he built a small pond on his property.”
Absolute insanity!
On Mexico issuing a warning to Texas not to deny illegal immigrant children U.S. citizenship. Unbelievable! Invasion through intimidation – in future, another Alamo in the offing?
By Hilary Aked
“Islamophobic policies and rhetoric increasingly permeate everyday life in North America and Western Europe. Helping to shape this reality is a well-resourced and organised network of anti-Muslim think tanks, activists and journalists.”
I meant to respond to this yesterday but I had a migraine. Today I am a little bit the worse for drink after celebrating Portsmouth’s away win at Luton but I do have to ask, who the hell is Hilary Aked and, more important, who is funding her so called research?
I will look at this tomorrow when I can see straight.
It has been a few days since I first responded to the item on Hilary Aked’s article in last Sunday’s Newsfeed but, when I started trawling through the various references to her on Google and following them up I got so depressed that there were so many other creatures out there suffering from the same deluded mind warp that she exhibits, I felt like abandoning the whole exercise. Originally, I was going to do the sort of detailed analysis that I attempted for the scurrilous report by the loathsome Nick Lowles and his Hate not Hope team but, the more I found out about Hilary Aked, the more I realized that she was not worth the effort, so I’ll do a quick riposte instead.
The migraine of which I complained is relevant. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a copy of Marx and Engels’ ”Communist Manifesto” from Amazon which arrived last Saturday. Containing a mere 44 pages of narrative, I thought I would get through it in a couple of hours but I was mistaken. It was forbidding enough that the front cover contained photographs of both hirsute authors, who looked like two mad, malevolent mullahs, but the content also proved to be a challenge. What antagonized me most was the reluctance of either Marx or Engels to present any cogent, well-presented or reasoned argument to support what was little more than a convoluted list of unsubstantiated statements, many of which have subsequently been disproved. I bought the book for the same reason I bought the Observers Book of Reptiles before I left the UK, that is, to know my enemy but all I succeeded in doing was to reinforce my original view that “Left Wing” and “intellectual” should not be used in the same sentence.
All of which brings me back to Hilary Aked’s article which is just another crude leftist smear job, less voluminous than that of Nick Lowell but just as nasty. When I checked out Alternet, the website which published the item, I found it to be a left wing, anti-establishment site which was just the sort of place that would give space to someone like Aked.
She describes the Gatestone Institute as a “Notorious Islamophobic Think Tank” but like most of her article, this description is erroneous, slipshod and an indication that it was probably thrown together between BDS demonstrations and sourced from Wikipedia. On its own website, Gatestone describes itself as:-
“A non-partisan, not-for-profit international policy council and think tank dedicated to educating the public about what the mainstream media fails to report.” The organization believes that traditional news outlets conduct insufficient and, as a result, misleading reporting on critical issues, and thus it distributes its own information about events in the Middle East and Muslim populations in other parts of the world.
Hardly notorious or Islamophobic ,whatever that might mean and, as a regular reader, I would support their assessment. However, it is not what Aked says that is so patronizing and offensive but the melodramatic rhetoric she uses to illustrate her accusative hysteria. She uses a quote from one Max Blumenthal to pillory Gatestones founder and president, Nina Rosenwald as “The Sugar mama of anti-muslim hate,” and who is Max Blumenthal? Non other than a senior writer for Alternet, the publisher of this defamatory article. Convenient if nothing else and par for the course when it comes to Aked.
The remainder of her article is just one long smear of those leading lights in the CounterJihad of whom she is aware including Geert Wilders who she describes as “infamous” while the likes of Robert Spencer, Steven Emerson, David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Fjordman and Frank Gaffney get a mention albeit in a snide and condescending manner. Then we get the guilt by association with Breivik and her assumption that if Gatestone proceed in their current mode of “demonizing” islam, then this “can very easily serve as an incitement to attack against muslims (sic)” What about the almost daily attacks that muslims are making on non-muslims across the world? That obviously does not correspond to the leftist narrative.
The most objectionable part of the whole piece for me was Aked’s description of the excellent Giselle Littman (Bat Ye’or) as “the grandmother of contemporary anti-muslim pseudo intellectualism.” How dare she? Talk about people in glass houses. Aked surely is a participant in contemporary Jew hatred and as for ‘psuedo intellectualism’ she is a fine one to talk.
Her CV which appears at the end of almost every piece she has written, states:-
She is a London-based freelance writer and researcher, an NCTJ-qualified journalist and a PhD student at the University of Bath researching the pro-Israel lobby in the UK. She also writes for Spinwatch, Ceasefire, OpenDemocracy and Huffington Post. It is interesting to note that the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is described “as a self-appointed body which does not hold any statutory powers from central government, meaning students and those seeking to enter the media industry do not have to legally hold one of its qualifications to obtain work as a journalist. Indeed, many higher education providers have removed their courses from the NCTJ’s remit in recent years, causing the body’s value to be questioned.” In recent years, it’s most famous alumnus has been Piers Morgan.’
So far, she appears to have made a career out of promoting leftism and Jew hatred while anticipating the award of a PhD presumably to legitimise her extremist views. I recall she was heavily criticized on this website in January this year when she produced a clumsy attempt to discredit Ann-Marie Waters. She was referred to then as “far left” but I think that was too kind. The admirable writer and satirist PJ O’Rourke once described someone as being “a long way to the left of anything sensible” and I am sure he could have written something similar about Aked if he’d had any idea who she was. Unfortunately, I do not think we have heard the last of her.
On Archbishop Apuron:
I live in Guam and am a Catholic in this Archdiocese. And here are a few things you need to know about this statement.
1. The Archbishop did not write it. It was written by a member of the Neocatechumenal Way – of which the Archbishop is also a member – for the purposes of propping up the bishop and make him look good to Rome which is currently investigating him for some very serious improprieties which may eventually be deemed ecclesiastical crimes. Much of this is documented at http://www.junglewatch.info – a blog which averages nearly 7000 views per day and has accumulated nearly 4 million views in the last 2 years since we started documenting this bishop’s crimes against his own people.
2. This was written AFTER the local legislation criticized in the letter was already passed by the legislature. There were two bills. One advanced gender theory (called gender identity or expression) and the other advanced the legal recognition of same sex marriage by wiping out any gender specific reference in local laws. The Archbishop was entirely silent when the legislation was introduced. He did not oppose it when it would have mattered. The letter was only written when the junglewatch.info blog publicly criticized him for doing nothing. And since the Vatican is a frequent visitor to the site, the bishop’s supporters sprung into action to protect him.
3. The archbishop (actually the person who wrote this for him) condemns the local legislation but fails to call out the senators who supported it.
And here are few other facts about his diocese – a diocese he is absent from very often as he jets around the world spending time with his friends in the Neocatechumenal Way which – if you don’t know – has limited approval from Rome by virtue of the approval of a Statute in 2008, but regularly violates it in addition to teaching demonstrable heresies such as Jesus is a sinner. All of this can be documented at JungleWatch.info.
– Guam has the most liberal abortion laws in the nation which allow for the termination of nearly one out of ten pregnancies with more than 60% being Chamorro. (2012 Guam Medical Records)
– Guam has the highest divorce rate in the world (4.7 divorces per 1000 population, 2010 Guam Statistical Yearbook vs Russia 4.5 per 1000, 2011 United Nations Demographic Yearbook)
– Guam has the 14th highest suicide rate in the world and a rate 1.2 times the national average (2011 World Health Organization and A Profile of Suicide on Guam, September 2011)
– Guam has a 20% higher out of wedlock birth rate (60%) compared to the rest of the nation (40.8%, CDC 2010) Note: Guam stopped reporting “illegitimate” births in 2005. 60% is based on the average between 2000 and 2005).
– Guam has double the teen birthrate compared to the rest of the nation (Guam PDN, 6/25/13)
– Guam’s rape rate is 94.4 per 100,000 (2011 Yearbook: 151 reported rapes). This is nearly triple the national average of 29.8. (U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 314)
AND WORST OF ALL: Guam abuses and neglects its children at nearly double the national average (Guam child maltreatment rate of 76.81 per 1000 children based on 2012 CPS report and 2010 census vs 41.2 per 1000 children national average as per Table 3-2, Child Maltreatment 2011, Children’s Bureau, U.S. DPHHS)
I do not think I would like to live in Guam.