In Texas last Friday, a man originally from Lebanon attempted to kill his daughter, her boyfriend, and his estranged wife. He told police that he didn’t like the fact that his daughter was dating a non-Muslim.

Yet the police and the media are certain there must have been a different motive that doesn’t involve Islam; they are determined that the gunman’s “religious beliefs will not be taken into account.”

Of course they won’t be. He obviously must have done it for some other reason. We must ignore the poor man’s statement about his own motivations; he was under stress when he said that, and is clearly not in his right mind.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:

Below is the accompanying article from the local TV news site:

Mission triple shooting not being classified as attempted “honor killing”

by Rafael Carranza

Authorities are saying that they are not treating the shooting of three people in Mission as an attempted “honor killing.”

The suspect Talal Nimer is facing attempted murder charges after shooting his estranged wife, their daughter and their daughter’s boyfriend.

Mission police the gunman’s Muslim faith did not play a role in their investigation.

But when quizzed on why he did it, the Lebanese man admitted that he didn’t like that his daughter was dating someone who’s not Muslim.

He also felt his daughter’s boyfriend was taking over as the man of the house.

[…]

According to Mission Police Chief Martin Garza, Nimer’s religious beliefs will not be taken into account.

Garza said police will they’ll focus on several other factors.

The first is that Nimer and his estranged wife were going through a divorce after he admitted to cheating on her.

The second factor are statements from the family saying Nimer had previously threatened to kill them.

Currently, both the mom and the daughter’s boyfriend are out of the hospital after undergoing surgeries.

The daughter remains hospitalized in stable condition.

She was shot in the neck and must undergo another surgery.

The comments at the bottom of this journalistic hack job are worth a look; they’re much more interesting than the article itself.

After being interrupted by a series of technical difficulties, a trial of accused terror supporters in Vienna has resumed. Many thanks to JLH for translating this article from Vienna Online:

Trial of Islamists in Vienna Plagued by Technical Glitches

June 18, 2012

The Viennese Islamists trial is having technical glitches. On Monday, besides a video conference that crashed, there were also problems playing DVDs with recorded witnesses’ statements.

When the local justice system makes use of technical aids, there are frequently glitches: DVDs with contradictory interrogations turn out to be impossible to play back in the courtroom because the DVD is damaged, or the quality of the recording is so debased that they are barely usable.

Video conference with St. Pölten not possible

First, a video conference with the prison at St. Pölten was planned. A man there was to be questioned as a witness, who, according to the state’s attorney’s office, had intended to travel to Somalia with the main defendant, Thomas Al J., to participate there in the armed jihad.

After the witness — who is imprisoned on separate charges unconnected with the terror trial — had identified the main defendant, the connection to St. Pölten crashed. “The camera hung up,” explained the technician assigned to the regional Viennese criminal court for the trial.

Only personal interrogation went off without difficulties during the trial

Meanwhile, Judge Daniela Zwangsleitner questioned two witnesses, and there were no difficulties, since they were both personally present. Next, a YouTube video burned onto a DVD was supposed to be played on a large screen mounted in the courtroom. But that went awry. “That’s a minus-C and this doesn’t take that. You gotta know that,” said the technician, who did at least know that. After some back and forth, the video was played on the desktop PC of the secretary. The court, defense counsel and state’s attorney all gathered around the secretary and stared at the 40cm [15.6 inch] screen. In the meantime, the technical specialist from the justice ministry had succeeded and the connection to St. Pölten was re-established. Two and one-half hours late, the video conference could take place over a mobile facility which was pushed back into the courtroom.

Witness tells of trips to Somalia, Pakistan and Sofia

The witness in the Lower Austrian metropolis wished the panel (chair: Daniela Zwangsleitner) to believe that he had wanted to go to Somalia “to build up a humanitarian aid network.” After he had gotten his plane ticket, however, he backed out. “I was afraid, because the route over Ethiopia seemed too dangerous to me.” At another point in time, it was supposed to be a trip to Pakistan — but with no thoughts of terrorism, the witness asserted: “I wanted to live in an Islamic land, to help my brothers and sisters.”

The trip to Sofia ended prematurely “because I lost my nerve.” Besides, he had lost his passport on his stopover in Bulgaria, he said sheepishly. A Catholic priest had taken the Muslim under his wing, procured an emergency pass for him and organized his return trip to Vienna. The trial of the four Islamists charged with having supported the goals of an Al-Qaeda connected terror network will continue this coming Friday.

According to the Vatican and other Christian organizations, US-backed Islamic extremist rebels in Syria are targeting Christians. Anti-government fighters are killing Christians in the streets, burning their churches, businesses, and homes, and driving them out of the country.

In other news, Sweden’s nuclear power plants were put on high alert after explosives were found on a truck in an industrial area near a nuclear plant.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to Fjordman, Gaia, JP, RR, Steen, TV, 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.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

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.

The twilight world of Western Civilization in the early 21st century is often compared with the lambent autumnal glow of Weimar Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s. M. Sattler, writing in Politically Incorrect, examines the analogy in some detail as it is being played out today in Germany itself.

Many thanks to K. from Germany for the translation:

Escape Into Dictatorship

Now, for the second time in German history, we witness the parliamentarians’ willing relinquishment of their democratic power. In a manner similar to the empowerment of the NSDAP by the parliament of the Weimar Republic, the empowerment of the EUSSR by the parliament of the Federal Republic takes place once again in a situation seemingly “without alternative”. So why do democratically elected parliamentarians in extreme political situations have such a preference for seeking salvation in an escape into dictatorship?

by M. Sattler

Of course the empowerment acts of 1933 and 2009-2012 are not directly comparable. In 1933 the Weimar parliament transferred its power on a single day, the 23rd of March, to the NSDAP. Today we witness the formation of a dictatorship in slow motion. The Bundestag transfers power speedily, yet step by step to the EUSSR, without receiving democratic compensation or even asking for any. The EU “parliament” remains as powerless as ever, despite ESM [the European Stability Mechanism, commonly known as the “Eurozone bailout fund”] and other EU mechanisms of authority. And, without question, the character traits of the NSDAP and EUSSR dictatorships are vastly different. Comparable, however, are the democratic processes of abdication themselves: The willingness to relinquish democratic power in the Bundestag nowadays is at a similar level to what it was in the Reichstag of 1933, perhaps even higher, because the empowerment act of 1933 received only about 70% approval, while the empowerment acts toward the EUSSR are regularly approved by over 90%. The general set-ups are also comparable: Both self-disempowerments fall within a phase of utmost economic complexity and seemingly “unresolvable” challenges. At the beginning of the year 1933, Germany was still — despite incipient economic recovery — massively affected by the consequences of the financial crisis of 1929-1932. Likewise today: The Great Merkelian Coup of 2009-2012 is happening alongside a financial crisis and its effects on the overall economic situation. And as Hitler did back in 1933, today Merkel, as a representative of Brussels, argues in her promotion of more dictatorship that there is an “absence of alternatives” in the situation: Only a strongman liberated of the annoying bickering of democratic parties, specifically only a strong centralist executive authority in Brussels without democratic shackles, would be capable of getting a grip on these unprecedentedly difficult realities. That the executive prefers to reign without a legislative check lies in the nature of power. Therefore both Hitler’s and Merkel’s arguments, from their perspectives as representatives of the executive branch, are completely understandable. But why did the legislature in 1933, just as is occurring today, so willingly accede to the establishment of dictatorship? Why did it, in 1933 as today, betray its own vested authority?

This question touches on the core weakness of representative democracy, a system in which the delegates are assigned the role of an intermediary. They themselves are not the sovereign, that is, the people, but only its representatives. The typical problem of a representative, the so-called “principal agent problem”, is therefore also the problem of representative democracy: The interests of the representative are different from the interests of the constituent. The interest of the sovereign as constituent lies, for example, in a free and democratic country, inner peace, security, a stable currency and good schools for children. The interest of the representative may be something quite different: A high and regular income to pay off his mortgage, a posh office, the five-star comfort of his “business trips”. In the theory of democracy, there are not actually any complaints about this conflict of interest: Theoretically, the representative should bestir himself in an exemplary manner to represent the interests of his client, because he only gets reelected if the client is satisfied, and only then can he continue to pursue his own interests (income, office, etc.). In practice however, every Bundestag delegate knows only too well that even after making his best efforts to benefit his constituents, he may lose reelection, because on the ground, the sovereign’s vote depends on viewpoints which are entirely unconnected with the performance of the individual representative, and which are also quite emotional. The sovereign, for example, votes against Stoiber and for Schröder only because the latter looks better on TV, or votes for The Greens instead of SPD simply because right before elections the “Bild” newspaper publishes allegations that the SPD chairman was an gambling addict. Thus the representative can only indirectly influence his chances for reelection through good, competent work. Upon recognizing this dilemma, elections become an immeasurable risk for him, which he seeks to mitigate. He will attempt to secure his reelection in a manner also independent from the sovereign, a goal that can be reached in two ways:

He unconditionally follows the requirements of his party and fraction leaders, and thus cuts a deal with the party: obedience in return for a secure place on the list. This strategy functions as long as the party leader generates secure places (for example, because he looks good on TV or isn’t a gambler).

He follows the executive authority on its natural path toward dictatorship, and thus ultimately uncouples his own interests from the interests of the constituent/sovereign. The first way to security, the basic willingness of the representative to barter (obedience for income), is currently exploited ruthlessly by Merkel in her double function as chairwoman of the executive and simultaneously as chairwoman of the party: Deviators from the government’s opinion are threatened with the termination of their career in parliament. This tragic deficit in the separation of powers between executive and legislative, that common birth defect of the twin states, the Weimar Republic and the Federal Republic, comes back with vengeance today just as occurred in March 1933 upon passage of the Weimar empowerment act. The second way results from the natural desire of the representative to optimize his efforts: While under the reality of life under democracy his work for the benefit of the sovereign is likely not going to be rewarded anyway, in a dictatorship he can much more efficiently direct his efforts to target his own interests. Since in a dictatorship his further fortune depends on his personal network even more than in a democracy, in which the people have at least some degree of influence, the group of people he has to canvass regarding his own interests is more manageable. Or, stated more simply: In a dictatorship he has more time to develop his network and chum up with the party leader in order to secure his place on the list against rivals within the party, and does not have to go through time-consuming nursery school visits only to have his photo seen in the newspaper by some people who might vote for him (but perhaps won’t anyhow). Thus in a dictatorship he can influence his fate much more directly than he could in the practice of representative democracy. In this case, it is true: The greater degree of dictatorship and the fewer elections within this dictatorship, that is, the less influence from unknown and unpredictable groups of persons (voters) outside of the system, the more immediate his influence.

For the representative, life in the Reichstag under the NSDAP is safer than life in the SED People’s Chamber with its minimal elections, and a lot safer than in the Bundestag. Increased dictatorship lowers the risk for the representative; increased democracy increases it.

Even after today’s transfer of power to the Brussels dictatorship, it is highly unlikely that the Bundestag will vanish. All dictatorships from Caesar to Stalin to Hussein always maintained a show parliament of handsomely paid, obliging claqueurs. The Roman senate survived the Roman democracy by 400 years without any participatory rights. In the national assembly of the French revolution the deputies continued to give great speeches under Napoleon and Robespierre, as if they really had a say in anything. Also the Bundestag will outlast Merkel’s coup d’état to dupe the Germans for many years to come with an illusory democracy, in which they are permitted to elect the sorts of “parties” that bow to the dictatorship of EUSSR bureaucrats in unison. This future Bundestag, however, a merely cosmetic illusory legislative, will no longer exercise actual, significant legislative functions. But as a delegate in the post-Merkelian Bundestag, one will be able to sit in a posh office just like today, can pay off the mortgage for one’s dacha just the same, and can stay at exactly the same five-star hotel on one’s “business trips”. All representatives, regardless of their party membership, can rely upon this security. And because of this assurance, they all pull together.

The dramaturgy of external circumstances thus worked in 1933 as well as in 2009-2012 only as accelerating catalyst for a process smouldering anyway because of its being immanent in the system. The escape of the representatives into dictatorship was in both cases not at all an escape from the overwhelming challenges of an exceedingly difficult situation. Far more than that it was, then as now, a welcome opportunity for an escape from the voters and their unpredictability. The delegates in the Reichstag 1933 well and truly miscalculated. For all those who in today’s Bundestag speak in favour of the omnipotence of Brussels, this fate of their Weimar colleagues should be a serious forewarning.

Y’all get around more than we do, so no doubt you’ve seen this video. The first time I saw it was when someone sent it with a notice that Campus Reform is outing it as a genuine promotion by the academianoids at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (unfortunately, when all those Scandinavians resettled in Minnesota they brought their shmoo culture with them).

This “ad campaign” is merely one more sad example of the eternally childish Left’s holy refrain, “No Fair!” They are determined to undermine the evil white “privilege” you see on their faces:

What prompted me to show you the video is what I discovered as I read the comments on YouTube. This excrescence cannot be flagged as racial hatred because it does not attack a “protected” group — “Protected”? That’s You Tube’s word for those it has been conned into thinking are Underdogs.

A reasonable person might infer that You Tube believes not all human groups are worth treating with dignity, and that inference would be correct. White people seem to lead the category of humans not worth “protecting” — hatred expressed against them, even by members of their own group, appears to be within the rules of discourse on You Tube. Are there any other unprotected groups? I don’t think so. Oh, wait: men are another group who can do nothing right.

Don’t ponder this too hard or you’ll get lost in the labyrinth of recursive illogic captured here. Go with the flow man, person. Get with the program.

While I’m sure no beings of color were harmed in the making of the video, I’m equally certain no one with half a brain had anything to do with creating this newest tumor on the body politic.

Anyhow, bear in mind that these painted, lettered folk are Leftists, or perhaps cognitively challenged. They haven’t a clue as to the evil they do, or the trouble they generate by their odious propaganda. But what do you want to bet they still drive furtively through “troubled areas” with their doors locked? And are so deeply ashamed of this desire for survival that no one knows about their despicable behavior. They’re ignorant, but surely they have some sense of self-survival. Or maybe not.

Buncha shmoos.

I was going to post this with comments closed since I’m not up to monitoring them, but the Baron offered to do that for me. Please, y’all, keep it courteous. I know: make your comments part of a larger anthropological investigation — that’ll do it!

…So perhaps the Canadian state broadcaster CBC is opposed to stubbornness, and that’s why it doesn’t like facts. Especially not stubborn facts about Hamas and its firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza.

Vlad Tepes sets the record straight with factual information and his own commentary interspersed with TV news clips:

The trial of Anders Behring Breivik is now entering its final phase in Oslo. Our Norwegian correspondent The Observer has translated a bizarre coda to the whole ugly and murderous affair, as described in an article from Nettavisen.

The translator notes:

This concerns a very nutty Norwegian professor who sincerely hopes that Anders Behring Breivik will be given the chance to return to society at some stage.

Notice also the dishonest reference about Norway having dealt with the attacks in a ‘loving’ manner, whatever that means.

The fact of the matter is that the only one the authorities have shown any concern for is the psychopathic lowlife who committed these acts. He can now look forward to a nice cushy stay in a five-star accommodation with three meals a day, TV, and possibly internet in his cell. The authorities are actually in the process of custom-building a wing just for him where he will have access to a gym, a study, and a games room.

Others who have no culpability in the actions of this madman whatsoever, such as Fjordman, have not been treated in a very ‘loving’ manner at all. Fjordman has practically been run out of the country and stigmatized as a terrorist ‘mentor’. Numerous others have been labelled as Breivik admirers and mental cases.

The really sad thing is that this professor and others like him are indoctrinating young people in Norway to see the world through their very biased goggles.

God help us all. And I’m not even a religious person!

The translated article:

My hope is that Anders Behring Breivik eventually will return to society

The professor is hopeful that mass murderer Anders B. Breivik (32) will get the opportunity to lead a normal life again.

On July 22 terror finally came to Norway and Utøya: 77 innocent people were killed. Most of the victims were young people.

The man responsible for the attacks was 32-year-old Oslo native Anders Behring Breivik. He is the only one that has been charged with the atrocities.

Professor of criminology at the University of Oslo Nils Christie tells Nettavisen that he is hopeful that Behring Breivik eventually will be release back into society.

“My hope is that he will return to society,” Christie says.

Could you elaborate on that?

“It is a basic instinct to want to show people who have completely turned the rules of our society upside down the craziness of their actions, and to eventually see them return to society as ordinary citizens,” Christie tells Nettavisen.

Forgiveness for everything

He points out that Norway has neither capital punishment nor lifetime prison sentences.

“I cannot wish for Breivik to be trapped forever. It goes against my basic values that there should not be some form of forgiveness, even for the most heinous acts.”

The professor sees it from a long-term perspective:

“At the moment everybody hates this man. I hope that this will eventually change. We don’t have lifetime sentences in Norway and therefore we are spared the horrors that we see in other countries, namely, adult prisoners who have no hope of ever being released.”

Proud to be Norwegian

“It is important to guard our basic values even when we’re dealing with the most atrocious crimes,” Christie says.

These days he’s proud to be a Norwegian:

“It looks like we are going to get through this.

“I believe that we will get through this incident with a deep sense of sorrow for what has happened, but also with a sense of happiness for being able to do so, realizing that Norway could become a better country for all of us.”

Together in love

What are your thoughts?

“What we have witnessed in the aftermath of the attacks is a great manifestation of love. Just to give an example: ‘If one man can exhibit so much hate, imagine how much love all of us are capable of showing’,” Christie says, citing a female AUF member who impressed CNN and the rest of the world with her perspective.

“It is a beautiful thing to see so many people come together in love. I receive inquiries from abroad from people wondering how we are able to cope with it all. It is very important as a message to the world that we get through this.”

Should realize what he has done

Can Anders Behring Breivik ever become a normal human being?

“You and I have probably similar views, and by that I mean that we’re both able to see the errors of our ways. If Breivik is unable to see his, our system will see to it that he is not released.

“I sincerely hope that he will be able to see his mistakes, and when he does it will be horrible for him,” Christie adds.

We should tolerate him

So who should forgive the mass murderer, the next of kin of the 77 victims?

“No. I don’t think it’s important that we forgive him,” Christie says, and adds:

“But we should tolerate him and be happy if he returns to society.”

One step at a time

What do you believe should be done with all the anger and all the rage that this man has caused?

“If I’m upset or angry, I have to work on it slowly and methodically. I believe that Stoltenberg and the victims have helped to calm us in an extraordinary mature way by not appealing to hatred,” the professor says.

Get some kind of life

He believes that it helps to see mass murderers in a loving light:

“We can only hope that he will become such a person and that he can get some type of normal life. It is easier to denounce him like that rather than denouncing him from a hateful viewpoint.”

Christie has expressed similar views about those who committed the most horrific acts during the Second World War.

Should be easy for Christians

“We should be looking for the human inside him. It should be unproblematic for Christians to do so.”

Christie cites Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa:

“No future without forgiveness.”

“What would society look like if we were consumed with hatred?” the professor asks.

In isolation at Ila prison

Anders Behring Breivik will spend another eight weeks at Ila after the trial, of which four will be in isolation.

Previous posts about the trial of Anders Behring Breivik:

2012		Apr		11		Circus Breivik
				14		The Show Begins
				16		Fjordman: The Breivik Trial Begins
				17		Trial Without Limits
				17		Cracking Down on Christian Terrorism
				18		Breivik in Brief
				19		Norwegian News Roundup
				20		The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Multiculturalists
				21		The Norwegian Straitjacket
				25		The Trial of Anders Behring Breivik: Week One
				27		Is Breivik’s Trial Unconstitutional?
		May		21		Opting Out of Circus Breivik
				22		Islamophobia ‘Experts’ to be Called in Breivik Case
				23		Narcissism Trumps Ideology
				29		The Left-Wing Media Filter
				31		A Witness Stands Down
		Jun		3		Tampering With the Witness List
				12		Fjordman’s Suggested Testimony for the Trial of Anders Behring Breivik

A culturally enriched young man with a gun entered a bank in Toulouse, France, demanded money, and after being refused, fired a shot and took four hostages. The standoff was eventually resolved with no casualties among the hostages or bystanders. Some reports said the gunman was wounded. The would-be robber announced that he was connected with Al Qaeda, and had attempted his crime for religious reasons rather than for money.

In other news, a military judge in Texas excluded Maj. Nidal Hasan, the killer shrink of Ft. Hood, from courtroom preparations for his trial because he did not shave off his beard. Maj. Hasan’s lead counsel explained that the beard was a deeply felt expression of her client’s religious faith.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to Fausta, JP, Seneca III, Steen, 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.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

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.

Despite the success of the “pro-bailout” parties in last weekend’s Greek elections, Greece is not yet out of the fiscal woods. JLH has translated an article outlining the German perspective on the Greek meltdown. He includes this note:

Here is a short article that was published yesterday at the German-language blog about Greece that reveals for the first time — to me at least — the existence of a German committee of “five wise ones” who are tasked with assessing the future.

One of the members of this group of five, who each serve for five years, has laid the blame for Greece’s problems at the door of the “Troika”, which refers to the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, acting in concert.

The Five Wise Ones and the all-powerful Troika… Even the Grimms could not have created a more fabulous power structure! But wait. Wait until you hear the wisdom that flows from this moment of reflection. Just think, to create this much confusion in the USA, all we have is our president and Ben Bernanke.

The translated article from the Griechenland-Blog:

The Recommendations of the Troika Are Primarily Responsible for the Greek Crisis

June 19, 2012

Peter Bofinger, a member of the federal government’s “Council of the Wise,” lays the burden of the Greek crisis on the false prescriptions of the Troika.

“Not only Greece itself, but the economic prescriptions of the Troika are responsible for the deepening of the crisis in Greece,” emphasized the member of the federal government’s “Council of the Wise Ones” on economic matters, Peter Bofinger, and he notes: Exiting the crisis requires as an outcome the changing of the prescriptions, and not merely their cosmetic improvement.

“Greece must be saved. Brussels cannot whistle past the graveyard and watch as the country slides into anarchy and catastrophe. On the contrary, Brussels has a vital interest in helping Greece get back on its feet, chiefly through stimulus programs. Besides, the negative developments in Spain and Italy show that Greece is not the only party responsible for the crisis. The false prescriptions for its therapy bear the most responsibility for the crisis,” Bofinger said to the Sunday edition (June 17, 2012) of the Greek newspaper To Vima.

A Greek departure from the euro would be catastrophic for everyone

Mr. Bofinger characterizes a possible exit of Greece from the eurozone as “catastrophic for all” and expresses the hope that “those responsible will do everything in their power to avoid this greatest of all misfortunes.” He adds further:

“The Greek parties say, ‘No, we will not fulfill the obligations.’ and the other side replies, ‘OK, then we will throw you out of Europe.’ If it really comes to that kind of head-on collision, both sides will suffer colossal damage. An uncontrolled exit would be catastrophic for Greece. But the same would be true fort the rest of the Eurozone, because it would rattle countries like Portugal, Spain and Italy. The best thing for both sides would be a compromise based on finding new macro-economic conditions.”

The member of the federal government’s “Council of the Wise” also emphasizes: “Greece will not be able escape the crisis alone. The first thing it must do is to slow the rate of the collapse, by postponing the enactment of the savings measures. The second is to take recovery initiatives through structural reforms, like opening closed professions. All of this. however, is not enough for the country to come out of the valley of depression. There must also be financial support from outside.”

We’ve reported in the past about violence and arson at asylum centers in Norway. Our Norwegian correspondent The Observer has abbreviated and translated this article about the ongoing epidemic of fires at asylum centers, an undetermined number of which have been deliberately set.

The translator includes this note:

This article deals with the many ‘spontaneous combustion’ incidents at various Norwegian asylum centres.

With incidents such as these — and mind you, these fires are just a very tiny part of the massive problems associated with these centres — it’s no wonder that Norwegians don’t want these cultural enrichment facilities on their doorsteps.

In other news the FrP (The Progress Party, or maybe the “Feisty Rhetoric Party”?) is demanding that the government introduce tougher requirements on who gets to stay in Norway. They are demanding that asylum seekers who don’t dress like Norwegians, speak Norwegian, have a job, respect Norwegian customs and traditions, have outstanding alimony payments and don’t have a clean police record should be denied permanent residency in Norway.

They also say that BBs (Burqa Birds) shouldn’t receive unemployment benefits as their attire pretty much excludes them from the job market. Very few employers in Norway would consider hiring a walking tarpaulin.

The English version of the article is at The Local.

Norwegian voters are advised not to take this political proclamation too seriously, however. The FrP is all talk and very little action. They have demonstrated many times that when it comes down to it, looking after Norwegian interests is of secondary importance to them, and that their real priority is to solidify their newly-gained power as a respectable political party.

The translated article from today’s VG Nett:

Concerned about fires in asylum centres

So far this year two people have died in fires at Norwegian asylum centres.

There have been seven fires in total at Norwegian asylum centres so far in 2012. In one a mother and her child lost their lives.

“There has been an overall decrease in the number of fires, but the fires have been more severe,” Ahmed Bozgil, director of Hero Norway, tells VG.

Seven fires

January 16:		A fire broke out at Bergum asylum centre. Garolin Nesa Raja (24) started a fire in her room. Both she and her year-old son Rojgar succumbed.
January 18:		At an asylum centre in Hå in Rogaland, a 28-year-old asylum seeker was charged with arson after a fire broke out in a bedroom. Prior to the fire the 28-year-old was reported to have been involved in a scuffle with a younger countryman.
February 14:		A fire broke out at an asylum centre in Stord. A baby and a four-year-old were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital.
March 5:		Fire at an asylum centre in Heimly. One of the residents set fire to his room in what has been described as a cry for help. A 17-year-old male suffered from smoke inhalation and was sent to the hospital in Tromsø.
March 17:		Fire at Haslemoen asylum centre. One building was completely destroyed. Three Somalis were charged with arson.
April 1:		The asylum centre at Mortensnes in Tromsø burned to the ground. The cause of the fire is unknown.
April 27:		Fire at Lødingen asylum centre. Several residents had to jump out of the building. Four people were sent to Harstad Hospital. Several residents suffered fractures.

Serious

Fires at Norwegian asylum centres are not a new phenomenon. Riots broke out in asylum-Norway in the summer of 2010. The country’s two departure centres [housing asylum seekers who have had their asylum applications rejected] were set alight by angry asylum seekers. Lier departure centre was burned to the ground and Fagerli departure centre suffered extensive damages.

Between 1997 and 2009 Norwegian fire fighting personnel responded to 144 fires at Norwegian asylum centres, according to figures from DSB [The Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning]. In almost half of the cases investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fires.

We’ve become accustomed to the grotesque and horrifying reports of acid attacks against women in Pakistan or Afghanistan, at the hands of their irate husbands or spurned suitors. Now the same technique for avenging wounded honor has migrated to Spain along with cultural enrichment.

Many thanks to our Spanish correspondent Hermes for translating this article from today’s Alerta Digital:

A man of Arab background threw sulfuric acid on the face of his Spanish wife

A man of Arab background threw sulfuric acid in his wife’s face. This happened this morning at the door of the victim’s home in Rio Ulla street, no. 9, in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood in Ciudad Lineal district, Madrid. The victim was a 29-year-old Spanish woman who had never previously made any legal complaints of mistreatment directed against her. She had, however, filed for a separation from her husband.

The woman was sprinkled with sulfuric acid while screaming in pain, but she did not lose consciousness, so that she could identify her ex-partner, an Arab man. The assailant was confronted by several passers-by, who were also injured during the attack. They rushed to her aid while shouting for help. Among them was a female pharmacist who noticed what was happening just at the moment the victim was attacked.

The victim remains hospitalized in serious condition in the burn unit at La Paz Hospital. She herself could say in a perfectly lucid state of consciousness that she was in the process of divorcing an Arab man.

After the wounds on her face had been checked, it was confirmed by the health center that her prognosis was grave.

The attacker was also wounded by the sprinkled acid.

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.

Three Afghan assassins dressed in police uniforms turned their guns on American soldiers in southern Afghanistan, killing one of them and injuring several others. The attackers escaped, and police are searching for them. It isn’t clear yet whether the murderers really were policemen, or were simply wearing police uniforms.

In other news, former president Hosni Mubarak was said to be “clinically dead” today when his vital signs ceased after he was rushed to the hospital. Later reports said that Mr. Mubarak had never been declared clinically dead, but was in fact in critical condition.

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Nicky Larkin is a young Irish filmmaker who went to Israel to document the abuses of the fascist apartheid Jewish state, and thereby confirm the received wisdom back in Dublin about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, during his trip to Israel Mr. Larkin kept an open mind, and the facts on the ground changed it. His documentary film Forty Shades of Grey was the result, and his unwillingness to adopt an anti-Israel stance has caused controversy in Ireland.

This interview was recorded last night at the National Archives in Ottawa before the screening of Mr. Larkin’s film:

The article below by Nicky Larkin from The Ottawa Citizen also discusses the story behind his film:

How I Became an Irish Zionist
by Nicky Larkin

Summer 2012 — An Israeli flag proudly flies outside the front of a Dublin city centre pub. An insignificant event perhaps in other parts of the world — but not in Ireland. Six months previously Dublin city council allowed a day-long enactment of mock executions of “Israelis” by “Palestinians” on our main shopping thoroughfare, organized by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Being anti-Israel has somehow become part of our Irish national identity — the same way we are supposed to resent the English.

I was no different. My interest in the Israeli-Arab conflict had been sparked by Operation Cast Lead. I posed in the striped scarf of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation for an art show catalogue, in a gesture of solidarity. While I never had any notions of “Throwing The Jew Down The Well,” as Borat might have it, I had definite opinions on Israeli foreign policy. The Irish papers were full of stories of Israeli aggression every day that summer — between flotillas and bombings it didn’t look good. You can’t polish a turd.

But I wanted to go and see for myself. I wanted to see just how nasty these Israeli’s actually were. I wanted proof that I was right.

Several months later, I arrived in Ben Gurion Airport expecting all sorts of security checks. We were Irish, and we were filmmakers — therefore we were not to be trusted. Thankfully, we cleared security without the involvement of latex gloves or free prostate exams.

But suspicion followed us everywhere we went in that first week in Israel. Once we told people we were Irish it was harder to get interviews, and people were more reluctant to speak on camera. I understood why.

After that first week in Israel we crossed over into the West Bank. Being Irish wasn’t a problem on this side of the divide. Everyone was our friend. IRA graffiti adorned The Wall; tiny German flags affixed to car number-plates. Bethlehem was Las Vegas for Jesus-freaks, the neon crucifixes punctuated only by posters of martyrs.

I was confused by the constant Palestinian repetition of the mantra of “non-violent resistance.” Why put up all the posters of martyrs, if you advocate non-violent resistance? I was supposed to understand all this somehow because I’m Irish. But even the IRA didn’t blow themselves up … at least not on purpose.

I was also frustrated by the unquestioning attitude of the foreign activists. Anything seemed acceptable in the name of the Palestinian cause. No questions asked. But would these war-tourists apply this same liberal attitude if it was happening at home in their own country? If buses were exploding in their own home cities? If they weren’t out here on holidays in their summer playground?

My opinions didn’t change overnight. I spent seven weeks in the area, the time divided equally between Israel and the West Bank. Then I spent several months trawling through hundreds of hours of the interviews we’d filmed. I’d spoken to everyone from Ultra-Orthodox Settlers to Marxist Palestinians. Everybody had an opinion, and everybody was sure that their opinion was right.

[…]

But unlike the rockets from Gaza, not all the letters have been sent with spleen.

I expected hate mail. And I got it. But I didn’t expect the support from a largely silent group of people — Irish people. It seems there are true liberals out there. People prepared to listen to both sides of the story.

Since my initial article in March, a multitude of other Irish writers have been questioning our automatic anti-Israel bias in several national newspapers. For the first time ever Irish people are starting to think about the Israel issue in a rational light. There is a genuine sea-change taking place.

I opened a previously closed debate, and I would like to think that the Israeli flag now flying in Dublin city centre has more than a little bit to do with me.

Nicky Larkin will be presenting his film, Forty Shades of Grey, and answering questions Monday at Library & Archives at 7 p.m. (freethinkingfilms.com).

Hat tip: For the video, Vlad Tepes; for the article, JLH.

Fjordman’s latest essay has been published at Europe News. Some excerpts are below:

I cannot and will not respond to all of the negative writings about me or accusations against me. My time is limited, and may be more usefully spent doing other things. My initial instinct was to ignore the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, too, but on further reflection, it seemed necessary to clarify the record.

Tens of millions of people use Wikipedia on a regular basis. They have a right to know just how biased this source can be and sometimes is.

Because Wikipedia is continuously edited by numerous unpaid volunteers in many countries, it changes more frequently than, say, the Encyclopædia Britannica Online. The following Wikipedia citations all refer to entries as they existed on June 15, 2012. One may hope some of these will later be changed for the better.

[…]

Arnulf Hagen, a technology professor at NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in the city of Trondheim, claimed that Wikipedia has been manipulated by “ right-wing extremist networks.” He did point out some real flaws in the Wikipedia model, for instance that a tiny percentage of its anonymous users are responsible for a vastly disproportionate number of edits or entries there.

In a magazine published by the labor unions (LO), which cooperate intimately with the Labor Party, Hagen suggested that I have operated within a vast right-wing extremist network in the Wiki-world under the nickname Misheu, and there edited more than two thousand articles. That’s definitely a very interesting theory. The only problem with it is that is has absolutely no basis in reality whatsoever and is 100% fabricated. I never had anything actively to do with Wikipedia at all under any name until well after the Breivik case, when I first contacted them to request that a few statements on their extremely hostile entries on me be edited. I didn’t even know how to log in there.

That fact didn’t prevent Mr. Hagen from publishing several articles about this issue and being interviewed about it by the national broadcaster NRK. Curiously, nobody asked me about the matter even though quite a few journalists have my email address.

In another venue, Professor Arnulf Hagen, again without having the tiniest shred of evidence, stated that the American author Bruce Bawer writes at the blog Gates of Vienna under the pseudonym The Observer. For the record: I know who The Observer is, and he is an ethnic Norwegian.

Wikipedia suggests that Eurabia is a “conspiracy theory,” despite the fact that those wring about this subject can back up every single claim using publicly available sources. I am also routinely refereed to as a “conspiracy theorist” in the mainstream media in multiple countries, despite the fact that they find it hard to pinpoint exactly what I have written that is factually wrong. Yet here we have a case where a respected academic at a noted national university simply invents things out of thin air, thereby implicating named individuals in a vast conspiracy. He had these claims published with nary a single critical question asked by established journalists.

It says bad things about the state of modern academia when an established professor, who is supposed to know a thing or two about sources and doing critical research, fails so utterly and publicly in this task. I hope Hagen is better at his job under normal circumstances. If not, perhaps he should consider finding a different line of work.

Read the rest at Europe News.

For a complete archive of Fjordman’s writings, see the multi-index listing in the Fjordman Files.