Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/25/2013

A bus driver has caused a scandal in Sweden by allegedly dividing up passengers bound for buses according to their race, placing “brown” people on a different bus from native Swedes. The driver will be called to account by his employer, and asked to explain his “apartheid” actions.

In other news, a newly-released report suggests that Slovenia will be the next Eurozone country to require a bailout. According to the report, major Slovenian banks are awash in toxic debt.

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

Thanks to Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, Paul Green, The Observer, 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
» Cyprus: Slovenia Could be Next to Follow Suit
» Cyprus Fallout: Moscow Accuses Euro Zone of Theft — And Worse
» Cyprus Bank Bailout Agreement is Pure Theft: 40% of Private Deposits to be Looted From Selected Accounts
» Emerging Countries Thinking About a Joint Bank Against West
» EU Objection Raised to Italian Plan to Pay Overdue Bills
» Italy: CGIL Tells Bersani to Focus on Real Economy
» Italy: Monti Says EU Encourages Paying 40 Billion in Overdue Bills
» Success of Cyprus Deal Dependent on ‘Social Consensus’
 
USA
» ADL Drops Public Opposition to Florida ALAC Bill
» Are We Being “Set Up?”
» Black Mob Beats Man ‘For No Reason’
» Electric Bacteria Could be Used for Bio-Battery
» Gun Control Battle Heats Up
» Humanities Grant Speaker to Discuss Islam Today at HCC
» IRS Spends $60,000 to Make the Worst Star Trek Episode Ever
» Judge Tells 15-Year-Old He’ll Face Murder Charge in Baby Shooting
» New York Times Slanders NYPD Officer, Shamefully Distorts Stop-and-Frisk Policy
» Obama’s Insatiable Appetite for More Government
» The Picture of the Real Obama Worth Framing
» Why is DHS the Biggest Prepper in America?
» Will Hastily Crafted Mental Health Laws Do More Harm Than Good?
» Yassir Fazaga Speaks at UMaine as Part of Islam Awareness Week
 
Europe and the EU
» Analysis: Sitting on Too Much Money, Norway Risks Going Off Course
» Andrew Bostom: Magdi Allam Leaves Catholic Church Over Its Dhimmitude
» Berlusconi Ready to Stand for Premier if Italy Votes Again
» Denmark: Two Danish-Somali Brothers Found Guilty of Training for Terror
» Italy: Berlusconi Proposes Bersani-Alfano Govt Team
» Italy: Berlusconi Blasts Monti Over Handling of Marines
» Italy: Beppe Grillo Calls for Help in Hunting ‘Trolls’ On His Blog
» Italy: Rome Mayor’s Confidant Arrested in Corruption Probe
» Marina Kim: Called a Hooker. Labelled a Spy. My Experience of Britain’s Hidden Racism Against Eastern Europeans
» Merkel Back on Capri This Easter
» Netherlands: Wilders’ PVV is Most Popular Party as Cyprus Crisis Divides Voters
» Sweden: Bus Passengers ‘Divided According to Skin Colour’
» Syria: A Training Ground for European Jihadists
» UK: A Mega Mosque in a Suburb That Was 90 Per Cent White 30 Years Ago and the Polite Apartheid Dividing Britain
» UK: Did Animal Rights Activists Beat Dog to Death and Leave Its Body on Hunt Master’s Drive?
» UK: How the People’s Assembly Can Challenge Our Suffocating Political Consensus — and Why It’s Vital That We Do
» UK: PM a Political Dwarf: Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy
» UK: The English Question
» Unrest in Bulgaria: New Casualty in Wave of Self-Immolations
 
North Africa
» Death Toll in Libya Alcohol Poisoning Epidemic Climbs
» Egypt: Luxor Governor Witnesses Ceremony of Amenhotep III Statue Inauguration
» President Morsi Salutes Egyptian Mothers
» Western Sahara: 50 Wounded in Saharawi Protest
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel Fires at Syrian Army Post in Golan Heights
» Palestine — Obama Utters the Magic Word “Annapolis”
 
Middle East
» Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With C.I.A. Aid
» Gadaffi Wife, Children Granted Asylum in Oman
» Kuwait: Movie Night — Women in Islam
» UAE: Dubai Plays Major Role in Paving “New Silk Road”
» UN to Evacuate Half Its Foreign Personnel in Syria
 
South Asia
» Afghanistan Takes Full Control of Bagram Prison
» Ford India Apologizes for Ad With Berlusconi, Gagged Women
» Indonesia: West Jakarta: Islamist Threats Against Holy Week Celebrations
» Judge Chosen for Marines’ Trial in India
 
Far East
» No Truce With Leftist Rebels During Holy Week: Philippine Military
» Russia Lets China Into Arctic Rush as Energy Giants Embrace
 
Australia — Pacific
» Mahmoud Eid Says He Ran Amok at Muslim Riots in Hyde Park, Sydney Court Hears
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» 13 South African Soldiers Dead in Central African Republic
» China’s Xi Hails ‘Sincere Friendship’ With Africa
» Nigeria: Gunmen Kill Imam, Invade Prison, Police Station
» Somali Female Journalist Shot Dead — Colleague
» South African Soldiers Killed in Central African Republic
 
Immigration
» “Racist” Hong Kong Denies Permanent Residency to Domestic Workers
» Italy: Immigrants’ Children Should Become Citizens, Boldrini
» UK: Cameron Promises Three-Fold Crackdown on Immigration
» UK: Cameron Toughens His Position on Immigration But is He Serious About the Issue?

Cyprus: Slovenia Could be Next to Follow Suit

After a decade of government corruption and toxic debts

(ANSAmed) — LJUBLJANA, MARCH 25 — Slovenia could be next in line for eurozone bailout, according to a recent banking report by the national anti-corruption commission. “Over the past decade, the top Slovenian banks have extended enormous sums of now-toxic credit, amounting to one fifth of national GDP, with decisions based on political and personal relationships in an atmosphere of structural political corruption,” the report alleges. Slovenian banks, most of which are state-owned, have reportedly run up 7 billion euros in toxic debt, equal to 20% of their total loan portfolios, with major ratings agencies downgrading Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) and Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM) in past months.

The newly elected center-left government, which took office last week, will have to decide whether or not to set up a bad bank to take on the toxic debt, recapitalize the detoxed banks, and then sell them off to the private sector. Slovenian banks in 2012 posted overall losses of 606 million euros, or 67 million euros more than in 2011. According to former Finance Minister Janez Sustercic, the country will probably “be forced to apply for international aid unless the bank restructuring plan goes through.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Cyprus Fallout: Moscow Accuses Euro Zone of Theft — And Worse

Russia has sharply criticized the bailout deal for Cyprus, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev accusing the EU of theft. Russian state television even likened the forced levy imposed on wealthy investors — many of them Russian — to the expropriation of Jews by Nazi Germany.

The verdict of Russian state television on Europe’s effort to save Cyprus was damning. The last week “will enter the history books of the EU as a destructive one,” said Dmitry Kiselev, the presenter of the popular news program Vesti Nedili on the Rossiya channel.

Kiselev heaped criticism on the forced levy to be imposed on bank deposits in Cyprus. He said the last time a Western European government proceeded so recklessly was when Adolf Hitler expropriated the Jews.

Nazi propaganda at the time described the money held by Jewish people as “dirty,” said Kiselev. That was precisely how Europe was talking about Russian assets deposited in Cyprus, he added.

“The new world order is being founded against Russia, at Russia’s costs and on the rubble of Russia,” said a Rossiya correspondent from the Mediterranean island nation.

The Kremlin feels it has been sidelined in the tug-of-war over the Cypriot bailout, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso visited Moscow for talks last Friday, but just a few days later, Europe’s new attempt to avert a financial meltdown in Cyprus has elicited fierce criticism from Moscow.

Oligarchs May Face Losses Up to 30 Percent

“The stealing of what has already been stolen continues,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted by news agencies as telling a meeting of government officials. He was referring to investments by Russian oligarchs that now face major levies to pay for the Cypriot share of the bailout in return for €10 billion in international aid.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Cyprus Bank Bailout Agreement is Pure Theft: 40% of Private Deposits to be Looted From Selected Accounts

(NaturalNews) A brand new looting arrangement has been reached concerning Cypriot banks. It involves seizing the funds of all accounts over 100,000 euros, then stealing up to 40% of those funds sometime over the next few weeks, or whenever EU bureaucrats get around to deciding exactly how much to steal.

So instead of 10% being stolen from most accounts, as was originally proposed, the new deal is that 40% will be stolen from selected accounts, but not from accounts holding less than 100,000 euros. Why the 100,000 threshold for having your money stolen by the banking system? Because all EU bank accounts are insured up to 100,000 euros. So the banksters figured they could just steal anything over 100,000 and say, “Heh, it wasn’t insured, your loss!”

IMF chief Christine Lagarde characterized the theft as “a lasting, durable and fully financed solution.” And if that’s not enough of a solution, they can always loot more private accounts to reach a new solution!

Sure, it’s a great solution… if you’re the banksters stealing all the money from private account holders. But from the point of view of depositors, this “solution” looks a lot more like a mugging.

It’s actually worse than just the 40% being stolen from private accounts: all accounts over 100,000 euros are now indefinitely frozen (seized) until the banksters figure out exactly how much to steal.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Emerging Countries Thinking About a Joint Bank Against West

BRICS members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are set to meet in Durban to discuss the creation of a new institution that could challenge the dominance of the (US-led) World Bank and the (European-led) International Monetary Fund. Experts warn it still too soon, and that “these countries must show that they can overcome the crisis”.

Beijing (AsiaNews) — The BRICS group of emerging nations plans to set up a new joint bank at their annual meeting to oppose the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, deemed “Western” structures that “do not reflect changes in the modern world.” A BRICS bank could start with US$ 10 billion seed money from each of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The project is expected tomorrow when the heads of state concerned meet in Durban, South Africa. China’s new leader Xi Jinping, recently “crowned” by the National People’s Congress as president of China, chose South Africa as his first trip abroad at the start of his mandate. According to analysts, it is a “clear signal” of the importance Beijing places in the group.

If emerging countries can agree, the monopoly of international aid will be removed after 70 years from the hands of the World Bank. According to an unwritten agreement, the top post in the World Bank goes to an American whilst that at the IMF goes to a European.

Together, BRICS nations account for 25 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product and 40 per cent of the world’s population.

In any case, the project, as it now stands, would be dramatically scaled back from initial, more ambitious proposals made last year for funding of US$ 50 billion from each individual country.

In addition, there are differences of opinion within the group on the purpose of the new bank.

“The bank will help BRICS sustain financial risks and provide support for the development of African countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

For Oliver Stuenkel, BRICS expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, the development bank is in part a reaction to these countries’ dimmed economic outlook.

“Now Brazil is growing at an anaemic rate, South Africa is not doing so well and India’s growth is stalling, so the BRICS need to prove they can survive and prosper in challenging economic times,” he explained.

China plans to push as hard as possible for a quick agreement, and the presence of Xi Jinping is evidence of that.

China’s Communist Party general secretary left Tanzania today for Durban. He is scheduled to end his Africa trip in the Congo.

All these countries have strong trade relations with China, which provides investments for infrastructure in exchange for the rights to exploit energy resources.

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

EU Objection Raised to Italian Plan to Pay Overdue Bills

EU sources say hinders closure of deficit case against Italy

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 25 — If the Italian public administration unblocks payment of some 40 billion euros overdue to its suppliers, European proceedings against Italy for excessive deficit will be more difficult to close, European Union sources said on Monday. Italy’s outgoing technical government has said unblocking the payments — a maneuver proposed for much-needed economic stimulus in the recession-hit country — would raise Italy’s 2013 budget deficit to 2.9%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: CGIL Tells Bersani to Focus on Real Economy

Union wants IMU tax lifted from less wealthy households

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Trade union leaders on Monday called on centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani to focus on the real economy if he manages to form a government.

Bersani met trade unionists and business representatives as part of talks after Italian President Giorgio Napolitano gave him a mandate to try to form a government in his role as the leader of the coalition that came first in last month’s inconclusive general election.

“It’s necessary to stop the crisis the economy is going through and the country’s decline,” said Susanna Camusso, the head of Italy’s biggest trade-union confederation, the left-wing CGIL.

“So the emphasis should be put on providing answers for the world of work.

“A government of change is needed that starts to deal with the real economy and people’s situations,” she added after meeting Bersani. Outgoing Premier Mario Monti’s emergency technocrat administration eased concern on the international money markets about Italy’s ability to weather the eurozone crisis but his austerity measures deepened the country’s recession and pushed unemployment up to record highs over 11%.

Camusso said she had requested that the unpopular IMU property tax introduced by Monti be lifted for less wealthy households — those that currently pay 1,000 euros or less in IMU a year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Monti Says EU Encourages Paying 40 Billion in Overdue Bills

Outgoing PM decides to speed up payment of public suppliers

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Outgoing Italian Premier Mario Monti sought to cut off speculation on Monday that Europe was against his technical government’s plan to settle 40 billion euros’ worth of unpaid bills to Italian public administration suppliers.

“The European Commission has encouraged Italy to put in place a program, noting that the impact on public finances will be taken into consideration as a mitigating factor (in deficit proceedings against Italy). The commission is acting from encouragement,” Monti underlined.

Speaking to the Senate on Monday, Monti also said he would act “ahead of time” to unblock the payments. European Union sources had disclosed on Monday that if the Italian public administration pays its overdue bills, European proceedings against Italy for excessive deficit will be more difficult to close. Monti’s technical government has indicated that unblocking the payments to provide much-needed economic stimulus in the recession-hit country would raise Italy’s 2013 budget deficit to 2.9%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Success of Cyprus Deal Dependent on ‘Social Consensus’

BRUSSELS — The success of the Cyprus bailout deal will depend on the social consensus around it, says the EU commission, with the island’s GDP expected to dive as the size of banking sector is drastically cut.

Speaking in Brussels just hours after a new bailout deal was put together, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday (25 March) underlined that solidarity from euro member states is conditional.

“With responsibility on the part of Cyprus, we will ensure that solidarity is provided by the euro area,” he said.

His warning comes ahead of a planned TV address later on Monday by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to explain the terms of the deal to the Cypriot people.

A previous deal which would have seen a one-off levy on all deposit holders — including the least wealthy, was rejected by the Cypriot parliament.

Under the renewed agreement, Laiki bank, the island’s second-largest lender, will effectively be wound down, with all uninsured depositers taking a major hit, possibly losing all their money. Cyprus’ biggest bank, Bank of Cyprus, is expected to see savers with over €100,000 take a loss of 30 to 40 percent.

International lenders also want to reduce size of Cyprus’ banking sector by over half by 2018 to match the EU average of around 3.5 times GDP.

Currently the banking sector is 7.5 times the size of the economy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

ADL Drops Public Opposition to Florida ALAC Bill

Throughout the recent Florida legislative hearings of the American Law for American Courts (ALAC) bills, HB351/SB58, one opposing group has been noticeably absent, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). HB351/SB58 seeks to regulate the application of foreign laws in certain state court cases. To date, no ADL representative has publicly appeared in Tallahassee at any of the four committee hearings held by the Florida House and Senate, effectively signaling the go-ahead to legislators. This development is a welcome surprise considering the widely publicized opposition of ADL to the bill during the 2012 legislative session. That effort was coordinated with various Muslim organizations and Brotherhood front groups. Most notable among ADL’s apparent partners in last year’s effort was Ahmed Bedier’s United Voices for America. Why this joint effort was so scandalous can be gathered simply by reading Bedier’s background file at the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

One of the biggest factors ending ADL’s public opposition to ALAC is its own donor base. Feedback over the last year indicates that the ADL’s apparent partnership with Ahmed Bedier’s United Voice for America, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other Muslim interest groups was received as a matter of scandal by donors and board members in Florida and nationally. Bedier was caught on a video made by The United West promoting the talking points provided by the ADL (Watch the video here). Considering that ALAC enjoys a strong majority of support among Floridians and even among its donor base, ADL withdrew its public opposition and effectively gave the go-ahead.

ADL’s talking points and print materials have continued to be recycled by various Muslim interest groups during the 2013 session. Any ADL public effort to oppose ALAC is nevertheless being monitored by supporters of the House and Senate bills who insist that their cameras are ready to roll. Sources also indicate that a previously-prepared public relations video campaign aimed at ADL’s South Florida donor base has been shelved for as long as ADL remains publicly silent on ALAC.

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]

Are We Being “Set Up?”

I can’t put my finger on it, but I have this nagging feeling that Senator Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban is not gone. My paranoia tells me the democrats are going to squeeze it through a “back door” somehow…

“When Harry Reid says he’s dropping Feinstein from the bill, what he means is it’s not going to be in the bill which is reported to the Senate, but it will be offered on the Senate floor,” he said. “So the question we’re asking is, ‘Why in heaven’s name should anyone vote for this underlying vehicle when we’re being told in advance it’s going to be nothing but a vehicle for a gun-control buffet?’“

Just saying “I don’t trust the Senate” would be a huge understatement.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Black Mob Beats Man ‘For No Reason’

[WARNING: ** Disturbing Content **]

Police are “baffled.” So is the daily newspaper.

Three black men in New Orleans stalk and stomp a man almost to death. They laugh. They linger. They beat him some more. They move on. Then return and kick him in the face.

It’s all captured on video.

“I’ve never had an incident like this. Usually there’s a reason, and usually it’s robbery,” Det. Michael Flores told the Times-Picayune newspaper last week. “Not in this case.”

The victim had a cell phone, $300 in cash and cigarettes in his pockets. “It doesn’t make no sense,” he told the newspaper from his hospital bed.

Cops and reporters may be perplexed by the violence, but readers of WND will recognize it. As did at least one person in New Orleans, who posted at on the newspaper’s message board:

“It’s called the “Knockout Game.” Go Google it because it’s happening all across the country, but the lame stream media is very silent on the subject.”…

This New Orleans crowd was about to start the Knockout Game with someone else an hour before. But when that person acted as if they had a weapon, the Game was over before it began.

[…]

Lee says police often ignore the Knockout Game because it would makes their city look bad if others knew mobs of black people were roaming around looking for white people to hurt.

The criminals pay close attention. They seek the defenseless.

“Most of the people who get beat up are vegans, gays, artists, non-violent types,” Lee said. “Many are kids from the suburbs or recent immigrants. People who are not prepared to defend themselves. There are white neighborhoods — blue collar, middle class neighborhoods — where these folks will not go because they know that people there are willing to defend themselves.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Electric Bacteria Could be Used for Bio-Battery

In an important step toward the creation of “bio-batteries,” a new study reveals how bacteria produce electricity when proteins in their cell membranes come into contact with a mineral surface.

Scientists have known for some time that a family of marine bacteria known as Shewanella oneidensis, found in deep ocean sediments and soil, can create electrical currents when exposed to heavy metals like iron and manganese.

In a study published today (March 25) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that these proteins can ferry electrons across a membrane at a rate fast enough to produce the energy the bacteria need to survive.

Just as humans breathe oxygen and use it to generate energy, Shewanella bacteria can use minerals like iron oxide for respiration, study co-author Liang Shi, a microbiologist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, told LiveScience.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Gun Control Battle Heats Up

WASHINGTON — Leading advocates for both sides in the national debate over guns urged voters on Sunday to make their opinion known to lawmakers ahead of critical votes next month in Congress that will determine whether gun rights groups can again thwart efforts to tighten firearms regulations even after the Connecticut school massacre.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Wayne LaPierre, the CEO and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, an influential gun rights lobbying group, claimed their opposing views on guns have the support of the overwhelming majority of Americans.

Both sides see the next two weeks as critical to the debate, when lawmakers head home to hear from constituents ahead of next month’s anticipated Senate vote on gun control legislation drafted in response to the December elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six educators dead.

Bloomberg, a former Republican-turned-independent, has just sunk $12 million for Mayors Against Illegal Guns to run television ads and phone banks in 13 states urging voters to tell their senators to pass legislation requiring universal background checks for gun buyers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Humanities Grant Speaker to Discuss Islam Today at HCC

A history professor for Queensborough Community College in New York will deliver a public lecture titled “A Primer on Islam” this morning in Hopkinsville. Dr. Emily S. Tai’s lecture will begin at 11 a.m. at the Hopkinsville Community College library. The public is encouraged to attend.

[JP note: Sure.]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

IRS Spends $60,000 to Make the Worst Star Trek Episode Ever

If you’re burdened with an almost limitless stream of confiscated taxpayer dollars, there’s only one thing to do. Throw a big party, call it a “conference,” and tell the public that it’s going to boast a wide variety of “training seminars.” At least, that’s what you do if you’re the IRS.

In 2010, they put together a “training and leadership conference” which would kick off with a deeply informative, IRS-made, Star Trek parody. Allegedly it was designed to teach the attendees…well…something. No one is sure what, exactly, they were supposed to learn.

The clip, along with a brief Gilligan’s Island parody, cost sixty thousand dollars to produce, stars actual IRS agents, and was filmed at an IRS studio in New Carrollton, Md. — Just outside of Washington D.C.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Judge Tells 15-Year-Old He’ll Face Murder Charge in Baby Shooting

A teenager suspected in the shooting of a baby in the coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia, appeared in court Monday, where a judge told him he will be charged with murder.

[…]

On Thursday the infant’s mother, Sherry West, told police that she was pushing her son in a stroller in broad daylight when two males approached her.

“A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn’t have any money. And he said, ‘Give me your money or I’m going to kill you and I’m going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,’ and I said, ‘I don’t have any money,’ and ‘Don’t kill my baby,’ “ she told reporters.

One boy tried to grab her purse and opened fire when she tried to tell him she had no money, West said, with the shot grazing her head. She said the boy then shot her in the leg.

West continued, “And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face.”

West said that she tried to perform CPR on her son and that police took over when they arrived. “We lost him,” she said.

           — Hat tip: Paul Green [Return to headlines]

New York Times Slanders NYPD Officer, Shamefully Distorts Stop-and-Frisk Policy

A fiendishly deceptive article about the New York Police Department in the New York Times has set back the cause of public safety not just in New York but nationally. A front-page story on Friday twisted a police commander’s exhortation to an underperforming officer to work harder against crime into an injunction to target blacks on the basis of race. The commander’s statements were captured on a tape secretly recorded by the officer and replayed last Thursday during a federal racial-profiling trial directed against the New York Police Department’s stop, question, and frisk policy. The officer had already joined the lawsuit when he made the recording and was patently trying to goad the commander into making a statement that could be used in the litigation.

[…]

The Times’ writers and publishers will likely not notice much of a difference (at least initially) if the current campaign against New York’s stop, question, and frisk policy succeeds. Times staffers overwhelmingly live in safe neighborhoods where shootings are merely theoretical. But law-abiding residents of inner-city neighborhoods know that effective policing is a life-and-death matter, and thus passionately support law enforcement. The NYPD works around the clock to provide upstanding members of poor communities the same freedom from fear that affluent areas take for granted.

[And of course, just try and get a concealed carry permit and protect yourself in NYC. Basically impossible, unless you’re one of Nanny Bloomberg’s bodyguards. — PG]

           — Hat tip: Paul Green [Return to headlines]

Obama’s Insatiable Appetite for More Government

The national debt will soon rise to $17 trillion with no end in sight. By 2016 as Obama leaves office, the national debt will be $23 trillion. By 2050 entitlement spending will consume the entire annual receipts of the federal government, leaving nothing for discretionary spending. Along the way, bit by bit, the federal government will falter, incapable of meeting its commitments to seniors and the indigent. Dysfunctional government will increasingly become non-functional government. The weight of the federal government, now the greatest government parasite in world history, will become so great that its private sector host will collapse in fits and starts, incapable of shouldering the combined tax and regulatory burden the federal government expects it to tolerate. Will federal authorities become so prideful and arrogant that they will follow the example of Cypress and confiscate private bank holdings? Perhaps.

The force of excessive taxation and regulation will one way or another forge even greater disparities between the rich and poor as small and medium sized businesses disappear incapable of surmounting the regulatory barriers to entry and affording the taxes imposed by, among other monstrosities, Obamacare. By any sane interpretation, those elements define a present and expanding fiscal crisis, yet for Obama, if he can just manage to avoid the brunt of catastrophe before he leaves in 2016, he is content to let the forces that lead to ruination to continue unabated. Unless his own ox is gored, Obama cares little if everyone else’s is.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

The Picture of the Real Obama Worth Framing

What kind of message does this send to America’s enemies when the president of the United States gives a press conference standing in front of a banner celebrating one of the most brutal terrorists in history?

The last image of the public Obama in the West Bank, within days of the beginning of Holy Week, is the one of him taking part in a joint press conference with President Mahmoud Abbas under a beaming banner of Yasser Arafat, also known as the “father of modern terrorism”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Why is DHS the Biggest Prepper in America?

If preppers are just backwoods nutty racists, what does that say about DHS and our federal government?

The FED has become the biggest prepper in America, stockpiling billions of rounds of ammo, assault weapons, military armored assault vehicles marked and designed for domestic use, while stockpiling food, water and shelter for federal authorities and marking every American who owns a Christian Bible or a pocket Constitution as a “potential domestic terrorist?”…

Even for the most diehard American Democrat, the Obama strategy for destroying America should be quite clear by now.

1. Destroy the American economy 2. Import Jihadists 3. Place known traitors at the helm of U.S. policy 4. Dismantle the American military 5. Destroy national security 6. Turn law enforcement against average Americans 7. Protect and fund Jihadists everywhere 8. Rob Americans of their resources and rights 9. Arm the FED for Civil Disobedience 10. Disarm all law-abiding Citizens before they figure out what’s happening here

Obama has already accomplished nine steps in his fast-track ten step plan for destroying America. Seizing American weapons and savings is all that’s left to accomplish.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Will Hastily Crafted Mental Health Laws Do More Harm Than Good?

WASHINGTON — Little noticed in the tough gun control measures that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo drove through the General Assembly was a provision containing the most expansive language in the United States for keeping gun ownership from people with mental illness.

Most states have laws that remove ownership rights from those a court has involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. But the New York law makes a court determination unnecessary.

Instead, it requires mental health professionals to tell local officials if they believe a patient is likely to hurt himself or herself or someone else. Police officials would then be authorized to seize guns that person might own. The name of the patient would also be entered into state and national registries to prevent future firearm purchases.

“People who have mental health issues should not have guns,” Cuomo said upon passage of the bill in January. “They could hurt themselves. They could hurt other people.”

Many blanched at Cuomo’s comments even as states across the country struggle to achieve a balance between public safety and the rights of the mentally ill on this issue. To many, Cuomo seemed to suggest that anyone with a mental illness — a broad swath that includes depression, eating disorders, personality disorders and schizophrenia — is dangerous even though studies have shown that those with mental illness are only slightly more likely to commit acts of violence than anyone else. Research shows that they are more likely to be victims of violence.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Yassir Fazaga Speaks at UMaine as Part of Islam Awareness Week

The University of Maine’s Muslim Student Association and Honors College teamed up for the Islam Awareness Week hosting a presentation by world renowned speaker Yassir Fazaga from the Orange County Islamic Foundation in California. He spoke in the Wells Conference Center Friday morning March 22. According to the OCIF website, Dr. Fazaga was born in Eritrea in Northeast Africa and moved to the U.S. at the age of 15. He has a bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies from the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in Virginia and received a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from California State University, Long Beach…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Analysis: Sitting on Too Much Money, Norway Risks Going Off Course

(Reuters) — Middle East-style oil wealth combined with a generous Nordic welfare model is slowly throttling big chunks of Norway’s economy, threatening western Europe’s biggest success story.

On the surface, Norway is the envy of the world: growth is strong, per capita GDP has exceeded $100,000 and the nation sits on a $700 billion rainy day cash reserve, or $140,000 per man, woman and child.

But it may just be too much money as Norwegians, more keen on leisure and family life are working less and less.

Immigration is not filling the gap in the skilled part of the workforce, so productivity is stagnating, wages are surging and firms are pricing themselves out of their own market.

“Oil is a metaphor for winning the lottery,” said Ivar Froeness, a sociology professor at the University of Oslo. “Affluence has slowly crept into society… people just don’t really notice it because it’s been so gradual.”

“These days more people leave Oslo on Thursday afternoon than on Friday, taking long weekends,” he said. “We may take for granted that we have a house and a cabin in the mountain, and maybe another house on the beach.”

Wage costs are up 63 percent since 2000, about six times more than in Germany or Sweden, while the employment rate, adjusted for part time work, is 61 percent, below rates anywhere in the Nordics and even below Greece, the central bank says.

Still, unemployment is a barely visible 3 percent as more prefer part time work.

“Why should I work more when I don’t have to?” said Elise Bakke, 36, who recently cut her work day at a major telecom firm to 6 hours.

“Maybe it’s luck, maybe we earned it, it doesn’t really matter. We have the money to live the Nordic life: go to the cabin, ski, bike, spend time with the children.”

The government recently warned that unless working hours are increased by 10 percent over time, the state will eventually start eating into its savings. The central bank also warned that the welfare model is simply encouraging people to leave the labor market.

“The number of working hours for full time employees in Norway have fallen by 270 hours a year since 1974,” says Jostein Hansen, director of employment policies at Norwegian Hospitality Association. “Norwegians should follow Iceland’s example and work 100 hours more a year.”

The oil sector, the source of the problem, is also becoming a victim of its own success.

Aker Solutions (AKSO.OL), the nation’s top oil services firm, will hire 4,000 engineers this year but only a third will be Norwegians.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Andrew Bostom: Magdi Allam Leaves Catholic Church Over Its Dhimmitude

In a profoundly symbolic gesture (hat tip Tundra Tabloids ), which epitomizes the Catholic Church’s abject dhimmitude , high-profile Muslim convert to Christianity Magdi Christiano Allam , has renounced his Catholicism because of what he terms the Church’s weakness toward, and legitimation of, Islam.

Allam, who will remain a Christian, reiterated his belief that Islam is inherently violent, to both its own votaries, and non-Muslims, and criticized The Church for lacking “the vision and courage to denounce the incompatibility of Islam with our [Western] civilization and fundamental rights of the person.”

When Benedict XVI himself oversaw Magdi Allam’s public Easter 2008 conversion from Islam to Christianity, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the intrepid Mr. Allam clearly enunciated Islam’s defining bellicose intolerance, while extolling the Pope’s moral courage:…

           — Hat tip: Andy Bostom [Return to headlines]

Berlusconi Ready to Stand for Premier if Italy Votes Again

Center-right leader feels ‘huge responsibility’

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday that he would be willing to stand in elections if Italians returned to the polls to break the political deadlock gripping the country since the inconclusive February 24-25 election.

“I feel a huge responsibility,” Berlusconi said in an interview on morning news show La Telefonata broadcast on his Canale 5 (owned by Mediaset).

On Saturday, Berlusconi told supporters at a rally in Rome that he was ready for a snap vote.

His rival, center-left coalition and Democratic Party (PD) leader Pier Luigi Bersani began work over the weekend to form a government after being handed the mandate by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Friday. PD leaders have so far refused a broad coalition involving Berlusconi and his center-right People of Freedom (PdL) party.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Denmark: Two Danish-Somali Brothers Found Guilty of Training for Terror

Both men sentenced to three and a half years after damning audio from phone conversations suggested that they intended to embark on a murderous rampage in Europe

The two Danish-Somali brothers who were accused of financing terror and training for terrorist acts last month were found guilty today in Aarhus.

The brothers, aged 19 and 24, were each handed prison sentences of three and a half years by presiding judge Poul Holm, who put emphasis on a number of phone conversation between the 24-year-old brother, who was in Somalia between November 2011 and March 2012, and the 19-year-old in Aarhus.

On sound recordings from the conversations, the older brother said that he would “assemble a whole group (to) go to Europe and murder everything”. The judge and all the jury members, aside from one, found that the brothers were training for terror purposes.

The Aarhus case was unusual as it was the first time individuals were convicted of receiving training and preparing for a terror attack while in a foreign-based terror training camp.

The two brothers were also charged with providing financial support to al-Shabaab — which is considered a terrorist organisation by several European countries, the US, Canada and Australia — but were found not guilty on that charge.

The state prosecutor, Torben Thygesen, had argued that the brothers intended to carry out a terror act at a later time.

“The distance from receiving terror training to attempting a terror act at a later point is not far,” Thygesen said in his closing arguments when advocating for the younger brother to receive the same punishment as the elder. “When you are together in the deed, then the punishment should be the same.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Italy: Berlusconi Proposes Bersani-Alfano Govt Team

Centre left refusing to consider grand coalition

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi on Monday reiterated his stance that Italy needs a broad coalition government and proposed that the secretary of his People of Freedom (PdL) party, Angelino Alfano, be deputy premier in an administration headed by centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani.

Bersani, who was given a mandate to try and form a government by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano last week, has refused to consider working with the PdL after February’s general election failed to produce a clear winner.

“We will only sit at a negotiating table if it is to talk about a joint government, with Alfano deputy premier and Bersani premier, for example” Berlusconi told a meeting of PdL lawmakers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Berlusconi Blasts Monti Over Handling of Marines

Calls for PM’s resignation from Senate

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — The head of the Italian centre right Silvio Berlusconi blasted outgoing premier Mario Monti on Monday and called for his resignation from the Senate over the case of two Italian marines facing trial in India. “Monti made a shameful impression in the marines’ case. He did everything wrong,” complained Berlusconi, head of the People of Freedom (PdL) party.

Rome has been accused of climbing down after initially reneging on a pledge to return the two anti-piracy marines accused of killing two fishermen. They were returned to India on Friday after a two-week diplomatic tug-of-war between the two countries. The Italian ambassador was blocked in India after Italy announced it would not return the marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, to face trial.

Rome sanctioned their return Thursday night, in what mant saw as a volte-face, after receiving assurances the death penalty was off the table.

Berlusconi also claimed that Monti’s technocratic government, which passed painful austerity measures in its year-long stint since Berlusconi was forced to step down at the height of the euro crisis in November 2011, did not consult the PdL “at all”.

The PdL, along with the centre-left Democratic Party, backed the Monti government until Berlusconi pulled the plug in December and later campaigned against the policies he had supported, staging a strong comeback to come second to the PD in last month’s general election.

“(The Monti government) did everything on their own,” the three-time premier claimed Monday. “They did not consult us at all. They must resign as a group. Let’s throw out Monti from the Senate. He’s an undeserving Senator for life. He should resign”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Beppe Grillo Calls for Help in Hunting ‘Trolls’ On His Blog

5-Star Movement leader draws comments to provocative blog

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), called on supporters Monday to help him hunt down so-called “trolls” who are posting negative comments on his blog.

“Trolls” is a nickname for people who post nasty or provocative comments on Internet forums, such as blogs, but it wasn’t clear just who Grillo was referring to in his call to arms.

Some of Grillo’s own supporters have been challenging his orders, including parliamentarians elected on behalf of the party in last month’s national vote.

Grillo was furious last week when a handful of his Senators ignored his order that they abstain from a recent vote for a Senate Speaker, saying there would be consequences for the rebels who he said had fallen into a “trap”.

Other followers have posted questions and concerns on Grillo’s blog, a key forum for communications by the party leader.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Italy: Rome Mayor’s Confidant Arrested in Corruption Probe

Ex-CEO of EUR SpA accused of taking 800,000-euro bus bribe

(ANSA) Rome, March 25 — Finance police in Rome on Monday arrested a right-hand man of Rome’s mayor for allegedly accepting nearly a million euros in bribes from a state-controlled bus-maker for a contract to supply 45 buses to the City of Rome.

Riccardo Mancini was placed under house arrest on charges of accepting 800,000 euros from BredaMenarinibus, a bus-making subsidiary of the troubled state-controlled defense giant Finmeccanica, to provide the electric trolley buses that would have serviced the unrealized “Laurentina corridor”.

Mancini is known for his close ties to Roman mayor and centre-right politician Gianni Alemanno, who belongs to Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party.

Mancini is ex-CEO of Rome’s city-controlled company EUR SpA — a company that runs a public development project in Rome — and served as Alemanno’s treasurer during the 2008 mayoral election campaign. Mancini resigned from EUR SpA when news broke that he was a target of the corruption probe.

The ex-CEO of BredaMenarinibus, Roberto Ceraudo, is also under investigation — investigators believe he may have handed over the bribes — as are at least five other people. Businessman Edoardo D’Inca Levis is being probed for allegedly setting up a slush fund to deliver the money. Also under investigation are Lorenzo Borgogni, ex-head of Finmeccanica external relations, Lorenzo Cola, an ex-external consultant for Finmeccanica, Marco Iannilli, Cola’s accountant, and two BredaMenarinibus managers. The finance police and Carabinieri para-military police also conducted a series of searches on Monday to seize documents in the investigation. The Roman corruption probe means new trouble for Finmeccanica and the PdL, already under a hail of other high-profile corruption probes. Finmeccanica is at the centre of another corruption scandal that worsened already tense diplomatic relations with India and hit Italy’s centre right over alleged bribes in the sale of helicopters to the Indian air force.

The tangle of probes involving various senior PdL figures, including party-founder and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, have prompted the PdL to organize public protests accusing members of the Italian judiciary of political persecution.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Marina Kim: Called a Hooker. Labelled a Spy. My Experience of Britain’s Hidden Racism Against Eastern Europeans

Marina Kim is Kazakhstan-born journalist now living and working in London. Her website is www.marinakim.co.uk and she is on Twitter as @MarinaKim

Hello, I am Russian. Now, tell me honestly what is going through your mind when you hear that (apart from “why is she writing for ConHome”)? Would you introduce me to your mother? Would you invite me to your shooting weekend? Would you go for sushi with me? There’s a lot of focus on racism and anti-Muslim prejudice. But there is a new era of racism that is flourishing unnoticed because its victims look just like you. We are white.

Prejudice against Eastern Europeans is on all levels of British society — from taxi-drivers to members of elite clubs (I have been a victim of both). I’ve stopped counting the times I’ve been called a hooker. It used seriously to upset me when I was new to this city, and desperate to make friends. I suppose, a positive thing about it was that they always added: “A high-end one”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Merkel Back on Capri This Easter

Chancellor has been coming to Bay of Naples isle for years

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be on Capri for her annual spring break around Easter, sources said Monday.

The chancellor, who has been coming to the famed Naples Bay island for years, is expected to arrive Friday or Saturday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Netherlands: Wilders’ PVV is Most Popular Party as Cyprus Crisis Divides Voters

A new opinion poll from Maurice de Hond’s polling organisation puts the anti-immigration PVV in top position — with one seat more than the ruling VVD Liberals.

The poll states the populist party would win 24 seats if there were to be a general election tomorrow, up nine on its actual total. By contrast, the VVD would win 23, down from the 41 seats it has in the current parliament and two down on last week.

The Dutch parliament has 150 seats, meaning the PVV would win 16% of the vote.

The poll also gives the Socialist party 23 seats, up eight on its election total.

De Hond asked voters how they would solve the Cyprus crisis. Some 37% said the EU must stop Cyprus from going bankrupt while 51% thought the EU should not help. PVV, SP, 50Plus and VVD voters are least likely to back a Cyprus bail-out.

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

Sweden: Bus Passengers ‘Divided According to Skin Colour’

Share on redditMore Sharing ServicesA driver allegedly made “Swedes” and “foreign-looking” people travel on separate buses between Stockholm and the Eckerölinjen ferry terminal in Grisslehamn.

The divisions reportedly happened on several occasions on Wednesday and Thursday at Stockholm’s City terminal (Cityterminalen), reported newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) on Saturday.

The bus passengers were travelling to catch the ferry to the Finnish archipelago island of Åland.

“It was a very unpleasant experience…It felt like we were on our way to Arlanda Airport to be deported from Sweden,” one of the passengers, Samer Chatila, told DN.

Chatila, who was born in Sweden, is currently studying mechanical engineering on Åland. He was travelling there with his brother Ahmad and a friend when the three noticed that the bus driver appeared to be dividing passengers based on their looks.

The driver stood between the exit and the bus and pointed the three to one of the buses, following them to make sure they got on board.

At first they thought the driver was being friendly, but they soon began to suspect that something else was going on.

They noticed that all “Swedish-looking” passengers were being directed to a different bus, while everyone who boarded their bus was foreign-looking or dark-skinned.

“We felt insulted, offended and discriminated against,” said Chatila.

“I never thought this could happen in our Sweden.”

When they challenged the driver, they were told that if they did not like the system they could get off the bus.

The driver claimed that the bus that the three friends were on was a direct route for passengers who had booked their trip in advance, while the other bus would make several stops to pick up more passengers.

But the driver did not check their tickets, Samer and Ahmad had not pre-booked, and both buses stopped to pick up passengers.

The Stockholm-Grisslehamn bus route is operated by People Travel Group on behalf of Eckerölinjen.

The company received several complaints and on Thursday evening, the director, Tomas Karlsson, learned of the alleged incidents.

“I immediately contacted the head of operations at People Travel Group who took the driver off the route,” Karlsson said.

“It seems like this was a single driver’s decision and it only happened twice, but that is bad enough.”

In response, the company is introducing new training for staff starting on Monday, when the driver is expected to appear in front of the company board to explain his actions.

           — Hat tip: The Observer [Return to headlines]

Syria: A Training Ground for European Jihadists

When armed rebellion began in Syria two years ago, there were fears that European Muslims interested in jihad would go there to train to fight a holy war. If the headline in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, “Youthful gang members are going to war in the name of Islam,” is to be believed, that time has come.

According to the Danish Secret Services —

… several members of the most violent gangs of immigrants in Copenhagen are currently in Syria where they have gone in order to participate in jihad. This may turn hardened criminals into hardline fundamentalists. “This is a new trend. These people are already potentially dangerous and when they return home, they have access to arms and explosives. It is very worrisome to see these types of ties forming between Islam and criminals,” says the head of the Danish Secret Services.

If the Danes are concerned, the Belgians also have their share of woes. In Europe, Belgium has become the “primary supplier” of youth going to Syria for the jihad, reports Belgian daily De Morgen.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

UK: A Mega Mosque in a Suburb That Was 90 Per Cent White 30 Years Ago and the Polite Apartheid Dividing Britain

by David Goodhart

On Saturday, the leading liberal commentator David Goodhart described the profound effect mass immigration has had on social cohesion. He admitted that, for decades, liberals like him failed to realise its implications. Today, concluding his series, he sets out his vision of how a new Britishness can bind the nation’s fractured communities.

Large-scale immigration has created an England that is increasingly full of mysterious and unfamiliar worlds — as I discovered one day sitting in an enormous minareted mosque in a sedate London suburb among thousands of men in Pashtun dress listening to the words of an elderly man.

Mirza Masroor Ahmad is not any old preacher. To a couple of million Muslims of one particular sect, the Ahmadiyans, he is the holiest man on the planet…

[JP note: Why would anyone listen to people like Goodhart who deserve lengthy prison sentences instead of pulpits?]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Did Animal Rights Activists Beat Dog to Death and Leave Its Body on Hunt Master’s Drive?

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

A huntmaster’s dog was battered to death and dumped on his driveway in what may have been an attack by animal rights activists.

Lee Peters, who was last year fined for racially abusing an anti-hunt protester, is said to be mortified after finding his pet.

The corpse had been dumped near a vandalised car inscribed with a symbol for an animal rights group.

While it would appear surprising for the activists to have killed a dog, police are said to be taking the accusations ‘very seriously’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

UK: How the People’s Assembly Can Challenge Our Suffocating Political Consensus — and Why It’s Vital That We Do

by Owen Jones

The cartel of modern politics is only ever disrupted from the right. Now, with the help of like-minded others, I will be touring the country to set up a left-wing movement

Sometimes it seems as though British politics is one grand cartel, or a gentleman’s agreement, if you like. Certain questions will not be asked; opposition often amounts to quibbling over the finer details or nuances of a policy, or the competence of its delivery. Austerity is a given, though its speed and scale may be queried; all agree on selling chunks of our public services to private sector vultures, though the extent may be challenged; the fact our workers have some of the worst rights in the Western world, that large corporations sitting on a cash pile worth £750bn are expected to pay less and less, that our banks are bailed out with the public’s dosh but are not under our control — none of this is seriously questioned…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: PM a Political Dwarf: Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy

by Trevor Kavanagh

FOR those patiently waiting for David Cameron to stand up and prove he is a Thatcher-style leader of principle, last week’s Press law fiasco was a bitter blow.

And for any Tories counting on geeky Ed Miliband to hand them the next election on a plate, it was a terrifying 2am wake-up call. The Marxist-born Lefty — carrying all the class-war baggage of an ex-grunt in Gordon Brown’s Barmy Army — out-ran, out-manoeuvred and outwitted Eton’s finest…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: The English Question

The planned referendum on Scottish independence has prompted a debate about the future of the Union that has tended to overlook the position of the largest part of the UK, namely England. Even if the Scottish people vote against secession, more powers may yet be devolved north of the border. In that case, why should Scottish MPs (or those from Wales and Northern Ireland) continue to exercise influence over legislation in England when they have no say over the same matters in their own constituencies?…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Unrest in Bulgaria: New Casualty in Wave of Self-Immolations

A 40-year-old Bulgarian set himself on fire to protest poverty and corruption in his country on Friday, becoming the sixth self-immolation in the EU country in less than a month.

A Bulgarian man died Friday after setting himself on fire to protest poverty and corruption. The incident was the sixth in a recent series of similarly motivated self-immolations in the country. The Naval Hospital in Varna announced that doctors could not save the 40-year-old, who ignited himself at a gas station in the northeastern village of Sitowo.

The unemployed father is the fourth person to die of self-immolation since February in Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union, where one in five people live under the poverty line.

On February 19, a man from the central village of Veliko Tarnovo sat down in the middle of a crosswalk and set himself on fire. At the end of February a father of five in the southern village of Radnewo said he was driven to self-immolation by unemployment and poverty. In March, an unemployed blacksmith threw gasoline over himself outside the presidential palace in the capital of Sofia. Security guards extinguished the flames and he survived.

Since the end of January, mass demonstrations against high prices, poverty and corruption have spread through Bulgaria, leading to the resignation of the center-right government of Boyko Borisov.

Public self-immolations are not new to Bulgaria and have occurred throughout the world and in many different cultures.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Death Toll in Libya Alcohol Poisoning Epidemic Climbs

The death toll in Libya’s alcohol poisoning outbreak is climbing, affecting over 1,000 people. Officials are asking for international help.

According to the Associated Press, 87 people have died after drinking poisonous methanol. An additional 15 people have been blinded by the incident. In total, Minister Nouri Dogham says that 1,044 people have been affected by the outbreak. The deaths have affected people ranging from 19 to 50 years old, and were first reported a week ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Egypt: Luxor Governor Witnesses Ceremony of Amenhotep III Statue Inauguration

Luxor Governor Ezzat Saad on Saturday 23/3/2013 witnessed the ceremony of the inauguration of the Amenhotep III’s statue in western Luxor. The ceremony was organized by the joint Egyptian-European mission working in preserving two statues of Amenhotep III and his temple in Kon el-Hitan area in Qurna. During the ceremony, the first piece of the statue was place on the base that was made especially for it.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

President Morsi Salutes Egyptian Mothers

On a message he posted on his twitter account Thursday 23/3/2013, President Mohamed Morsi greeted the Egyptian mothers on their day. The president expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Egyptian mothers, stressing the crucial role they play in bringing up future generations.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Western Sahara: 50 Wounded in Saharawi Protest

Moroccan security cracks down on demo

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, MARCH 25 — Around 50 people including women and children were wounded in el Ayoune, Western Sahara, after Moroccan security forces cracked down on a demonstration by Saharawi activists demanding the right to self determination.

According to the Aps news agency, Moroccan police repressed the protest ‘just as the personal envoy (Christopher Ross) of the UN secretary general was touring the region’.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Israel Fires at Syrian Army Post in Golan Heights

Israel demonstrated its growing unease over the continuing upheaval in Syria by firing a missile at an army post in the Golan Heights after its forces twice faced a hail of gunfire along the two countries’ shared border.

Two Syrian soldiers in the Tel Fares area in the southern part of the Golan region were reportedly wounded by the salvo from the Israeli-made Tamuz guided anti-missile.

Israel said it launched the strike after forces on its side of the armistice line twice came under fire. On Saturday evening, a bullet hit an army jeep while on Sunday morning there was furthering firing at a foot patrol…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Palestine — Obama Utters the Magic Word “Annapolis”

President Obama’s use of just one word — “Annapolis” — stands out among the thousands he uttered during his three day visit to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman.

His highly significant use of this keyword on 21 March at the Jerusalem International Convention Centre constituted a diplomatic milestone in America’s quest to end the long running Jewish-Arab conflict.

What were the “credible proposals” made to the Palestinians at Annapolis?

Why was the mention of “Annapolis” thought far more important to include in President Obama’ speech — rather than “Camp David” and the attempts to broker a two-state solution between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat by President Clinton in 2000?

The answer is to be found in the following statement made by Israel’s then Prime Minister — Ehud Olmert — at the international conference convened by President Bush on 27 November 2007 in Annapolis in the presence of some 40 world leaders including many from the Arab world:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]

Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With C.I.A. Aid

With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries and the accounts of rebel commanders.

The airlift, which began on a small scale in early 2012 and continued intermittently through last fall, expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year, the data shows. It has grown to include more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, and, to a lesser degree, at other Turkish and Jordanian airports.

As it evolved, the airlift correlated with shifts in the war within Syria, as rebels drove Syria’s army from territory by the middle of last year. And even as the Obama administration has publicly refused to give more than “nonlethal” aid to the rebels, the involvement of the C.I.A. in the arms shipments — albeit mostly in a consultative role, American officials say — has shown that the United States is more willing to help its Arab allies support the lethal side of the civil war.

From offices at secret locations, American intelligence officers have helped the Arab governments shop for weapons, including a large procurement from Croatia, and have vetted rebel commanders and groups to determine who should receive the weapons as they arrive, according to American officials speaking on the condition of anonymity. The C.I.A. declined to comment on the shipments or its role in them.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Gadaffi Wife, Children Granted Asylum in Oman

(AGI) Doha — The wife and children of the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gadaffi, have been granted political asylum in Oman .

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

Kuwait: Movie Night — Women in Islam

The right status and responsibility of Muslim women are some of the least understood topics when talking about Islam. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) recognized women as individuals with specific rights and responsibilities more than 1,400 years ago. He encouraged educating women and returned their Allah-given rights back to them. Many Muslim women today are asserting these rights and reclaiming their status as equal partners in society. Come a long with your friends to enjoy this educating movie in a serene environment at the TIES Center today, at 7:00pm.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UAE: Dubai Plays Major Role in Paving “New Silk Road”

DUBAI, March 24 (Xinhua) — In the quest for foreign trade opportunities, firms and businessmen in the Gulf Arab sheikhdom of Dubai increasingly expand to the region from Cape to Cairo. When Emirates Airlines headed with Airbus A330 for the first time to Algeria’s capital Algiers on March 1, it was more than just another daily flight route for the Middle East’s fastest growing carrier. It was a demonstration of commitment by the emirate of Dubai for betting high stakes on connecting with Africa.

“Algiers is our 22nd destination in Africa,” said Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum,” providing a wealth of new travel options for customers in Algeria, who will be able to fly non-stop to our industry leading hub in Dubai.” The chairman added that “as a key oil and gas supplier, Algeria has an abundance of natural resources and Emirates’ new service will help to grow trade routes and create new markets for imports and exports.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UN to Evacuate Half Its Foreign Personnel in Syria

(AGI) — New York, Mar 25 — The UN is set to evacuate half its foreign personnel based in Syria, concerning around one hundred people. The news was announced by UN diplomatic sources, which explained that the decision arises from growing safety concerns due to the escalation in fighting. The reduction in personnel will entail closing the office of UN special envoy in Damascus, Lakhdar Brahimi, whose staff will be transferred to Cairo or Lebanon.

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

Afghanistan Takes Full Control of Bagram Prison

Afghanistan has taken full control of Bagram military prison from the United States, ending a long-running controversy which has undermined relations between the two countries.

Two weeks ago the handover was cancelled at the eleventh hour amid American concerns that prisoners would be released to rejoin the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The prison carries a huge amount of symbolism. It is seen as emblematic of America’s power in Afghanistan and has become a central pillar of President Hamid Karzai’s struggle to regain control of key matters before the US withdraws combat troops next year…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Ford India Apologizes for Ad With Berlusconi, Gagged Women

‘Regrets’ commercial boasting capacity of Figo trunk

(ANSA) — New Delhi, March 25 — The Indian subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. has apologised for an online advertisement featuring a cartoon of Italy’s ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi at the wheel of a car with three women, bound and gagged, in the trunk. Berlusconi, who cultivates an image as a lady-killer and is currently standing trial on accusations he paid for sex with an underage prostitute, is shown driving a Ford Figo with three scantily dressed women he apparently abducted.

“Leave behind all your worries with Figo’s extra-large trunk,” reads the caption in the print ad, created by an advertising company for Ford.

“We regret this incident, it should never have happened,” Ford said in its apology.

“These images are contrary to standards of professionalism and dignity followed by Ford and companies that work for us,” it added. “We are now committed to reviewing the procedures for approving and monitoring (advertisements) to ensure that it does not happen again”.

As well as mocking the three-time Italian premier, the cheeky humour was also seen as inappropriate amid India’s alarming increase in reported sexual violence against women.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

Indonesia: West Jakarta: Islamist Threats Against Holy Week Celebrations

Extremist groups have made threats against the priest and the faithful of a Catholic church in Kepa Duri. Palm Sunday Mass took place as scheduled but fears remain about Easter services. Extremist ire was triggered by the fact that the church is located inside a school.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — This Holy Week will be full of tensions for Catholics in West Jakarta, who put up with repeated threats over the weekend from hundreds of Islamic extremists, who tried to block access to Christ the Peace Catholic Church in Kepa Duri, an administrative area west of the Indonesian capital.

Last Saturday, on the eve of Palm Sunday, Islamist groups (pictured) made serious threats against Catholics in Kepa Duri, telling the priest and the faithful to cancel scheduled weekend celebrations.

Their hatred was triggered by the fact that the place of worship is located inside a school, which, in their opinion, “should not be used” for religious services.

The extremists tried to attack the site when the priest and some members of the congregation started a prayer meeting. As a result, Fr Matthew Widyolestari turned to the Interfaith Forum in Jakarta, which met with the leaders of the extremist protest.

Contacted by AsiaNews, Fr Matthew said that Sunday services would be held “regularly, as scheduled,” which is what happened. Yesterday in fact, the faithful were able to attend Mass, also thanks to the massive deployment of security forces sent to protect their life.

Now attention has turned on Holy Week services, with the maximum level of vigilance in force.

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

Judge Chosen for Marines’ Trial in India

Special court guarantees no death penalty if convicted

(ANSA) — Rome, March 25 — The New Delhi High Court on Monday selected the judge who will oversee the trial of two Italian anti-piracy marines accused of murdering two fishermen in a special court where legal sources say they will not face the death penalty.

Judge Amit Bansal will preside over the trial of Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone who returned to India on Friday following a two-week face-off between Rome and New Dehli caused by the marines’ failure to return from Italy where they were on leave to vote. Italy had promised the men would go back after last month’s election leave as they did after a Christmas break but did not honour the pledge, angering India.

Over the weekend, Indian Justice Minister Ahwani Kumar said that there were no guarantees and that no deal had been made with Italy regarding the marines sentence and the omission of the death penalty.

However, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told Rome officials that “this case would not fall in the category of matters which attract the death penalty”. The two marines had been held in India since February 2012 after a shooting incident in international waters in which two Indian fishermen, Jelestine Valentine and Ajesh Binki, were killed.

Italy has always denied that India has jurisdiction over the case, as it took place in international waters.

Indian legal sources on Monday said that the maximum sentence applicable for the two marines is seven years.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]

No Truce With Leftist Rebels During Holy Week: Philippine Military

MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Monday that it will not declare a ceasefire with the leftist rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) during the Holy Week. “Traditionally, we do not declare a ceasefire during Holy Week. We only declare the suspension of offensive military operation ( SOMO) during Christmas season,” said AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Russia Lets China Into Arctic Rush as Energy Giants Embrace

Russia’s decision to give China a share of prized Arctic exploration licenses as part of a “breakthrough” deal signals how the world’s largest oil and gas producer and the biggest energy consumer are redrawing the global energy map.

Under agreements signed during President Xi Jinping’s first state trip abroad, China may double oil imports from state-run OAO Rosneft (ROSN) to more than 620,000 barrels a day, challenging Germany as the biggest buyer of Russian crude. The two also plan to sign an agreement this year to build a pipeline to ship Russian gas to China.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Mahmoud Eid Says He Ran Amok at Muslim Riots in Hyde Park, Sydney Court Hears

A MAN who kicked a police dog during last year’s Hyde Park riots has admitted to violently running amok during the Muslim protests.

Mahmoud Eid, 26, from Punchbowl, this morning pleaded guilty in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney to three charges stemming from the September riots, which followed an anti-Islamic video being posted on YouTube…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

13 South African Soldiers Dead in Central African Republic

Johannesburg — Thirteen South African soldiers were killed and 27 wounded in clashes with rebels in Central African Republic, President Jacob Zuma announced on Monday. “We are deeply saddened by the events and developments in that country over the past 72 hours, which saw violence escalating and many innocent lives lost. We have confirmed that 13 of our brave soldiers who were committed to fighting for peace and stability in Africa fell in Bangui,” Zuma said at a briefing in Pretoria…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

China’s Xi Hails ‘Sincere Friendship’ With Africa

AFP — China’s new President Xi Jinping hailed the strength of ties with African nations Monday, in a keynote speech given on his first trip as head of state to the continent.

Xi, calling Africa a “continent of hope and promise”, addressed leaders in Tanzania’s economic capital as “my dear friends” and praised Beijing’s “sincere friendship” with Africa.

“Africa belongs to the African people,” Xi said, speaking in a new conference hall built by China.

“In developing relations with Africa, all countries should respect Africa’s dignity and independence,” he added.

Trade between China and Africa topped more than $200 billion last year, he added.

Xi and his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete signed 16 different trade, cultural and development accords after his arrival in Tanzania on Sunday, including improvements to Tanzania’s hospitals and ports, and the building of a Chinese cultural centre.

Tanzania, where Xi arrived from after a visit to Moscow, is the first stop of his three-nation Africa tour that underscores Beijing’s growing presence in the resource-rich continent.

Xi, on his first foreign trip since being anointed president 11 days ago, later flies on to Durban in South Africa to join an emerging economies summit.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]

Nigeria: Gunmen Kill Imam, Invade Prison, Police Station

Gunmen yesterday attacked a prison and police station in Ganye local government area of Adamawa State. The gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect also struck in a bank and a beer parlour using improvised explosive devices (IEDs)…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

Somali Female Journalist Shot Dead — Colleague

Mogadishu — Somali gunmen killed a female radio journalist in Mogadishu, the latest in a string of reporters murdered in the war-ravaged capital, colleagues and witnesses said on Monday. Two men shot dead Rahmo Abdukadir, who worked for the private Radio Abduwaq station, late on Sunday…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

South African Soldiers Killed in Central African Republic

(AGI) Pretoria — Rebels in Central African Republic have killed at least nine South African soldiers .

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

“Racist” Hong Kong Denies Permanent Residency to Domestic Workers

The Court of Appeals overturns the final judgment in favor of Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino domestic worker who had obtained High Court permission to apply for permanent residence. After two years of debate one of the most controversial cases of the former British colony ends.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) — After nearly two years of legal battles, the Supreme Court of Appeals in Hong Kong has ruled that foreign domestic workers who work in the Territory can not have access to permanent residency. According to the Supreme Court judges “the foreign domestic helpers are forced to return to the country of origin at the end of the contract and cannot apply for citizenship, which is not one of the aims of their work here.”

This ruling blocking the hopes of about 117 thousand foreign workers — mostly Filipino or Indonesian — who enthusiastically followed the case of Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino domestic worker who had obtained the High Court permission to apply for permanent residence, after having spent decades working in the Territory. At the moment other categories of foreigners — cooks and entrepreneurs — have access to the residence.

On 30 September 2011, after months of debate, the High Court of Hong Kong ruled in favor of Vallejos, now she is “speechless but resigned.” Her lawyer, Mark Daly, said: “ While we respect the judgment we disagree with it. It is not a good reflection of the values we should be teaching youngsters and people in our society.” Eman Villanueva, spokesman for the Co-ordination Body for Asian migrants, added: “The ruling actually gave its judicial seal to unfair treatment and the social exclusion of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong.”

According to the immigration laws in force, all foreigners residing in the territory for seven consecutive years may request a certificate of “permanent residence”: this does not apply to domestic workers, who cannot make the request. By local law, this means that they cannot accept a second job, do not have access to semi-subsidized health services and are forced to accept the labor contracts imposed by the government, which provide for a very low minimum wage.

The pro-Chinese Territory government fears an invasion of requests from foreigners: currently there are 7.2 million residents in the former British colony of about. According to an anti-immigrant party, a favorable ruling would open the door to 500 thousand people, including spouses and children of workers, and this would increase to spending on welfare25 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.5 billion euro). Moreover, according to the government today, the unemployment rate “could go from 3.5 to 10%.”

In any case, the Court refused to ask the advice of the Chinese government on the issue, as proposed by the government of the Territory. According to Daly “at least this is a good sign. While our compatriots on the mainland struggle to implement the rule of law, we must be vigilant to safeguard it in Hong Kong and lead the way.”

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

Italy: Immigrants’ Children Should Become Citizens, Boldrini

(AGI) — Milan, March 24 — Italy’s Chamber of Deputies speaker, Laura Boldrini, has called for citizenship to be granted to immigrants’ children. She said that Parliament should treat the issue with the required urgency, saying it was “something we have to work on as soon as possible. Our children’s friends cannot not be Italians.” Boldrini also emphasised that the overall idea of migrants “needs to be reassessed. They are the human expression of globalisation. Our task is to build bridges.” .

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

UK: Cameron Promises Three-Fold Crackdown on Immigration

Yesterday morning I blogged some general thoughts on Cameron’s immigration speech that he’ll give later today. We now have some more detail on the PM’s prepared remarks.

His speech will have three themes overall: (i) Cutting immigrants’ access to benefits; (ii) ending ‘something for nothing’ benefits’; and (iii) cracking down on illegal immigration…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

UK: Cameron Toughens His Position on Immigration But is He Serious About the Issue?

by Tim Montgomerie

Tighter and tighter caps on welfare.

An In/Out referendum.

A penny off the price of beer.

A review of Britain’s membership of the ECHR.

And, today, no council houses for new immigrants.

You’d almost think the Tory Party was in election mode. In fact it is. Read Grant Shapps on ConservativeHome this morning. Today’s latest attempt by the Prime Minister to tackle the disillusionment of his party’s base vote comes with a pledge to get tougher still on immigration. Theresa May has so far delivered a one-third reduction in net immigration but Number 10 is worried that voters will not remember that achievement if there is a new influx of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. Concerns about immigration were the number one policy area — not Europe — that drove Eastleigh’s voters into UKIP’s hands…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/25/2013

  1. Two “Danish” somali brothers? They are no more Danish than the terrorist or rapist “Britons”, “Dutch”, “French” etc. who have 3rd world extraction. Time for change? Like removal of citizenship for them and their extended families, And barring re-entry for those who manage to visit ancestral homelands which they claimed, when seeking asylum, would result in them being killed. WAKE UP

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