Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/8/2016

The largest Islamic school in Australia may end up closing after losing its $20 million state subsidy. The government withdrew the school’s funding after it failed to disclose exactly what it used the money for, which is required by law.

In other news, during last year’s terror attack in Copenhagen, the Islamic terrorist had a Koran with him at the time of the murders, bookmarked to a chapter on how to deal with infidels. There’s no word on why the Danish police took almost a year to reveal this information.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Nick, 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
» “Recovery” Has 45 Million Americans on Food Stamps as Bankers Pull “Greatest Heist in History”
» Italy: Black Monday for Europe Bourses, 309 Bn Up in Smoke
» Legendary Investor Jim Rogers Warns: “Most People Are Going to Suffer the Next Time Around”
 
USA
» ISIS Plot to Shoot up a Detroit Megachurch Revealed as ‘Christianophobia’ Spreads Across America
» Ted Cruz is Not a Legal U.S. Citizen at All
» Zika Virus Made Available to Researchers by Rockefeller Foundation in 1953
 
Canada
» A Lesson to Republicans in Canada’s Conservative Party Defeat
 
Europe and the EU
» Denmark: Copenhagen Terrorist Had Quran During Attacks
» Dutch Socialists Backing No Campaign in Vote on EU-Ukraine Association Deal
» Germany Shuts Down German Arm of Canada’s Maple Bank
» German Police Register 400 Complaints About Robbery, Physical Abuse
» Italian Business Pressing Rome to Lift Anti-Russian Sanctions
» Italy: Sala Milan Victory Result of ‘Party of the Nation’ — Fassina
» Italy: Couple Commit Suicide in Fume-Filled Car Near Mantua
» Italy: Brindisi Mayor, City Council Resign
» Juncker Thanks Italy for Solidarity on Migrant Issue
» Sicilian Tax Judge and Three Others Arrested for Corruption
» UK: Corbyn Urged to Act Against ‘Systematic Misogyny’ of Muslim Men in Labour Party
» UK: George Osborne’s Psychiatrist Brother Had an Inappropriate Sexual Relationship With a Vulnerable Patient
» UK: Jailed for 143 Years: Depraved Gang of Asian Men Who Raped and Abused 13-Year-Old Girl
» UK: Masked Gang ‘Hacked Cagefighter to Death With Machetes’ In Front of His Girlfriend and Neighbours in the Middle of a Street
 
Balkans
» Bosnians Protest Against Hijab Ban in Judiciary
 
North Africa
» Libyan Warplane Crashes After Attacking is Jihadists
» Tunisia Opposes Foreign Intervention in Libya — Defense Minister
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel Mulling Twin Gas Pipelines to Turkey, Greece: Energy Minister
» Possibile Work Permit in Israel for 30,000 Palestinians
 
Middle East
» Canada’s CF-18 Jets to Cease Anti-Daesh Operations ‘Within 2 Weeks’
» Iran Carmaker Reveals 427m Euros in Peugeot Perks
» Lost Souls: Turkish Kurds Demand Return of Their Dead Children’s Bodies
» Obama Thanks Italy for Protecting Mosul Dam
» Risking World War III in Syria
» Syrian Army Advances Towards Turkish Border: Monitor
» US Welcomes Saudi Troop Offer for Syria: FM
 
Russia
» Russia to Invite Blatter, Platini to 2018 World Cup Despite Corruption Probe
» Russia Overtakes America’s Position in World Agricultural Market
 
Caucasus
» Tehran Plans to Increase Gas Supplies to Armenia Fivefold
 
South Asia
» Bangladesh: Catholic Nuns Robbed and Beaten in the Night
» Czech Govt Paid $6 Mn Ransom for Two Women Held in Pakistan: Report
 
Far East
» 4 Survivors Rescued From Collapsed Taiwan Apartment Building
» Super-EMP Missile Launch Window Approaches: “A Mortal Nuclear Threat to the United States — Right Now”
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australia’s Biggest Islamic School Could Close After Losing $20 Million in Government Funding Because They Can’t Show How They Spend Their Money
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Somali Plane Bomb ‘Was Hidden in Laptop’: Intelligence Officials
 
Immigration
» Europe Builds Another Wall: Macedonia Erects Second Barrier of Razor Wire to Stem the Human Tide From Greece
» Ionut Sabau, A Hero for Europeans
» Italy: Six Eritreans Convicted of Human Trafficking
» Number of Swedes Rating Immigration as Greatest Concern Doubles in 8 Months
» UK: ‘Migrants Are Pushing NHS to Breaking Point’: Top Cancer Doctor Warns Health Tourists Are Bleeding Hospitals Dry With Demand for Treatment
» UK: Australians to Pay £200 for NHS Care EU Migrants Get Free
 
Culture Wars
» Italy: PD Refuses to Drop Stepchild Adoption
» UK: Boy Identifies as Girl in One of Youngest Gender Transition Cases
 

“Recovery” Has 45 Million Americans on Food Stamps as Bankers Pull “Greatest Heist in History”

The following article from the New York Times is shameful in many ways. While the paper is forced to cover the undeniable fact that real wages for the lowest income Americans have plunged during the so-called “economic recovery” over the past six years, it fails to actually pin blame on the undemocratic, oligarch institution most responsible for this humanitarian crisis: The Federal Reserve.

Of course, I and many others have been saying this for years, but now more than half a decade into what is supposed to be a recovery, people are finally being forced to admit what this really is — large scale theft.

In fact, Ben Bernanke and his crew of upward wealth distributing academics have pulled off the greatest wealth heist in American history. In its wake we have been left with a hollowed out, asset striped Banana Republic. Thanks for playin’ Main Street. Or more accurately, thanks for being played.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Black Monday for Europe Bourses, 309 Bn Up in Smoke

Milan, Madrid perform worst

(ANSA) — Milan, February 8 — European bourses endured a Black Monday with the Stoxx 600 index losing 3.5%, the equivalent of 309 billion euros of capitalisation up in smoke.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Legendary Investor Jim Rogers Warns: “Most People Are Going to Suffer the Next Time Around”

Back in the 1970’ s as recession gripped the world for a decade, stocks stagnated and commodities crashed, investor Jim Rogers made a fortune. His understanding of markets, capital flows and timing is legendary.

As crisis struck in late 2008, he did it again, often recommending gold and silver to those looking for wealth preservation strategies — move that would have paid of multi-fold when precious metals hit all time highs in 2011. He warned that the crash would lead to massive job losses, dependence on government bailouts, and unprecedented central bank printing on a global scale.

Now, Rogers says that investors around the world are realizing that the jig is up. Stocks are over bloated and central banks will have little choice but to take action again. But this time, says Rogers in his latest interview with CrushTheStreet.com, there will be no stopping it and people all over the world are going to feel the pain, including in China and the United States.

We’ re all going to suffer — I can think of very few places that won’ t suffer. But most people are going to suffer the next time around.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Plot to Shoot up a Detroit Megachurch Revealed as ‘Christianophobia’ Spreads Across America

If you are a Christian, you better brace yourself for great persecution. It has gotten very little attention from the mainstream media, but federal authorities have uncovered an ISIS plot to “shoot up” a Detroit megachurch. 21-year-old Khalil Abu-Rayyan of Dearborn Heights, Michigan told authorities that he actually intended to take a gun into a very large church in Detroit that can seat up to 6,000 people and start killing Christians. He has been charged with supporting the Islamic States and with “illegally having a firearm while using a controlled substance”. Abu-Rayyan actually admitted that since he can’t be part of the jihad in the Middle East, that he would “do my jihad over here”. As I have warned so many times before, ISIS terrorists are already here, and what we have seen so far is just the beginning.

I can’t understand why this story is not headlines news all over America. If Khalil Abu-Rayyan had succeeded in conducting the megachurch attack that he was planning, hundreds of Christians could have potentially been killed. The people that go to that church might not ever know just how close they actually came to being slaughtered:…

Unfortunately, mainstream media outlets in both the United States and Europe purposely downplay the hatred that these Islamic radicals have for ordinary Christians, because they don’t want to make Muslim immigrants look bad. That is why the mainstream media almost entirely ignored the fact that the main target of the San Bernardino shootings was a Messianic Christian, and that is why the mainstream media is burying this current story about Khalil Abu-Rayyan.

If a Christian baker refuses to bake a cake for a gay wedding, that is front page news, but if a Muslim admits to planning to shoot up a church of several thousand people that is a non-event according to the media.

This anti-Christian bias is growing stronger with each passing year, and it has now become institutionalized in our society in so many ways. A recent article by Selwyn Duke highlighted some examples of this phenomenon that we have recently witnessed:

[…]

The two sociologists that he was referring to are Professor George Yancey and Professor David Williamson, and they shared their research in a newly published book entitled “So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States?” The Christian Post interviewed Yancey about this new book and the following is an excerpt from that interview:

[Comment: A must read, especially the details of the sociologists findings.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ted Cruz is Not a Legal U.S. Citizen at All

The debate over whether or not Senator Ted Cruz is eligible for the U.S. Presidency is about to end. It has now been confirmed that Senator Ted Cruz is neither a “U.S. natural born Citizen” or a “legal U.S. citizen.”

According to all relative legal citizenship documentation available at present, Senator Ted Cruz was born Rafael Edward Cruz, a legal citizen of Canada on December 22, 1970 and maintained his legal Canadian citizenship from birth until May 14, 2014, 43 years later.

The Cruz Campaign for the U.S. Presidency has claimed that Senator Ted Cruz was a “citizen at birth” via his U.S. mother and a “dual citizen” of both Canada and the United States in 1970 and that by renouncing his Canadian citizenship in 2014, he would become eligible for the Oval Office.

There are several problems with this claim… which make the claim false:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Zika Virus Made Available to Researchers by Rockefeller Foundation in 1953

The virus was first deposited into ATCC by Dr. Jordi Casals of the Rockefeller Foundation Virus Laboratory in 1953. Since that time ATCC has made the Zika virus (ATCC(r) VR-84) strain MR766 available for research purposes to qualified scientists and laboratories, on a global basis, through a highly vetted process that requires them to demonstrate they have appropriate facilities and safety programs in place (in accordance with Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) guidelines). ATCC is now working to respond to the greatly increased demand for the Zika virus in an effort to support a better understanding of its biology and to foster development of accurate and dependable diagnostic tests.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

A Lesson to Republicans in Canada’s Conservative Party Defeat

The failure of Canada’s majority Conservative government to win re-election on October 17, 2015 should serve as an object lesson to the Republican establishment in the United States. Among a number of reasons for the debacle, the abandonment or weakening of first principles in the name of pragmatic and ideological compromise was a major factor leading to the Conservative defeat.

The Tories attempted to cater to non-conservative voters, to appeal to a broad constituency, to be liked, to be moderate, by softening the party’s message and gutting many of its programs. Perhaps most obviously, they drew back from significantly defunding and at least partially privatizing our deep-left state-supported national broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC is a cultural Marxist production that never met a Conservative policy it liked. It sees its mandate as constantly attacking every Conservative idea or piece of legislation while propagandizing on behalf of multiculturalism; Islam as a religion of peace; anti-Zionism; and radical movements such as Occupy Wall Street, Idle No More, and BlackLivesMatter. It sided with Canada’s two socialist parties, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP). But aside from legislating a small reduction in the CBC’s operating budget, the Conservatives allowed the “MotherCorp” to continue shilling for the opposition. Afraid of giving its foes something to be offended by, the Conservative government funded its own demise.

No less catastrophic, the Conservatives failed to pass legislation to radically protect free speech across the country—legislation that would outrank our provincial kangaroo courts, known as Human Rights Commissions, whose mandate has been to prosecute individual citizens and groups on the flimsy grounds of “hate speech.” Aside from the fact that leaving these provincial tribunals in place did not garner a single bit of support or sympathy from the social justice totalitarians, this signal failure guarantees that open discussions essential to Canada’s future as a robust democracy—especially conversations about mass immigration, Islamic terrorism, and the relation between the two—will continue to be curtailed by the left-leaning proponents of censorship in the name of social “harmony.” Such conversations are also, not incidentally, essential to the survival of a genuine Conservative party.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Copenhagen Terrorist Had Quran During Attacks

Nearly one year after gunman Omar El-Hussein killed two people Copenhagen, new details have emerged about the terror attack.

Radio24syv revealed that Omar El-Hussein, a Danish citizen of Palestinian origin, was carrying a copy of the Quran when he was shot and killed by police in the wee hours of February 15, 2015, information that had been kept secret by Danish authorities.

According to the radio station, at the time of his death El-Hussein had a Quran on him with a bookmark at Surah 21, ‘The Prophets’, which contains verses about disbelievers of Islam.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Dutch Socialists Backing No Campaign in Vote on EU-Ukraine Association Deal

The Dutch Socialist Party will promote a “No” vote in the upcoming national referendum over the EU-Ukraine association deal, the deal could put European cooperation in danger, a member of the party told Sputnik Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said that if the public voted against the EU-Ukraine association agreement in the upcoming non-binding referendum, under Dutch law, the government would have to review its position on the treaty.

“My party, the Socialist Party (SP), has opposed in both Houses the ratification of the Treaty. It now will campaign for a ‘No’ vote. Main argument is that this Treaty, under the actual circumstances, will work out bad for the citizens of Ukraine, bad for the citizens of the Netherlands and bad for European cooperation based on the protection of peace and prosperity throughout the continent,” Tiny Kox said.

Kox said that the Dutch government will campaign for a “Yes” vote even though opinion polls show that the “No” camp is currently in the lead.

The referendum has been scheduled for April 6, 2016, after over 450,000 citizens signed a petition calling for a vote on the issue. A turnout of 30 percent is required on the day for the referendum result to be considered by the government.

“It seems that most parties in Parliament will advise the Government to follow the result of the referendum. In case of a ‘No’ vote, the Netherlands will not ratify the Treaty which then cannot come into force in its actual form as it needs the support of all 28 EU member states and Ukraine,” Kox said.

The Netherlands is the only EU country, which has not yet ratified the Ukraine-EU association deal.

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

Germany Shuts Down German Arm of Canada’s Maple Bank

The German financial sector watchdog, BaFin, said Sunday it has shut down the German arm of Canadian lender Maple Bank until further notice due to looming over-indebtedness.

Bafin said in a statement that it had imposed a so-called “moratorium” on Maple Bank GmbH, closing it down for customers and barring it from taking payments not related to redemption of debt.

Because the lender is tiny with total net assets of just 5.0 billion euros ($5.6 billion), it poses no threat to the financial stability of the country, BaFin said…

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

German Police Register 400 Complaints About Robbery, Physical Abuse

The police in the German city of Cologne received several hundred reports, ranging from complaints about pickpocketing to allegations of physical abuse, German newspaper Welt reported.

Although the traditional carnival that is currently taking place in Cologne is said to be calmer than last year, the number of complaints filed by alleged victims of the crimes exceeds the number of similar applications in previous years.

As of Sunday, the local police received over 400 complaints from citizens who took part in the ongoing festivities. Most of the cases included pickpocketing and physical abuse. The police also registered 35 allegations of sexual violence.

Taking into account the failure of law enforcement forces during the New Year celebrations, the police deployed additional forces in the city during carnival. Whether this would help to prevent cases of sexual harassment on the streets remains questionable. On the first day of carnival the number of reports was already at 22 (including two allegations of rape) compared to nine similar complaints last year.

Earlier it was said that a female news reporter was sexually harassed on live TV during Women’s Carnival celebrations.

The perpetrator, a 17-year-old young man, voluntarily came to the police on Friday, accompanied by his mother. According to police, he admitted that he saw himself in one of the videos published online. During interrogation, he, however, denied that his actions were of a sexual nature. His testimony is currently being checked.

A series of sexual attacks on women occurred in the German city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve, where groups of men of North African origin targeted female revelers. The incidents caused a wave of criticism among the local population and strengthened far-right movements in the country.

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

Italian Business Pressing Rome to Lift Anti-Russian Sanctions

Italian business is putting pressure on the country’s authorities to lift sanctions against Russia, the president of an Italian fashion and textile trade association, Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The SMI fashion and textile trade association unites over 400,000 employees and 50,000 companies in the industry.

“[Italian business people] are putting pressure on the European community, even on Italian Prime Minister [Matteo] Renzi to remove all barriers between Europe and Russia, as they have a strong impact not only on the fashion industry, but also on companies engaged in the supply of food and the production of furniture,” Claudio Marenzi told RIA Novosti.

Relations between Russia and the member states of the European Union deteriorated significantly in 2014 due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The West blamed Moscow for fueling violence and subsequently introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions to exert pressure on the Kremlin. Moscow has firmly denied the allegations.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has repeatedly stated that the sanctions are having a negative impact on his country’s economy.

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

Italy: Sala Milan Victory Result of ‘Party of the Nation’ — Fassina

‘Former Expo CEO does not represent plurality of Pisapia’

(ANSA) — Rome, February 8 — The victory of former Expo CEO Giuseppe Sala in centre-left primaries in Milan on Saturday and Sunday was a “predictable consequence of the Party of the Nation”, Rome mayoral candidate for the recently formed Italian Left (SL) Stefano Fassina said Monday.

In Italy “Party of the Nation” is used by critics of Premier and PD secretary Matteo Renzi to describe maneuvering ostensibly aimed at building the broadest possible consensus for the centre-left party, irrespective of political affiliation. “Sala responds to that profile and doesn’t seem able to represent the plurality of experiences instead mustered by (outgoing) mayor (Giuliano) Pisapia,” Fassina continued.

The former junior economy minister who left the PD last year is refusing to take part in centre-left primaries in Rome in March on grounds SL and his former party have no common ground.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Couple Commit Suicide in Fume-Filled Car Near Mantua

Housewife, jobless factory worker from Guastalla

(ANSA) — Milan, February 8 — A man and a woman committed suicide by rigging their car exhaust pipe up to the inside of the vehicle near Mantua Monday, police said. The pair lived together in Guastalla near Reggio Emilia, on the other side of the Po River, according to Carabinieri. The victims, housewife B.M., 40, and unemployed factory worker P.G., 46, did not leave a note. There were no signs of violence on the bodies.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Brindisi Mayor, City Council Resign

Consales arrested for corruption at the weekend

(ANSA) — Brindisi, February 8 — Brindisi Mayor Cosimo ‘Mimmo’ Consales and his 32-member city council resigned from office on Monday.

Consales, who was placed under house arrest on corruption charges on Saturday, said he is quitting in order to “defend himself”.

The mass resignation paves the way for local elections in June.

A former journalist who was elected in 2012 on a Democratic Party (PD) ticket with support from the New Center Right (NCD) and the Left Ecology and Freedom (SEL) party among others, Consales is accused of taking a 30,000-euro bribe in exchange for a contract to manage a waste treatment plant.

Consales, who suspended himself from the PD in 2013, was arrested along with environmental businessman Luca Screti and his administration executive, Massimo Vergara. A fourth suspect, Marcello Caramuscio, remains at large. Screti allegedly paid 30,000 euros in back taxes owed by Consales, with Vergara’s help.

Screti will be questioned on Tuesday, prosecution sources said.

The suspects may face charges ranging from corruption and actions contrary to official duties, to fraud in public supplying, defrauding the city, and illegal management of a landfill.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Juncker Thanks Italy for Solidarity on Migrant Issue

President of the Commission at European Parliament to discuss issues on agenda for EU Council meeting of 18-19 February. UK-EU agreement: “A fair proposal”

It sounded like a simple act of recognition. It was actually more than that, and more subtle. Addressing a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg this morning, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, placed particular emphasis on one passage in his speech: if we are to solve the immigration problem, “€3bn must be made available to Turkey. We all we have to respect our commitments. In the meantime, the Italian government has also expressed its willingness to help. This is positive, and I acknowledge it”. He went on to say that the €3bn “is urgently needed, and I want to thank the member states, above all Italy, for their demonstration of solidarity”…

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

Sicilian Tax Judge and Three Others Arrested for Corruption

Fifth under investigation for aggravated aiding and abetting

(ANSA) — Catania, February 8 — Finance police arrested provincial tax judge Filippo Impallomeni and entrepreneur Giuseppe Virlinzi along with two others on Monday, accused of corruption in court documents.

A fifth person under investigation is accused of aggravated aiding and abetting. Impallomeni is president of the Catania provincial tax court’s first division.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Corbyn Urged to Act Against ‘Systematic Misogyny’ of Muslim Men in Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to act following allegations that women are being ‘undermined and sabotaged’ by Muslim men in the Labour party.

A women’s organisation from Birmingham have accused Labour of ‘turning a blind eye’ to Muslim men who they say are preventing Muslim women from standing in local council elections.

The Muslim Women’s Network UK have called for a public inquiry into ‘smear campaigns’ against women such as Fozia Parveen, who claims she was blocked from becoming a councillor in Birmingham in 2008… Shaista Gohir, chair of MWNUK, claimed that ‘systematic misogyny’ infected the whole of the Labour party, including high-ranking officials who were aware of the situation and guilty through inaction.

She said: “As this is an open secret and has been going on for decades, we can only assume that the Labour party has been complicit at the highest levels.

“How do men who do not want Muslim women to be empowered or have a voice remain in power unless the Labour party allows it?”

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

UK: George Osborne’s Psychiatrist Brother Had an Inappropriate Sexual Relationship With a Vulnerable Patient

The psychiatrist brother of Chancellor George Osborne has admitted having sex with a vulnerable patient who had been under his care, a disciplinary panel heard today.

Dr Adam Osborne, who is currently suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC), admitted that he had engaged in an ‘inappropriate’ emotional and sexual relationship with the woman, despite being her private psychiatrist .

The woman, referred to as Patient A, had been under Dr Osborne’s care between February 2011 and late 2014 and had a history of mental ill health.

It is not the first time the younger brother of the Chancellor has been in the spotlight for medical failings.

In 2010 he was suspended from practising medicine for six months after writing fraudulent prescriptions for a girlfriend, a family member and an escort girl whilst a psychiatry trainee at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Jailed for 143 Years: Depraved Gang of Asian Men Who Raped and Abused 13-Year-Old Girl

A depraved gang of Asian men who raped and abused a vulnerable 13-year-old white schoolgirl have been jailed for a total of 143 years.

The teenager was a virgin when she was sexually exploited for the men’s own “selfish, sexual gratification” after she was groomed by a teenage ringleader she believed was her boyfriend.

The girl was passed around and used by the group of “nasty” men by Ahmed Al-Choudhury who first raped the girl was she was just 12.

She told a jury how he was aged 15 and became angry when she tried to refuse sex calling her “a little white b*****d” and “you little white slag” before attacking her.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Masked Gang ‘Hacked Cagefighter to Death With Machetes’ In Front of His Girlfriend and Neighbours in the Middle of a Street

A masked gang used machetes and knives to hack an amateur cagefighter to death in a Bolton street.

The 39-year-old victim, named locally as Sebastian Zuchlinski, suffered two stab wounds to the body, plus deep cuts to his head, shoulder, and thigh.

It is understood one of his fingers was cut off, and the man’s girlfriend witnessed the attack.

More than a dozen residents rushed out to help Mr Zuchlinski but despite their efforts and those of paramedics on the scene he died a short time after the attack.

One resident said they saw a group of three or four men arrive in the road ‘with machetes’.

[Comment: Machetes! How could this happen? Didn’t the British government ban knives and outlaw self-defence? /sarc. ]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Bosnians Protest Against Hijab Ban in Judiciary

Some 2,000 people, mostly women, protested on Sunday in downtown Sarajevo against a recent ban on wearing a hijab headscarf in the majority Muslim country’s judicial institutions.

“We gathered to protest against prejudices, discrimination and marginalisation,” Samira Zunic Velagic, one of the protest organisers, told the crowd.

“The ban of wearing hijab in judicial insititious is a serious attack against Muslim honour, personality and identity, a violation … aimed at depriving them of their right to work,” she added.

The protest was sparked by a recent decision of Bosnia’s high judicial council, a body tasked with supervising the functioning of the judiciary, to ban “religious signs” in judicial institutions…

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

Libyan Warplane Crashes After Attacking is Jihadists

A warplane operated by forces loyal to Libya’s recognised government crashed Monday near the eastern city of Derna after attacking Islamic State group positions, a military official said.

Spokesman Nasser el-Hassi told AFP the pilot of the MiG-23, Younes al-Dilani, “survived the crash”.

Hassi refused to reveal the cause but LANA news agency, which is close to the recognised government, attributed it to “technical problems”.

Before crashing, the aircraft conducted raids on IS jihadist positions some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Derna…

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

Tunisia Opposes Foreign Intervention in Libya — Defense Minister

Tunisia opposes the deployment of foreign ground troops in Libya.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tunisia opposes the deployment of foreign ground troops in Libya in the fight against terrorist enclaves, Defense Minister Farhat Horchani said Sunday.

“There must be a Libyan government, recognized by all sides, and we will have to help it, supporting it militarily. The government will then be able to request the deployment of foreign troops by itself. If action on the ground is required, then it is the Libyans who must fight. We are against a foreign ground operation,” Horchani said, as quoted by Al Arabiya.

The defense minister has been reportedly inspecting an anti-militant fence currently under construction on the Tunisian-Libyan border, which is designed to keep militants out of the country.

Horchani announced earlier the completion of the first section of the 196-kilometer (122 miles) fence. Construction was announced after the June 2015 attack on a tourist resort in the city of Sousse that resulted in nearly 40 deaths. Daesh militant group took responsibility for the attack.

Both the United States and the European Union have so far ruled out a possibility of a ground operation against terrorists in Libya, stressing that the future Libyan unity government should bear responsibility of stabilizing the country.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011. Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia, seized a pocket of Libyan territory centered in Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte in November 2014.

According to estimates of Pentagon officials, Daesh forces have doubled to more than 6,000 in the past six months in Libya. In late January, the Pentagon said it was looking into potential military options in Libya as the threat of Daesh intensifies in the country.

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

Israel Mulling Twin Gas Pipelines to Turkey, Greece: Energy Minister

Israel is looking to exploit its substantial natural gas reserves with two potential pipeline projects to Turkey and Greece, its Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced Sunday.

“If things improve with Turkey… gas could both be sold to Turkey, and to Greece via Turkey,” Steinitz told Kathimerini daily.

Israel and Turkey have reportedly been working on a rapprochement after falling out over the deadly storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a Turkish aid ship…

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

Possibile Work Permit in Israel for 30,000 Palestinians

According to a plan drawn by Defense Ministry

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 8 — Despite months of increased tensions with Israeli military and civilians under attack, the Defense Ministry in Jerusalem is planning to allow other 30,000 Palestinians to work in Israel.

The plan was drawn by Minister Moshè Yaalon and by General Yoav Mordechai, responsible for civilian authority in the Territories, and, according to the media, its main points have already been approved by the security cabinet and the measure will be submitted to the government chaired by Benyamin Netanyahu for the final go-ahead.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Canada’s CF-18 Jets to Cease Anti-Daesh Operations ‘Within 2 Weeks’

Canada will finish its airstrikes against Daesh terrorists withing the next two weeks by ceasing its operations of CF-18 fighter jets in Iraq and Syria, Canada’s Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — He also said that Canada would triple its train, advise and assist efforts aimed to counter Daesh in northern Iraq.

“Under our new plan, military efforts are clearly situated within the more integrated approach that includes enhanced diplomatic, humanitarian, and development efforts… First, we will triple the size of our train, advise and assist effort in northern Iraq,” Sajjan stated.

“Within two weeks from today, the CF-18 cruise will cease operations in theatre [Iraq, Syria],” Sajjan said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that all Canadian aircraft will be withdrawn from the area by March 31, 2016.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that the country would continue supporting the US-led coalition with aircraft for refueling and surveillance purposes.

“We [Canada] want to provide everything that we can to help with this fight against the Islamic State. Many people [anti-Daesh coalition members] mentioned the great importance of our refueling and surveillance planes, and we are happy to continue providing them,” Trudeau stated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that all Canadian aircraft will be withdrawn from the area by March 31, 2016.

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

Iran Carmaker Reveals 427m Euros in Peugeot Perks

French carmaker Peugeot is to provide Iran Khodro with 427 million euros in debt waivers, bonuses and discounts under their first post-sanctions deal, the Iranian manufacturer said Sunday.

Iran Khodro signed a deal with Peugeot during President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to France last month to form a joint venture that is expected to invest up to 400 million euros ($436 million) over five years.

Peugeot is the first Western carmaker to announce a return to Iran since many economic sanctions against it were lifted last month upon implementation of a landmark nuclear deal with world powers…

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

Lost Souls: Turkish Kurds Demand Return of Their Dead Children’s Bodies

In Diyarbakir, Turkey for over a month and a half there has been a twenty-four hour protest going on with local residents and their relatives demanding the police to return the bodies of their teenage children, killed in clashes between the police and local residents.

Diyarbakir is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East and the unofficial capital of Turkish Kurdistan. More recently, its old quarters (the area known as Sur), was filled with tourists from Europe as Sur is surrounded by ancient fortifications that have been inscribed in the World Heritage List.

Now everything has changed since the district was taken under siege by the police and the Turkish army, with snipers sitting on restaurant roofs and the district center entrenched with Kurdish activists.

Just a kilometer away from Sur in the city park called Sumer, there are large crowds in spite of the winter’s rainy weather. The local residents have been on strike for 40 days now and are asking the police to allow them to take the bodies of their dead children.

There are seven Kurdish teenagers whose names are known, who died in Sur. Their relatives still have not taken their bodies. For safety reasons the police are not permitting the parents to go into the district. Parents, of course, say that the teenagers were killed in battle by accident, while the authorities insist that all the dead were killed by militants and terrorists.

A local resident named Chukur Fakhri told RIA Novosti about the circumstances of the disappearance of her daughter, 17-year-old Rozerin.

“Today it is the 29th day since she was lost,” Fakhri said.

A month ago, during a moment when the blockade of the area of Sur was lifted for a short while, Rozerin decided to go to Sur to visit friends and relatives. But the gunfire was suddenly resumed and the girl was left at the front line.

“She was left there for a week in anticipation of when she can return but then a sniper shot her in the head.” The mother said, “29 days ago, her friends told me that she was murdered.”

Fakhri does not know where the body of her daughter is, nor does she know the exact date of her daughter’s death. Nevertheless, she hopes that her daughter was miraculously saved.

Turgai Girchek disappeared on January 15 when the Turkish army launched another attack on the area of Sur. There were tanks and helicopters everywhere. His father Girchek Murad and his large family (he has six children) tried to get out of the surrounded area.

“Turgai was left behind and lost; he did not get out from Sur. Where is he now we do not know, but the next day his friends who remained in Sur, told me that he was killed. Perhaps he was shot from a helicopter,” his father said.

Although one month has passed, he still does not know where his son’s body is. “Maybe he is still on the threshold of our house from where we wanted to get away, but I hope that his friends had hid it,” Murad said.

In mid-January, desperate relatives even went on a hunger strike demanding the bodies of the dead to be returned or relatives access to Sur. They held out for 27 days, but did not get the permission.

“On the 15th day of our hunger strike, the police agreed to a truce. Accompanied by members of the Parliament, we went to pick up the dead bodies of sons and daughters. We were so happy, as if we were going to take them alive,” Zara said. “But suddenly the shooting started again and the soldiers did not allow them to go into the district.

The number of killed teenagers keeps changing. More murders occur and then the terrible number grows. Or vice versa someone is managed to be saved. The bodies of two young people, Isa and Mesut, were picked up.

“Their bodies have been in Sura for 28 days and we did not know where they are,” a relative said. “But we got a phone call from the police and they said that the bodies are in the morgue.”

Now gathered in Sumer park people are demanding to give the bodies of seven young boys and girls. The gathered crowd not only consists of relatives but also many more, as the tragedy in Sur is considered mutual for all the Kurds.

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

Obama Thanks Italy for Protecting Mosul Dam

‘Important role’ U.S. president tells Mattarella

(ANSA) — Washington, February 8 — United States President Barack Obama on Monday thanked Italy for protecting the Mosul Dam in Iraq. Speaking after meeting President Sergio mattarella at the White House, Obama said “I thanked Italy very much for its notable contribution in training soldiers in Iraq and for the important role that it will play in protecting the Mosul Dam which is extremely important for the Iraqi people”. Italy’s Trevi construction group recently landed the contract to repair and maintain the dam which was taken back from ISIS last year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Risking World War III in Syria

The excuse of the Geneva collapse is a ruse. There was little optimism the talks would succeed. The real reason for the coming showdown in Syria is the success of Russia’s military intervention in defense of the Syrian government against the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Many of these groups are supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States in pursuit of overthrowing Assad.

These three nations are all apparently poised for a ground invasion of Syria just as, by no coincidence, the Syrian Arab Army with Russian air cover is pushing to liberate perhaps the greatest prize in the Syrian civil war — Aleppo, the country’s commercial capital. The Russians and Syrians have already cut off Turkey’s supply lines to rebels in the city.

The U.S. cannot stand by and watch Russia win in Syria. At the very least it wants to be on the ground to meet them at a modern-day Elbe and influence the outcome.

But things could go wrong in a war in which the U.S. and Russia are not allies, as they were in World War II. Despite this, the U.S. and its allies see Syria as important enough to risk confrontation with Russia, with all that implies. It is not at all clear though what the U.S. interests are in Syria to take such a risk.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Syrian Army Advances Towards Turkish Border: Monitor

Syrian government troops advanced Sunday toward a rebel town near the Turkish border as they pressed a Russian-backed offensive that has prompted tens of thousands to flee, a monitor said.

The town of Tal Rifaat is around 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) from the Turkish frontier, where Syrians who have fled fighting near Aleppo city have been gathering since the assault was launched Monday.

It is one of the last rebel strongholds in the north of Aleppo province and government troops are just seven kilometres away, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights…

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

US Welcomes Saudi Troop Offer for Syria: FM

The United States welcomes a Saudi offer to deploy special forces to support a coalition ground operation against the Islamic State group inside Syria, the kingdom’s foreign minister said Monday.

Speaking after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said any operation would be US-led but that Saudi Arabia would play a leading role.

“The United States government was very supportive and very positive about the kingdom’s readiness to provide special forces to the operation in Syria, should the international coalition make a decision to do so,” he told reporters…

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

Russia to Invite Blatter, Platini to 2018 World Cup Despite Corruption Probe

Moscow will send an invitation to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia despite their suspension from sport amid a corruption investigation, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In September 2015, Swiss authorities opened criminal proceedings against Blatter, suspecting him of negligence and misappropriation.

Blatter is suspected of transferring 2 million Swiss francs ($2 million) to UEFA president Michel Platini. Subsequently, the FIFA ethics committee launched a probe into the activities of both Blatter and Platini.

On December 21, FIFA’s Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Blatter and Platini from sport for eight years. Both have appealed the decision.

“Of course, we will invite them, I do not see any problems with the events that we are hosting,” Mutko told R-Sport in an interview.

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

Russia Overtakes America’s Position in World Agricultural Market

Due to several factors, including the rise in the US dollar, American agricultural products are becoming too expensive and uncompetitive. Meanwhile, Russian farmers are seizing leading positions in the market.

The international agricultural market saw significant changes this year amid such factors as a stronger dollar, the collapse of oil prices and better crops. As a result, leading exporters have given way to new players, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The world’s biggest agricultural exporters, Canada and the US, have recently been lagging behind Russia in overall production of wheat. This year, Russia is set to export 23.5 million tons of grain. Canada can export 20 million tons, and the US — 21.8 million tons. Former leaders in the agricultural market are expected to see their lowest rates of export in 44 years.

“Unless emerging-market currencies stop falling, the U.S. will lose more export market share and will begin to see more foreign products coming in,” said Michael McDougall, director of agricultural commodities at Société Générale SA in New York.

Consumers from other countries are currently not very enthusiastic about buying American grain due to stronger dollar, especially now that fierce competition on the international food market has considerably lowered the cost of products in general.

“The dollar’s strength is becoming a much bigger issue for farmers than we’ve seen for a while,” said Chad Hart, a grain market analyst at Iowa State University (ISU) Extension. “It’s really having an impact this year.”

Meanwhile, Russia has managed to balance prices and grab a larger share of established markets, such as Egypt, the newspaper noted. And that includes markets traditionally dominated by the US, so American farmers will need to get ready for diminished demand and a downslide in prices.

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

Tehran Plans to Increase Gas Supplies to Armenia Fivefold

Iran is considering the possibility of increasing gas exports to Armenia by five folds, as part of construction of a new electricity transmission line between the two countries, director of the National Gas Export Company of Iran Alireza Kameli said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The gas export is carried out in exchange for the purchase of electricity between the two sides, the media reported, citing Kameli.

“On the basis of a joint agreement, the possibility exists to increase the amount of gas exports by five times,” Kameli said, as quoted by the Mehri news agency.

Iran exports nearly one million cubic meters of natural gas to Armenia daily, the official added.

The new electricity networks are expected to increase the volume of power trade between Iran and Armenia from the current 300 megawatts to about one thousand megawatts.

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

Bangladesh: Catholic Nuns Robbed and Beaten in the Night

A group of about 20 people attacked the Karpashdanga church and a convent of the catechists of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The related security guards and held at gunpoint. A religious refuses to hand over the money — in the house to pay a bricklaying — and is slapped with violence. Christian activist: “alarming signal, the sisters have always been very respected in the country.”

Dhaka (AsiaNews) — A crowd of about 20 people attacked on the night a convent of nuns and a Catholic church in Chuadanga district, 161 km west of the capital Dhaka. The culprits robbed religious using intimidation and violence, and ransacked the church. The police, informed, has opened an investigation. However, a Christian leader points out to AsiaNews that it is “worrisome” that now even the religious are immune from violence in the country.

The attack took place around midnight between 6 and 7 February. Viewfinder Karpashdanga the church, adjacent to a convent of the catechists of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (v. Photo). This is a diocesan congregation, founded in 1951 by the then Bishop of Dinajpur Msgr. Joseph Obert, PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions). The parish priest, Fr. Arun Halsona, was in the capital for pastoral reasons: the assailants tied up the two security guards and entered armed.

At first they went into the church, where they destroyed some prayer books. Then they entered the monastery, where three sisters were sleeping: they wake up and kept under the threat of arms while carrying out the robbery. Among the stolen mobile phones, some objects of little value and above 350 thousand rupees Bangladeshis (about 4 thousand euro) that the sisters were in their home to pay a bricklaying in the convent. Taken away even the religious clothes.

One of them was slapped forcefully because she had refused to hand over the money, but luckily the group did not undergo other physical abuse. However, now they live in fear: the police, informed of the facts, has opened an investigation but so far has failed to identify the culprits.

Nirmal Rozario, general secretary of the Christian Association of Bangladesh, told AsiaNews: “We are very concerned, as it was also hit a place guarded by security officers. But mainly because end up in the crosshairs this time were the sisters: in our country the religious have always been very respected, but this state of affairs seems to be over. “ For the activist, “the government is close to minorities and does everything to help us, but someone wants to create anarchy in the country. That’s because they serve just and rapid investigations against the perpetrators of such acts”.

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

Czech Govt Paid $6 Mn Ransom for Two Women Held in Pakistan: Report

The Czech government paid a $6-million (5.4-million-euro) ransom to secure the release last year of two women kidnapped Pakistan, the Respekt weekly reports in its Monday edition.

Czech psychology students Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka, both 24 at the time, were seized by armed men in March 2013 in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, near the borders with Afghanistan and Iran.

The pair had entered from Iran as tourists and were escorted into Pakistan by a tribal policeman.

In a video released shortly after their kidnapping, the two young women had pleaded for the release of Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, jailed in 2010 in the United States on charges of terrorist links…

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

4 Survivors Rescued From Collapsed Taiwan Apartment Building

TAINAN, Taiwan — At least four people, including an 8-year-old girl, were rescued Monday from a high-rise Taiwanese apartment building toppled by a powerful quake two days earlier, as frustration grew among families waiting for searchers to reach their buried loved ones.

More than 100 people are believed to still be under the debris in a disaster that struck during the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar — the Lunar New Year.

Rescue workers also discovered tin cooking oil cans built into the walls on the fallen building. may to have been used as construction fillers in the building’s beams, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

The spectacular fall of the high-rise, built in 1989, raised questions about whether its construction had been shoddy. The government says it will investigate whether the developer cut corners.

Blue paint cans, seen sandwiched in between a layer of concrete, appear to have been used in the construction of Wei-Kuan apartment complex, which collapsed in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

Saturday’s quake killed at least 38 people in Tainan city in southern Taiwan, all but two of them in the collapse of the 17-story building. Even though the 6.4-magnitude quake was shallow, few buildings were reported to have been damaged, which experts said was because Taiwan’s building standards are high…

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Super-EMP Missile Launch Window Approaches: “A Mortal Nuclear Threat to the United States — Right Now”

Let us return to Dr. Pry, who explained the details of the reality of just how far along North Korea truly is, as he wrote:

“North Korea is a mortal nuclear threat to the United States — right now. North Korea has already successfully tested and developed nuclear weapons. It has also already miniaturized nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery and has armed missiles with nuclear warheads.

Any nuclear weapon detonated above an altitude of 30 kilometers will generate an electromagnetic pulse that will destroy electronics and could collapse the electric power grid and other critical infrastructures — communications, transportation, banking and finance, food and water — that sustain modern civilization and the lives of 300 million Americans. All could be destroyed by a single nuclear weapon making an EMP attack.

A Super-EMP attack on the United States would cause much more and much deeper damage than a primitive nuclear weapon…North Korean nuclear tests look suspiciously like a Super-EMP weapon. A Super-EMP warhead would have a low yield, like the North Korean device, because it is not designed to create a big explosion, but to convert its energy into gamma rays, that generate the EMP effect.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Australia’s Biggest Islamic School Could Close After Losing $20 Million in Government Funding Because They Can’t Show How They Spend Their Money

Australia’s biggest Islamic School has been stripped of $20 million in government funding following allegations that its money was not being used just for education.

Malek Fahd Islamic School in Greenacre, south-west of Sydney, which has more than 2,400 students, could be forced to close its gates after the Federal Government said it would withdraw the funding.

On Monday, the Department of Education issued a notice to the Islamic institution — revoking its Commonwealth funding — with the move placing hundreds of teaching jobs on the line.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said that the funding will be axed as of April 8 after the school had failed to address how the money was being spent, as required under the Education Act.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

Somali Plane Bomb ‘Was Hidden in Laptop’: Intelligence Officials

Somali intelligence officials investigating a bomb blast on a commercial jet released surveillance footage Sunday appearing to show a passenger being given a laptop in which the bomb was concealed.

The blast on Tuesday ripped a hole in the Daallo Airlines plane fuselage shortly after it took off from Somalia’s main airport, killing one person and forcing an emergency landing.

The newly released surveillance footage shows the suspected bomber being handed a laptop by two other men, one of whom is wearing a security jacket, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said…

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

Europe Builds Another Wall: Macedonia Erects Second Barrier of Razor Wire to Stem the Human Tide From Greece

Macedonia has begun building a new razor-wire fence parallel to an existing one on its border with Greece to make it harder for migrants to enter the Balkan country.

Since November only refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq have been allowed to cross the border on their journey to western Europe, but migrants from other countries have still tried to get across.

‘The idea is to send a message to migrants that there is a double fence so give up crossing illegally,’ a senior army official said.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

Ionut Sabau, A Hero for Europeans

Who caused the Arab Spring and who financed this massive invasion

Bill Still reported that “In early January, 28 year-old Ionut Sabau found out that the Association Freres Romania (an NGO), in partnership with the Ministry for Internal Affairs was planning to make a ‘refugee’ center in the neighborhood of the small town of Ardud, in Satu Mare county.”

Ionut Sabau, who had worked and lived in Paris in a prominently Muslim neighborhood, gathered 200 signatures and petitioned the local government to stop the planned settlement; the mayor set up a meeting with the prefect, the representative of the local government.

Ionut Sabau told the prefect bluntly that he does not agree with this migration in any shape or form based on the simple fact that he wants his family safe from harm; he wants his children to be able to go to school and his wife and children to walk the streets alone safely. This is a small village (5,000 inhabitants) where children are not bussed to school, they walk.

“We don’t care what the law says or what the state says, we do not agree. We are disposed to use violence and we want everyone to know that.” The prefect responded, “Please don’t talk about doing justice yourself. There are institutions for that.” Sabau rejoined, “I understand, but our children must also grow up in safe and optimal conditions and we don’t want a situation like in Western Europe where people are afraid to let children go to school alone or leave our wives alone in the streets. We don’t want any of that here! Under no circumstance! This is not an issue of defending the Romanian state as a whole, we are simply defending our own families.”

[Comment: Ionut has had first hand experience of living in Muslim neighbourhood of Paris. Europe needs more men like this man.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Six Eritreans Convicted of Human Trafficking

Probe used evidence from defendant turned state’s witness

(ANSA) — Palermo, February 8 — A Palermo judge on Monday sentenced six Africans to prison sentences ranging from two to six years four months for human trafficking. This is the first conviction in Italy that recognizes the existence of a racketeering organization that traffics human beings. The sentence came in a fast-track trial, which in Italy means the ruling can’t be appealed, but sentences are reduced by a third if the defendants are found guilty.

The six defendants, all Eritrean nationals, formed the cell of the organisation that managed the stay in Italy of migrants arriving from Libya and their passage to other European countries. One, Nuredin Atta, turned state’s evidence and his testimony reportedly helped prosecutors sew up the case, as well as feeding into other similar investigations. Proceedings have been suspended against a further three people thought to be at the head of the organisation on grounds they could not be traced. The trial grew out of the so-called Glauco investigation that began after the Lampedusa shipwreck of October 3, 2013, in which 366 migrants and refugees lost their lives.

Survivors’ reports enabled investigators to identify the traffickers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Number of Swedes Rating Immigration as Greatest Concern Doubles in 8 Months

The number of Swedes who view “immigration and integration” as the greatest issue facing their country has doubled since June 2015, a new poll revealed on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Immigration is an issue of concern for 40 percent of the Swedes Ipsos spoke to for a poll commissioned by the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

“Integration and immigration rank, so far, as currently the most important social issues in Sweden. It is the first time in our measurements that this matter is on the top <…> It is rare to see such large changes,” Johanna Laurin Gulled, a public opinion analyst at Ipsos, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

In contrast, only 5 percent of Swedes mentioned immigration as a burning social issue in a similar poll in 2010.

The poll results also suggest that only 17 percent of voters think Prime Minister Stefan Loefven’s Social Democrat party has reliable policies on immigration.

Currently, many European countries are struggling to find a solution to a massive migrant crisis as millions of individuals flee the Middle East and North Africa. Many refugees are trying to make their way to prosperous EU countries, including Germany and Sweden, via Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Earlier this month, Sweden’s Migration Agency announced that it expected to receive up to 140,000 asylum applications in 2016, a scenario that threatens to put additional pressure on the country, which already welcomed some 160,000 refugees last year.

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

UK: ‘Migrants Are Pushing NHS to Breaking Point’: Top Cancer Doctor Warns Health Tourists Are Bleeding Hospitals Dry With Demand for Treatment

The NHS has been left ‘on its knees’ by uncontrolled migration from the EU, a leading cancer expert will warn tomorrow.

Professor Angus Dalgleish, the principal of the Cancer Vaccine Institute, says the NHS is being bled dry of resources by health tourists denied care at home.

Cancer treatment can cost £200,000 and, under Brussels rules, Britain has to offer it to all EU nationals.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Australians to Pay £200 for NHS Care EU Migrants Get Free

Antipodeans left incensed by decision to make them pay if they stayed for six months or more

Britain has been accused of delivering a ‘slap in the face’ to Australians and New Zealanders by imposing a £200 annual charge for access to the NHS.

Antipodeans are incensed that they are being asked to make the new payment for NHS services while Eastern European migrants from inside the EU have limitless free access.

They were previously exempt because of a reciprocal agreement with Britain.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: PD Refuses to Drop Stepchild Adoption

M5S to vote conscience on key civil-union-bill clause

(ANSA) — Rome, February 8 — The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) said Monday it does not intend to remove a clause from its bill on civil unions for same-sex couples allowing partners to adopt each other’s biological children.

“The PD does not support removing (the clause),” said Lower House PD whip, Ettore Rosato.

“We’re working on a parliamentary majority in order to approve the bill”.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano from the small New Center Right (NCD) party, a junior member of the ruling left-right coalition, has been pressing the PD to remove the so-called stepchild adoption clause or risk losing NCD backing on the bill, currently at its first reading before the Senate.

Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin of NCD on Monday renewed calls for the provision to be removed from the bill and considered at a later date as part of a review of existing adoption and fostering legislation. Stepchild adoption is also being opposed by some Catholics and conservatives within the PD itself. Matters have been further complicated by an announcement from the leader of the anti-establishment, opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S), Beppe Grillo, leaving his MPs free to vote their conscience on the stepchild adoption clause.

Last week, M5S Senator Alberto Airola said the Movement “won’t vote for a watered-down version of the bill, which is why we didn’t file any amendments to it”.

However it later turned out that the M5S grassroots is divided over whether or not gays should be allowed to adopt their partners’ children — as straight couples are allowed to do.

In Italy, children with gay parents currently risk ending up in the foster system if their biological parent dies because the surviving partner has no custody rights.

Also on Monday, members of the center-right Area Popolare (AP) caucus in the Senate said they oppose not just the stepchild adoption clause but other measures that allegedly make civil unions equal to heterosexual marriage before the law.

“And this will bring with it generalized adoptions in any court,” said AP Senators Maurizio Sacconi and Nico D’Ascola.

Unmarried couples are banned from adopting children under current law. AP is made up of the NCD plus the small, centrist Union of Christian Democrats (UDC).

Discussion and voting on the bill is due to begin on Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Boy Identifies as Girl in One of Youngest Gender Transition Cases

A five-year-old boy has returned to school as a girl in one of the youngest cases of child gender transitioning in the country.

The head teacher of the Nottinghamshire school has written to parents and classmates to inform them of the boy’s wish to be treated as a girl.

It is one of the youngest cases of gender dysphoria being officially recognised in a child in the country.

[Comment: Would this happens if children’s minds were not twisted by the “social engineering” programming in school?]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

11 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/8/2016

  1. PC gone mad: NASA accused of censoring Christians ‘after BANNING the word Jesus’

    NASA bosses have been accused of censoring Christian employees after allegedly banning the word ‘Jesus’. US lawyers have claimed a group of Christians at the organisation were told to stop using His name in a newsletter. The JSC Praise & Worship Club, which gathers every week to pray and read the Bible, placed an advert in the email to promote a meeting. It said: “The theme for this session will be ‘Jesus is our life!’ Prayer partners will be available for anyone who has need.” 

    Jeremy Dys, a lawyer for the Liberty Institute, said: “It is illegal for the government to censor the name of Jesus from emails authored by employees. “Preventing a religious club’s announcement just because it contains the name ‘Jesus’ is blatant religious discrimination. “We call on NASA to end their censorship and apologise.” 

  2. Ted Cruz not a legal U.S. citizen?
    Then pray tell, just how did Obama become president?
    Oh, born in Hawaii. Strange then that it took two years for the Obama gang to come up with a forged birth certificate, while the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa came up with Obama’s real birth Certificate, (4th Aug. 1961) but still nothing has been done, nor will it be….

    That someone can be voted in as President of the United States while having all his private papers strictly sealed and unavailable to anyone, says straight out that he is not exactly ‘kosher’—excuse the pun.

    • Umm… Not passing judgement on Messrs Obama or Cruz, but why does a nation built on immigration disallow foreign-born Presidential candidates?

      • I can think of two reasons why things like that would be written into the constitution. (Remember, the people who wrote that were trying to figure out how to make the system resilient. Some expected it to fall apart immediately.)

        1) lower chance of foreign subversion.

        2) increase chance that whoever was elected had been enculturated with the virtues needed to support a republic

        They would have been fully aware of the possible problems, but not aware of the degree to which travel and communications would become trivial in the future.

  3. NBC news journalist, Richard Engel, described taharrush playfully as “the rape game” during one of his reports on the nightly news. Perhaps to make it more appealing to us women here in the USA.

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