I’m mostly recovered from my bout of chiliastic afflatus — or whatever one might call the vicious illness I just went through — but still not firing on all twelve cylinders.
The big news of the day is, of course, the self-outing of the PRISM leaker as a young man named Edward Snowden, who moved to a hotel in Hong Kong just before releasing his documents to The Guardian. He is conveniently close by in case the Beijing government is interested in availing itself of his expertise — or protecting him from accidentally falling down an air shaft or drowning in the koi pond.
In other news, three men from Virginia drove all the way to Moore, Oklahoma in their pickup truck to help themselves to copper wiring and pipes and other valuable scrap from tornado-devastated areas. They planned to carry their haul back home and sell it, but were arrested by police and charged with a misdemeanor.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, Kitman, McR, 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.
Another Phony Jobs Report From a Government That Lies About Everything
The payroll jobs report for May released today continues the fantasy.
Goods producing jobs declined, with manufacturing losing another 4,000 jobs, but the New Economy produced 179,000 service jobs.
Are these jobs the high-powered, high-wage “innovation jobs” that economists promised would be our reward from Globalism. I’m afraid not.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs created are the usual lowly paid non-exportable domestic service jobs — the jobs of a third world country.
- Retail trade accounts for 27,700 of the jobs.
- Wholesale trade accounts for 7,900 jobs.
- Ambulatory health care services accounts for 15,300 of the jobs.
- Waitresses and bartenders account for 38,100 of the jobs.
- Local government accounts for 13,000 of the jobs.
- Amusements, gambling, and recreation account for 12,500 of the jobs.
- Temporary help services provided 25,600 jobs.
- Business support services provided 4,300 jobs.
- Services to buildings and dwellings provided 6,400 jobs.
- Accounting and bookkeeping services provided 3,100 jobs.
- Architectural and engineering services provided 4,900 jobs.
- Computer systems design and related provided 6,000 jobs (most likely filled by H-1B work visas).
- Management and technical consulting services provided 3,200 jobs.
For a decade this has been the jobs profile of “the world’s most powerful economy.” It is the profile of third world India 40 years ago. The jobs that made the US the dominant economy have been moved off shore by corporations threatened by Wall Street with takeovers if they did not increase their profits…
But are the jobs really there?
With retail sales going nowhere, why 35,600 new jobs in wholesale and retail trade?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Eurozone Crisis: The Great Depression
Do Rzeczy Varsovie
European leaders seem unable to break the cycle of recession and unemployment, despite public pressure to abandon the austerity regime imposed under German rule. Meanwhile, the EU’s influence in the world is on the slide.
Marek Magierowski
European leaders are great at introducing new laws, but for several years now they have been unable to resolve an economic crisis. Economic growth figures released recently by Eurostat sound like a death sentence; Europe, you are racing towards the abyss and the brakes have stopped working long ago.
In the first three months of 2013, the Eurozone economy shrunk by 1 per cent year-on-year, and the EU-27’s economy contracted by 0.7 per cent. Virtually everyone is in the red: Greece down 5.3 per cent, Cyprus, 4.1 per cent, Portugal, 3.9 per cent, Italy, 2.3 per cent, Spain down 2 per cent. Finland and the Netherlands also saw negative growth, while Austria stalled. France is now officially in recession. German growth was positive, but only in quarter-to-quarter terms. It is all despair and misery.
Sparkurs vs. Austerity
While Europe is gnashing its teeth and crying, others are leaving the stormy waters. The United States, for instance, vilified in the past by many European politicians because it was there that the global crisis began, brought about by the greediness and irresponsibility of US banks. And today — what an ingratitude — the United States is growing while Europe is shrinking…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
American Somalis Protest Against South Africa Mistreatment of Fellow Somalis
Posted by Ann Corcoran on June 8, 2013
This is an interesting turn of events. Just this morning I wrote about Somalis in South Africa protesting the “xenophobic” treatment of Somali migrants by other black people in the Rainbow Nation, here.
Now comes news (really only the photo below, I couldn’t find a story) about a protest in Columbus, Ohio (one of the largest Somali resettlement sites in the US) in support of Somalis in South Africa and against the government there.
American Somalis should tell Obama to put pressure on the African National Congress to be more welcoming when he visits there later this month, after all that’s what the Rainbow Nation idea was all about. Right?
[see image at URL]
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Calls to Close Guantánamo “Hypocritical”, Says Justice Scalia
“When [Europeans] protest over Guantánamo detainees, I reply ‘Will you take some?’ The answer is always no”
ROME — “Judicial activism is an abuse of power and undermines the judges’ claim to be the legitimate final arbiter of the meaning of the law”. Justice Antonin Scalia will make the point this morning in Turin in the Discorso Bruno Leoni, the lecture organised by the Istituto Bruno Leoni for the centenary of the liberal philosopher’s birth. The US supreme court judge and leading light of conservative thought will talk about the relationship of democracy, judicial activism and the free market. He will be pointing the finger, as directly and as explicitly as ever, at the trendy political agendas that lead many judges to underplay constitutional protection of economic rights. Justice Scalia is referring to the United States but his message on the need for judges to take a greater interest in the property rights and economic freedoms enshrined in the US constitution has the ring of a universal appeal.
We spoke on the phone to Antonin (Nino) Scalia, born in 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey, of Sicilian immigrant parents, on the eve of his address in Turin.
Mr Justice, President Obama recently stated that like all wars, the war on terrorism will have to come to an end, also conceding that over these years the United States has been in conflict with its own principles. Do you believe that after 9/11, the United States has failed, in the name of security, to follow its own constitution?
“Our constitution protects non-Americans when they are in America but does not limit the government’s actions abroad, except when American citizens are involved. That’s the law. Obviously, the president decides what policy the military should follow”.
But are there no universal rights?
“I do not apply universal rights. It’s my job to apply American law as expressed in the constitution and in the laws passed by Congress. I do not apply the laws of God or of anyone who promulgates so-called international law”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Campus Bans Guns, Tells People to Nod at Attackers
Public safety officer says gesture will show ‘you are aware of their presence’
(Daily Caller) In lieu of guns, people who find themselves in dangerous situations at or near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock should defend themselves by glancing and nodding, said a university safety expert.
Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature approved a concealed carry law, but gave school administrators permission to override the law and ban guns on campuses. Most Arkansas universities, including the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University, opted to prohibit concealed carry, according to The College Fix.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Doug Hagmann Tells Seminar Three Major Crisis Events Are Imminent
National Insecurity Seminar: Killing off the United Sates dollar, World War Three, War against Christianity.
Doug described three major crisis events about to take place and said they are in no particular order.
I. Killing off the United Sates dollar
The killing off of the United Sates dollar. Doug said this was an active maneuver.
People in power have been actually killing our economy since 1913, the year of the Federal Reserve. It’s an end game we’re watching, he said. A Cyprus type situation could be expected soon in the U.S., he added.
II. The start of World War Three
The start of World War Three. Doug asked if people heard of Benghazi? It’s not about a video he said, explaining it was part of the “Arab Spring” and was a logistics station for weapons smuggling from Libya to Syria. It’s Obama’s agenda, Valerie Jarrett’s agenda to topple Assad, he explained…
III. War against Christianity
Doug said, “Our government is going to step up the war against Christians. They are going to do it by legal means,” and cited how the 501C IRS delays were not just against the Tea Party. “War against Christianity,” is how Doug described it. Doug described it as a war against people who should take an active role.
Doug explained how the total thrown around about the dead in Syria right now is around 80,000. When World War III starts, there may be one million deaths there. Service members could be exposed to hideous things. Doug described how he wouldn’t want any of his family to be in the service now. “I never thought I’d say that,” he added.
One of the things they are doing Doug described, is “To kill off our nation while you watch.”
[…]
Doug explained how people in the media and general public misuse the term “consulate” in relation to the Benghazi compound, “It was a CIA compound, not a consulate”, Doug said. “What we saw in Benghazi was a Saudi operation.”
Doug said, “Obama’s network of criminals is now being exposed.” He held up the USA Today weekend edition, with “Spying Eyes” headlined on the front page. Doug went on to discuss Obama’s shady associations with Bill Ayers and others such as Valerie Jarrett, saying “The USA is a captured operation. Saudi compromised, a Saudi captured operation.”
“Obama, in my view, is a Manchurian Candidate,” Doug said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind Revelations of NSA Surveillance
The 29-year-old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in US history explains his motives, his uncertain future and why he never intended on hiding in the shadows
The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.
The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he said…
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Elementary School to Hold Toy Gun Exchange
We’ve all heard of gun buybacks, but how about a toy gun buyback? Strobridge Elementary School in Hayward, California will host a toy gun buyback this Saturday. Children who turn in their toy guns will be entered for a chance to win a bicycle, so it’s less of a buyback and more like an expensive raffle.
Charles Hill, the school’s principal, explained, “Playing with toys guns, saying ‘I’m going to shoot you,’ desensitizes them, so as they get older, it’s easier for them to use a real gun.”
The event, dubbed Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, will feature a Hayward police officer talking about gun and bicycle safety.
But not everybody is convinced that the buyback is a good idea. “Having a group of children playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians is a normal part of growing up,” said Yih-Chau Chang of the pro-gun group Responsible Citizens of California.. “While the intentions are obviously good on the part of the school administration, this doesn’t really educate children about guns or gun safety. Guns are used in crimes, but they are more often used in defensive ways which prevent violent crime from occurring in the first place.”
He also points out that toy guns are so visually different from real guns that vilifying toy guns won’t have much of an impact.
Hill disagrees. “Some of the guns I’ve confiscated, if they’re stuck down in a waistband, the average person would think it’s a real gun,” he said. “I could easily see one of our sixth-graders wanting to fake out someone at a 7-Eleven by walking in there. They would think it’s funny, but it could turn into tragedy.”
| — Hat tip: McR | [Return to headlines] |
Heat-Seeking, Alien-Hunting Telescope Could be Ready in 5 Years
We might find aliens through the heat their civilizations give off, astronomers say, but it will take a megatelescope to do the job. Such a telescope, in fact, is planned.
The telescope — called Colossus — would be a massive 250-foot (77 meters) telescope, which is more than double the aperture of any telescope yet constructed.
To keep costs down, the proposed $1 billion telescope would use thin mirror technology and few large aperture mirror segments. The sensitivity of the scope, though, could be enough to spot cities or other signs of aliens for planets as far as 60 to 70 light-years from Earth, its backers said.
“If we had an investor come and say ‘look, here are the resources you need,’ we could have the telescope built within five years,” said Jeff Kuhn, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, who is on the proposal team.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Napolitano: Tyranny is Just Around the Corner
A few weeks ago, President Obama advised graduates at Ohio State University that they need not listen to voices warning about tyranny around the corner, because we have self-government in America. His argument defies logic and 20th-century history. History has shown that the majority will not permit any higher law, logic or value — such as fidelity to the natural law, a belief in the primacy of the individual or an acceptance of the supremacy of the Constitution — that prevents it from doing as it wishes. Under Mr. Obama’s watch, the majority has, by active vote or refusal to interfere, killed hundreds of innocents — including four Americans — by drone; permitted federal agents to write their own search warrants; bombed Libya into tribal lawlessness without a declaration of war so that a mob there killed our ambassador with impunity; attempted to force…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lessons of Evil — The Allure of “Free”
In “The High Cost of ‘Free,” Lloyd S. Pettegrew and Carol A. Vance report that in the Denver arena where Mr. Obama gave his DNC 2008 acceptance speech,
“…a woman in the audience became overwhelmed by the speech and said that she no longer needed to worry if she could make her car or mortgage payments because he would take care of it for her. In Cleveland, a woman claimed that she was going to vote for President Obama again because he gave her a free cellphone (along with a litany of other entitlement giveaways).” (Ludwig von Mises Institute, June 5, 2013)
[…]
The systematic murder of millions of people in the former Soviet Union was primarily facilitated by two things. First by scientifically animalizing ‘others,’ the objects of hatred, resentment and envy. This was achieved by application of the Darwinian biological and zoological strain of thinking that ultimately enabled Marxists to justify their monstrous crimes against humanity. Second, by maliciously whipping up and enflaming covetousness/envy within the hearts of the ‘oppressed.’
In 1956, Ludwig von Mises exposed the rottenness of envy and resentment fueling the paradoxical reasoning of people who are favorably disposed toward socialism rather than capitalism:
“It is paradoxical indeed that the leaders of these Oriental peoples, while casting longing glances at the prosperity of the Western nations, reject the methods that made the West prosperous and are enraptured by Russian communism that is instrumental in keeping the Russians and their satellites poor. It is still more paradoxical that Americans, enjoying the products of capitalistic big business, exalt the Soviet system and consider it quite “natural” that the poor nations of Asia and Africa should prefer communism to capitalism.” (Reactionary Socialism, Mises Daily, Dec. 12, 2011)
Those who prefer the legal plunder or redistributionist policies of socialism,
“…are blinded by envy and ignorance. They stubbornly refuse to study economics and spurn the economists’ devastating critique of the socialist plans because, in their eyes, economics, being an abstract theory, is simply nonsense. They pretend to trust only in experience. But they no less stubbornly refuse to take cognizance of the undeniable facts of experience, viz., that the common man’s standard of living is incomparably higher in capitalistic American than in the socialist paradise of the Soviets.” (ibid)
[…]
“Atheist teachers in the West are bringing up a younger generation in a spirit of hatred of their own society. Amid all the vituperation we forget that the defects of capitalism represent the basic flaws of human nature, allowed unlimited freedom together with the various human rights; we forget that under Communism (and Communism is breathing down the neck of all moderate forms of socialism, which are unstable) the identical flaws run riot in any person with the least degree of authority; while everyone else under that system does indeed attain ‘equality’ — the equality of destitute slaves. This eager fanning of the flames of hatred is becoming the mark of today’s free world. Indeed, the broader the personal freedoms are, the higher the level of prosperity or even of abundance — the more vehement, paradoxically, does this blind hatred become. The contemporary developed West thus demonstrates by its own example that human salvation can be found neither in the profusion of material goods nor in merely making money.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lindsey Graham’s Big Week: Loves NSA Spying, Not Sure the 1st Amendment Applies to You.
OK, South Carolina, gather ‘round and let’s have a chat. You guys have got to do something about your Lindsey Graham problem. I know… You meant well. You saw that “R” after his name and figured, “what could go wrong?” So, you voted for him in 2002 and again in 2008.
If you care about the Constitution, this week should convince you never to make that mistake again.
First, we had Graham’s confession that he’s not really sure who, exactly, should be allowed to enjoy their First Amendment rights. If you write for the internet, you may not make the cut. “Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves,” Graham said on May 29.”Is any blogger out there saying anything — do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Living in the Government’s Fishbowl
You have to wonder why all the data gathering by the National Security Agency, Homeland Security, and the FBI failed to identify and surveil the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing?
When even the Russians warned national security authorities about the Chechen brothers, Dzhokan and Tamerlan Tsaraev, they were reportedly interviewed and then ignored…
S.T. Karnick, the Director of Research for The Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based, free market think tank, said, “The audacity of monitoring everyone’s phone calls in hopes of catching a small number of terrorists demonstrated the unconstitutionality and self-contradiction at the heart of the mass government surveillance. There is no probable cause for which to search any particular individual’s call records, merely a probability that someone somewhere used a telephone to assist in the planning or commission of a crime.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Maher and the Liberals Defend NSA Surveillance Grid
Bill Maher trusts Obama to use the NSA’s surveillance grid to find terrorists and crazies with nuclear bombs. “We live in a world of nuclear weapons and there are religious fanatics who would love to get one and set it off here,” he said on Friday night.
Bill Maher said he’s scared and that’s why he supports turning America into a Stasi surveillance state. He wants the rest of us to be scared, too, so we’ll support the government. “You know, the fact that a city can be just demolished in one second kind of tips the scale for me. So, I’m not saying to look into your emails is the right thing, I’m just saying, I’m not going to pretend it’s because I’m brave; it’s because I’m scared,” he said.
This is nonsense. Does Maher really think terrorists plotting to nuke New York or Philadelphia would make plans using an iPhone or Gmail? Is he really that stupid? I don’t think so. Bill Maher is a propaganda tool used by the establishment. He gets on HBO and says what the establishment tells him to say. Otherwise he wouldn’t be on corporate television.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Snooping: Who to Blame and What to Do
Remember what I said in my column last week: “There’s no question such snooping will provide the potential for violating attorney client privilege, doctor to patient communications, husband and wife communications, communications via email between judges and other specific confidences that have always been held sacrosanct.” It’s a done deal.
Of course, now that their illegal activities have been exposed, the vile rats who hold the power in Washington, DC, are doing their best to keep the truth from we the people:
Holder invokes ‘military and state secrets privilege’ ‘Saying even if they are violating the Constitution … no court can stop them’
Their arrogance knows no bounds. Their lust for power rivals that of Hilter, Mao, Stalin, Lenin and other despots.
Justice Department Fights Release of Secret Court Opinion Finding Unconstitutional Surveillance (June 7, 2013)
“In the midst of revelations that the government has conducted extensive top-secret surveillance operations to collect domestic phone records and internet communications, the Justice Department was due to file a court motion Friday in its effort to keep secret an 86-page court opinion that determined that the government had violated the spirit of federal surveillance laws and engaged in unconstitutional spying.”
[…]
The putative president said this last week: “‘You can’t have 100% security and 100% privacy’ and zero inconvenience,’ Obama said. ‘We’re going to have to make some choices as a society.’“ Spoken like a true totalitarian dictator. Stupidly, millions of adult Americans will support such tyranny instead of listening to words from the past. Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”.
Who gets the blame? The U.S. Congress and the American people. Unscrupulous, power mad members of Congress from both parties have been stomping on the U.S. Constitution for decades. A disinterested and uninformed population have continued to vote the same destroyers back into office election after election with the help of election fraud committed by party hacks and all the sophisticated electronic methods of stealing our votes.
Much of the blame can also be given to the government’s indoctrination centers they call public schools for eliminating civics, teaching of our history, the sacrifices made to birth this republic, constitutional classes and inculcating a love for America and all we used to stand for. The Communist Party International has executed their plan to infiltrate America’s schools with precision over the decades. Just look at America’s colleges and universities. Leftist hell holes breeding young Americans into perfect little communists. Oh, they start out embracing socialism, but after years of drowning in propaganda, what we have are tens and tens of millions of adult age Americans who don’t have a clue about the founding of this republic (the majority believe we’re a democracy), don’t care and want only for mother government to take care of their every need while they pursue the dead American dream.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Administration Takes First Step in Probe on Who Leaked Info About Phone, Email Tracking
The Obama administration has taken a first step toward opening a criminal investigation into the purported leaking of classified documents related to the federal government tracking Americans’ phone calls and emails, a source familiar with the high-level discussions told Fox News on Saturday.
The source said James Clapper, the director of U.S. national intelligence, had filed a “criminal report”with the Justice Department and the FBI, which begins the process.
“The Department reviews any referrals it receives from the intelligence community consistent with established procedures for determining whether investigation is warranted,” a DOJ source told Fox News late Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police Say Men Came From Virginia to Loot in Tornado-Ravaged Moore
MOORE — Arrested with a truck full of copper wire, scrap metal and other items from homes destroyed by the May 20 tornado in Moore, three men told police they came hundreds of miles — all the way from Virginia — for the sole purpose of looting in the disaster area.
Another resident reported that a $50,000 watch was stolen from his home in Moore.
Nearly three weeks since a monster tornado tore through the city, killing more than 20 and wiping entire homes from existence, Moore police continue to investigate looting in the massive disaster area.
Steven Corky Daniels, of Harrisonburg, Va., was arrested Sunday when a Moore police officer spotted him walking near Broadway and SW 8 carrying a “large piece of utility wire in his hand.”
Daniels, 36, claimed to be the owner of recycling company in his home state. He apparently admitted to police why he was in Moore.
“(Daniels) advised he drove from Virginia to Moore … with two other subjects for the purpose of removing steel and copper utility wire from the disaster area,” an affidavit filed in Cleveland County District Court shows.
Daniels was charged with disturbing a disaster area, a misdemeanor, on Monday. He has since posted bail.
Steve Costello, 44, and Justin Wagner, 25, were arrested, along with Daniels. And like Daniels, police say both men admitted why they had driven to Oklahoma when questioned.
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Rand Paul: Orwell’s 1984 Has Arrived
The FBI wants back doors to all communications equipment and software. The NSA is grabbing trillions of phone records of American citizens. And reporters’ research apparently is a subject of interest at the Department of Justice. All of this and more has triggered a surge of renewed interest in a recent video by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in which he declares that “1984,” the George Orwell novel about ultimate government disinformation, manipulation and control — is here. “Dystopian novels were just that, bad utopias,” he said, “but not practically possible. One could always sigh in relief that such surveillance, such invasion of privacy, was not technologically possible. Until now. Now we have the technology. Drones that measure less than an inch, weigh less than an ounce and hover noiselessly outside your bedroom window are not a dystopian future but today’s reality,” he said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Larry Page of Google both strongly denied giving unfettered access to user data to U.S. officials, but it turns out both companies have, in fact, cooperated with governments requests.
Zuckerberg denied his company’s link to secret government data-sharing scheme PRISM on Friday in a blustery posted message that described allegations that Facebook gave ‘US or any other government direct access to our servers’ as ‘outrageous.’
Now, sources tell the New York Times that both Facebook and Google discussed plans to create secure portals for the government ‘like a digital version of the secure physical rooms that have long existed for classified information’ with U.S. officials.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ross Douthat: Chilling Effect Only at the Margins
by Diana West
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat today predicts that Americans will react mainly with complacency over government Internet and telephone surveillance. He goes on to assure us “America isn’t about to turn into East Germany with Facebook pages.”
For us, the age of surveillance is more likely to drift toward what Alexis de Toqueville described as “soft despotism” or what the Forbes columnist James Poulos has dubbed “the pink police state.”
He continues:
Our government will enjoy extraordinary, potentially tyrannical powers, but most citizens will be monitored without feeling persecuted or coerced.
What police state officer from East Germany eastward could express it better?
So instead of a climate of pervasive fear, there will be a chilling effect at the margins of political discourse, mostly affecting groups and opinions considered disreputable already.
As a member of a “group” or two with an “opinion” or two “considered disreputable already,” I feel pin-prick shivers over such complacency. The casual use of the word “disreputable,” the surrender of the “margins of political discourse” are themselves alarming.
Here’s an example of how that chilling effect already works. The US government, acting in accord with known Muslim Brotherhood front groups, has officially scrubbed the facts of jihad from the training and analysis of all government security agencies and the military (just as, I report in American Betrayal, the US government scrubbed the facts of Communism during WWII censorship); therefore, those who teach it and even have a negative opinion of it are already “disreputable.” What does the pink police state do next?
Probably nothing — nothing aside from keeping the temperature low on those “margins of political discourse.” Such margins are now, according to Douthat, effectively no-go-zones for the First Amendment.
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Rubio Cites Boston Bombing in Defense of Phone Snooping
(Tampa Bay Times) Sen. Marco Rubio said the government surveillance program that leapt back into the news last week is subject to “intense congressional oversight” and represents a difficult balance of privacy issues and national security interests.
He also suggested it’s here to stay.
“Much of what that program involves is classified,” Rubio said in an interview Thursday with Florida reporters, referring to National Security Agency phone monitoring. “I’ll tell you that program is part of intense congressional oversight. It’s a program members are aware of and they get to review from time to time and see how it’s being applied.”
A member of the Intelligence Committee, Rubio hedged when asked if the phone monitoring program was being misused.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The NSA’s “Boundless Informant” Collects 3 Billion Intelligence Pieces From Networks in One Month
There’s one reason why the administration, James Clapper and the NSA should just keep their mouths shut as the PRISM-gate fallout escalates: with every incremental attempt to refute some previously unknown facet of the US Big Brother state, a new piece of previously unleaked information from the same intelligence organization now scrambling for damage control, emerges and exposes the brand new narrative as yet another lie, forcing even more lies, more retribution against sources, more journalist persecution and so on.
The latest piece of news once again comes from the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald who this time exposes the NSA’s datamining tool “Boundless Informant” which according to leaked documents collected 97 billion pieces of intelligence from computer networks worldwide in March 2013 alone, and “3 billion pieces of intelligence from US computer networks over a 30-day period.”
This is summarized in the chart below which shows that only the middle east has more active NSA-espionage than the US. Also, Obama may not want to show Xi the activity heatmap for China, or else the whole “China is hacking us” script may promptly fall apart.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
An international team of researchers has examined Roman concrete to learn why it has proven to be so durable. A sample of Roman concrete taken from the ancient port of Baiae in Pozzuloi Bay revealed that by mixing lime and volcanic ash for underwater structures, the Romans used the seawater to trigger a chemical reaction that hydrated the lime and mixed with the ash to form a glue that is stronger than what holds modern concrete together. Plus, the ingredients of Roman concrete can be formed at lower temperatures, using less fuel and releasing less carbon into the atmosphere.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Sinister Spiritual Scandal Beneath All the Obama Political Scandals
Taking his own words at face value, Obama tells us that at Wright’s church, he learned he could continue to walk in his sins, and still claim to be a “committed Christian.” Obama learned from Wright how to be a Marxist while hiding behind a facade of Christianity. But try as he might, Obama cannot portray himself as a “committed Christian” without the counterfeit nature of those assertions oozing darkly through his empty religious rhetoric, demonstrating for the umpteenth time that “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain” (I Corinthians 3:20).
On September 28, 2010, at a campaign barbecue in Albuquerque, Obama said he became a Christian because the “precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead, being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper . . .” Jesus never expressed any such precept. In all of Scripture, only the liar and murderer, Cain, used the term “brother’s keeper.” Never are we urged by the inspired Word of our Creator to be our “brother’s keeper.” The word keeper in the Hebrew has an imprisoning connotation: “to be hedged about as with thorns.” The apostle Paul teaches, “For freedom Christ frees us” (Galations 5:1).
Attempting to force the words of Cain into the mouth of Christ is more than a gross misunderstanding of Scripture; it is an abject, intentional distortion of it.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
3 Pilots Reported Seeing UFOs Over U.K.’s Scientology HQ
Air traffic controllers also saw 6 unidentified objects on radar before they disappeared
(New York Daily News) Close encounters of the Scientology kind:
Pilots aboard three passenger planes in the vicinity of London’s Gatwick Airport late last year reported seeing a pair of “flat, silver discs” hovering near the UK headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
Air traffic controllers also said that they saw six UFOs on radar screens before the objects disappeared, according to a report issued last week by the UK’s Airprox Board.
The board examines reports of air traffic safety violations in UK airspace and recommends safety measures. Last week’s report failed to find an explanation for the pilot sightings from last Dec. 30 at about 9 a.m. It did describe how a Boeing 777 pilot raised the alarm at 8:53 a.m. after spotting “two flat silver discs”over the Scientology headquarters in East Grinstead minutes from touchdown at Gatwick. The three pilots on the flightdeck said that they saw the objects about 100 feet below them, moving slowly or stationary, according to the report.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Air Transport: ‘Shocking Working Conditions at Ryanair’
Jyllands-Posten, 5 June 2013
An airline stewardess working for Ryanair, who has decided to file a suit against the low-cost airline company, has told her story to Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.
She explains that staff must pay for their own uniforms, that they are not paid when required to be on call outside of scheduled work hours, and if they leave the firm before 15 months have expired they must pay €200.
These working conditions violate some national legislation as well as European regulations, the paper notes. According to a Danish labour market expert, interviewed by the daily, the airline sector is currently involved in “a race towards the bottom.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France to Ban Far-Right Group After Student Death
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday ordered the “dissolution” of a far-right group allegedly linked to the death of a left-wing student in a Paris street brawl.
He asked his interior minister to take steps “immediately” to ban the Revolutionary Nationalist Youth (JNR), his office said in a statement.
The JNR is the militant wing of a far-right group called the Third Way.
Its leader Serge Ayoub, who has been questioned by police but is not a suspect, on Saturday again denied the group had anything to do with the death of 18-year-old Clement Meric.
Meric, a student at the prestigious Sciences-Po university, died after a clash in a busy Paris shopping area on Wednesday between skinheads and left-wing activists.
Five people detained over the death went before a judge on Saturday and Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the main suspect, named Esteban, was being investigated on suspicion of murder.
The five suspects are aged between 19 and 32 and include one woman.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls on Friday vowed to crack down on far-right groups.
Meric’s death on Thursday, the day after the incident, brought condemnation from across the political spectrum and prompted thousands of people to go out onto the streets in Paris and other major cities in protest.
As well as the five suspects held, three more were picked up and later released on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Olympic Judo Champion Riner Alleges Racism at Paris’ Posh Buddha Bar; Waitress Fired
PARIS — The Buddha Bar has fired a waitress for improper behavior toward Olympic champion judoka Teddy Riner, who lashed out about alleged racism at the upscale Paris bar-restaurant.
On Facebook, the 24-year-old London Games gold medalist described how he had momentarily left his table one evening to get a better look at a Brazilian-themed show, and a waitress asked for his credit card and grabbed his arm “firmly.”
Riner suggested other patrons didn’t receive similar treatment because they were white, writing: “Never go to Buddha-bar if you’re BLACK!!!!”
Buddha Bar spokesman Laurent Guyot denied any racist motive. He said Sunday the waitress didn’t recognize Riner and was fired for having grabbed his arm inappropriately. Guyot said staffers ask for credit cards in such cases because some customers leave without paying.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Exor Sells 15% Sgs Stake for 2 Bn Euros to Belgium’s Gbl
Agnelli family holding cedes Swiss certification company stake
(ANSA) — Turin, June 3 — Exor S.p.A., the holding company for the vast assets of the Agnelli family — the dynasty behind Fiat automobiles — announced on Monday it is ceding its entire 15% stake in the Swiss inspection and certification company SGS S.A. to the Belgian holding Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A. (GBL) for two billion euros.
Exor will see a consolidated capital gain of about 1.5 billion euros from the deal.
Exor began investing in SGS in 2000 and has had a consistent presence on its board of directors over the last 13 years.
Over that time, SGS turnover has grown from 2.4 billion to 5.6 billion Swiss francs, and its operating margin has risen from 154 million to 941 million Swiss francs.
SGS capitalization has roughly quadrupled in that time and consolidated its position as global leader in the inspection and certification sector.
Exor said it intended to use the proceeds for further investment, and said it was proud to have supported the company over the years, as it consolidated its competitive positioning and built value for its shareholders.
The late Umberto Agnelli — who managed the Agnelli family’s investment portfolio at Exor’s predecessor holding company IFIL — in 2000 sounded out Sergio Marchionne to spearhead a turnaround at SGS S.A., which had just suffered a heavy loss of Swiss government contracts, according to the book “Mondo Agnelli: Fiat, Chrysler, and the Power of a Dynasty” by Jennifer Clark. Marchionne joined SGS as a board member in 2001 and as CEO in 2002, Clark wrote, and then recruited from SGS to head Fiat in 2004.
Marchionne is currently SGS chairman and will remain in his post after the change in stakeholders of reference, SGS announced.
The transaction is expected to be finalized by June 10. Exor is selling 1,173,400 shares in SGS for 2,128 Swiss Francs per share to the company Serena, entirely owned by GBL.
GBL is a Belgian industrial holding company and has been listed in Brussels since 1956. It is one of Belgium’s ten largest companies and is part of the BEL20 index.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: More Assets Seized From Indicted Ex-Public Works Chief
Balducci on trial in September with Anemone
(ANSA) — Rome, June 7 — Italian police on Friday seized 13 million euros in assets from Angelo Balducci, the former head of Italy’s public-works board who is at the centre of a huge contract-rigging case.
Balducci was indicted with several others last month in connection with alleged corruption linked to major events including the original Sardinian venue for the 2008 Group of Eight summit, which was eventually moved to quake-ravaged L’Aquila in Abruzzo.
It was the second asset seizure for Balducci after one earlier this year which amounted to 12 million euros.
In both, homes, cars, motorcycles, bank accounts and investments belonging to Balducci and his family were seized.
Balducci was among several former senior civil servants charged with corruption along with prominent Rome construction magnate Diego Anemone on May 27 in connection with contracts for big events, also including the 2009 world swimming championships in Rome and the 2011 celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.
Anemone, Balducci and Gaetano Baldini, a former executive at the culture ministry, will go on trial in Rome September 30.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 45 Arrested in Naples ‘Invalidity-Benefit Scam’
Health official ‘supplied bogus certificates’
(ANSA) — Naples, June 7 — Naples police on Friday arrested 44 people suspected of falsely claiming invalidity benefits thanks to a corrupt local health official.
The suspects allegedly got benefits on the strength of bogus medical tests and certificates from the official, who was also arrested, police said.
Property was impounded as surety for recouping the scammed money.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Owner Taken Into Custody for Selling False Organic Food
Police arrest 16 in fraud stretching across Italy
(ANSA) — Cagliari, June 7 — Finance police have arrested 16 people following an investigation into fake organic products worth more than 135 million euros, produced by a Capoterra-based company, authorities said Friday.
False certificates attesting to the quality of the products, as well as fake invoices, were issued on products aimed for Italian and European markets, authorities said.
The fraud allowed the company to charge the higher prices that certified organic products can fetch.
The investigation stretched down the entire peninsula, from Emilia Romagna and the Veneto regions to Lazio, Marche and Puglia as well as on Sardinia.
Investigators say they have a total of 24 suspects facing charges ranging from tax evasion to fraud.
Those arrested include company owner Benito Cremonini, 77, of Imola and company director Michele Grossi, 38, of Fossombrone.
Three people who were government-accredited inspectors face charges of corruption.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Grillo Blasts Berlusconi and State Channels for ‘News Bias’
M5S leader cites vote from blog readers
(ANSA) — Rome, June 5 — Both state-owned television network RAI3 and a channel owned by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi were alleged to be among Italy’s most biased Wednesday by political leader Beppe Grillo.
The leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) said on his blog that his unofficial survey found that the most biased television news coverage was found at several Berlusconi-owned stations including TG4, as well as RAI3.
Grillo, a former comic, asked readers of his blog to name who they considered most biased.
Some 80,000 people responded.
Grillo said his survey also found that readers judged Italy’s worst talk-show hosts to include Bruno Vespa, Barbara D’Urso and Paolo Del Debbio.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Minetti Denies Pimping, Says ‘Really Loved’ Berlusconi
Ex-Lombardy councillor faces 7-year sentence for procurement
(ANSA) — Milan, June 7 — Silvio Berlusconi’s former dental hygienist and ex-Lombardy regional councillor Nicole Minetti on Friday denied supplying girls for the ex-premier’s alleged sex parties.
Minetti, on trial with two others for allegedly procuring young women including an alleged underage prostitute known as Ruby, said she had never taken them to the centre-right leader’s mansion outside Milan.
She also told the court she had felt “true love” for Berlusconi.
Minetti was reportedly at one stage involved with the politician-turned media magnate, who is separately on trial for allegedly paying Ruby for sex and using his position as premier to cover up their relationship.
Berlusconi, who faces a possible six-year sentence in that trial, has had a steady girlfriend, Francesca Pascale, since he re-entered the political fray to take his conservative alliance within a whisker of winning the February general election. On trial with Minetti in the pimping trial are former Berlusconi TV anchor Emilio Fede and bankrupt talent scout Lele Mora.
The prosecution has requested a seven-year jail term for the three.
Minetti also told the court that when Berlusconi phoned from Paris to ask her to take Ruby home after telling police she was former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s niece, she was “only doing it for the girl’s benefit”.
The ex-Lombardy councillor, who took Ruby away with a Brazilian prostitute, said she had been the target of an “unprecedented hate campaign”.
Minetti also denied “running” a stable of more than 30 young women who attended Berlusconi’s so-called ‘bunga bunga’ parties and allegedly had sex with him.
Berlusconi and Ruby deny having sex and say a 4.5-million-euro gift was to help her set up a beauty salon.
The ex-premier has said he felt sorry for the then-17-year-old Ruby, a Moroccan-born nightclub dancer whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, after she told him she had fled an allegedly abusive Islam-enforcing father and also suffered in youth shelters.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Defendant in ‘Pimps’ Trial, Emilo Fede, Demands Respect
Prosecutors compared retired anchorman to ‘taster’ of girls
(ANSA) — Milan, June 7 — Retired TV anchorman Emilio Fede, on trial with two others for allegedly procuring prostitutes for ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, lashed out at prosecutors on Friday asking to be treated as a “human”.
Prosecutors compared Fede and another defendant, bankrupt ex-talent scout Lele Mora, to “tasters of fine wine” saying that they tested the girls before putting them into “the circuit of the Arcore nights”.
Fede, in a letter to prosecutors, demanded “respect, because in front of you there are, with all their rights and duties, human beings”.
The verdict for Fede, Mora and Berlusconi’s former dental hygenist and former Lombardy regional councillor Nicole Minetti is expected on July 12.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Avoid Facebook: We’re Spied on Like in USA, ‘ Says Grillo
(AGI) Rome, June 7 — Speaking at a rally in Assemini, near Cagliari, Beppe Grillo warned Italians about government espionage. “Did you see Obama? They admitted that they’ve been spying on American citizens for years… they do it here too,” he said. “Don’t use Facebook, the data gets stored in a data base; we need to be careful, they got into our MPs’ emails. It had never happened before. They upped the ante because they know the Five Star Movement is going to be a problem for Europe.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Grillo: The Dwarf Must be Eliminated and M5S Will Do it
(AGI) Palermo, June 3 — Anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) leader Beppe Grillo told a rally in Leonforte, province of Enna, that “The dwarf must be eliminated and if the Left don’t see to it, we will. We’ll win the election. Our strength lies in being neither left nor right. We’re above. Well above Berlusconi (the ‘dwarf’) and the rest. We will go to the polls soon and we will win.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Licence Needed for All Firearms in Belgium
The Belgian Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom (Flemish liberal) has abolished a list of firearms for which no licence was required. As a result a licence will be needed for the 680 different types of firearm that featured on the list. The list included firearms of historic value or of a decorative or folkloristic nature.
Annemie Turtelboom: “We were the only country in the continent of Europe where you could still buy a firearm without the need for a licence. This has led to a number of tragic incidents in the past — just think of the events in Liège eighteen months ago. This is why, just like our neighbouring countries, we have abolished the list of freely available firearms .”
Minister Turtelboom was keen to add that the new rules won’t apply to folkloristic organisations staging pageants or reconstructions of historic events. The police do have to be notified about arms used in such events. People in possession of an arm currently on the list have a year in which to get a licence.
In 2011 a man went on the rampage in the centre of Liège firing indiscriminately at bystanders. Five people were killed. Over a hundred were injured.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Male Train Drivers in Stockholm Wear Skirts to Keep Cool After Shorts Ban
Male train drivers in Sweden have found a novel way to work around a shorts ban during the summer months — by wearing skirts.
Drivers on the Roslagsbanan line north of Stockholm are required to wear long trousers or skirts to work and shorts are not allowed.
As a result, a dozen workers have been working in skirts to keep cool during the summer months when temperatures in their cabins can hit 35 degrees.
Train company Arriva has said they have no problem with men wearing skirts, saying the uniforms represent their company, no matter the sex of the person wearing them.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Member of EU Parliament Calls European Union a Nazi Plan
Gerard Batten, a member of the European Parliament for London for the United Kingdom Independence Party, said earlier this week at Watford, outside of the Bilderberg confab, that the European Union was designed by Nazis.
“In 1942,” Mr. Batten told Alex Jones, “the German central bank under Doctor Walther Funk along with leading industrialists said how are we going to run the economies of Europe after we have won the war.” They proposed the “European Economic Community, that’s what they called it, and they had a common agricultural policy” and policies covering other aspects of trade and cultural affairs.
Batten said it is more than likely many of the Nazi economic architects responsible for drafting up plans for a common union found their way into the bureaucracy after the supranational institution began under the auspices of the European Economic Community in the early 1950s, at the same time the Bilderberg Group was established and began to hold annual meetings. The Maastricht Treaty officially established the current European Union in 1993.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Student, 18, Is Hacked to Death in Flat
THE BOYFRIEND of a student hacked to death in a knife attack was last night arrested on suspicion of murder.
Neighbours said they heard screams as 18-year-old Reema Ramzan died in “horrendously violent” circumstances at her flat in Sheffield, South Yorks.
Emergency services said the murder scene was among the worst they had ever witnessed.
Last night her live-in boyfriend, an Asian man in his 20s, was said to be in a critical condition in hospital.
South Yorkshire Police said they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the killing.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Benghazi: No, We Will Not Let it Go
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Imagine yourself trapped. A vicious gang of Islamist terrorists have already breached the main gate. If captured, you know what they do to infidels — you’ve seen video of beheadings, sodomy and etc.
Despite the smell of petroleum becoming overwhelming due to the terrorists setting the building on fire in an effort to force you out, you force yourself to remain calm and hopeful. You tell yourself, “Everything is going to be OK. I’m an American. We never leave Americans behind.”
But the Calvary never arrives to save you — not because they were not ready. The expected help never arrived because someone high in the Obama Administration, for political reasons, ordered our military to “stand down.”
Such was the horrific nightmare, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens suffered in our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Stevens was killed by Islamist terrorists. Though not confirmed, it has been reported that our Ambassador Stevens was raped.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Crime and Death Rates Rising in Gaza Strip (So They Say)
Palestinians, of course, blame it on Israel.
Just have a look at some of the reasons they are dying in Gaza—family disputes, misuse of weapons and tunnel collapses—and it is all Israel’s fault!
From Al-Monitor:
Mustafa Ibrahim, a researcher for the Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights, told Al-Monitor that eight citizens were killed in the Gaza Strip in May. The deaths were the result of family disputes, robberies, tunnel collapses and suicides.
He pointed out that the commission observed a significant increase in the rate of violence in the West Bank and Gaza from the beginning of the year until April compared to the same period last year.
He added that about 61 people were killed in Gaza and the West Bank because of family disputes, misuse of weapons, tunnel collapses on the border with Egypt, apartment building collapses and the lack of safety measures in industrial workshops and other places.
Wait for it! You knew it would be in the article somewhere!
Ibrahim said that the crime rate is related to the living conditions, particularly in Gaza. He said that the high unemployment rate, the Israeli blockade and the continual power outages are frustrating the people.
| [Return to headlines] |
Arabs Meet to Establish Caliphate for Coming of Mahdi (Muslim Messiah)
Thousands of PA Arabs participated in a mass rally in Ramallah earlier this week calling for the establishment of the Muslim Caliphate — the worldwide Islamist government that will “bring the coming of the Mahdi.” the Muslim messiah. The Caliphate is essentially a union of Muslim countries under the spiritual and political leadership of a single individual, the Caliph. It has been an Islamic concept since the days of Muhammad, when it was established by several of his disciples. The office of “official Caliph” has been disputed at times, with rival would-be Caliphs battling each other for the title. The last official Caliph was Abdülmecid II, who lost the office in the aftermath of the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in World War I. The best-known Caliph in the West was Suleiman the Great, an early Ottoman sultan who, in the 16th century, conquered most of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, even conquering parts of Europe, until he was stopped at “the Gates of Vienna.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgians Involved in Beheading in Syria?
8/6/13 — A video posted on the internet has fuelled the controversy about the Belgians fighting in Syria. The video suggests that Belgians are taking part in atrocities in Syria and shows the beheading of a man while bystanders speak French and Belgian Dutch. The images are too gruesome to feature on this website.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Volunteers Russian Soldiers for Golan Heights
Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday offered Russian replacements for the peacekeeping force Austria wants to withdraw from the Golan Heights.
Austria said it was concerned about the safety of its 370 soldiers because the conflict in Syria has spread to a strategic border crossing. Security conditions have deteriorated in the area around the U.N. Golan Heights headquarters since the Quneitra crossing became the site of a clash between Syrian and rebel forces, CNN reported Friday.
Austria’s announcement it will remove its soldiers slashes the number of U.N. troops in the Golan Heights by one-third.
Filipino and Indian peacekeepers will remain and the United Nations may bring in troops from other nations, U.N. spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said.
Putin told a meeting of top Russian military officers in Moscow the United Nations has asked Russia to make a larger contribution to its peacekeeping efforts and he is ready and willing to replace the Austrians.
“Naturally, that will happen only if the regional powers show interest in our proposal and if the U.N. secretary-general asks us to do that,” Putin said.
Syrian tanks crossed into a demilitarized zone Friday and two U.N. peacekeepers were wounded when a mortar shell fell near the U.N. base, Israeli officials said.
Syrian rebels briefly took control Thursday of the Quneitra crossing, the only route between Israel and Syria, The New York Times reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday Western support for the Syrian opposition will only fuel violence in the country.
“We are disturbed by statements coming from leaders of the so-called Free Syrian Army as well as from some U.S, representatives, to the effect that support for the armed opposition will continue in order to restore the military balance on the ground. That is a road to nowhere,” Lavrov said.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Russians in the Golan Syria Demilitarized Zone
by Jerry Gordon
Friday, Austria announced that it was withdrawing its contingent in the UN Demilitarized Observer Force (UNDOF) in the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights. This was triggered by clashes between Assad forces and Syrian opposition including al-Nusrah forces in the town of Quneitra that resulted in Austrian casualties. Russia’s Putin weighed with an offer to supply a replacement force, currently barred by UN Security Council (UNSC) protocols for UN Peacekeeper forces. That led to discussions by phone Sunday between President Putin and Israeli PM Netanyahu. Israel had also notified Assad’s forces of its demand that they withdraw tanks and armored personnel carriers from the demilitarized zone. The Assad government suggested they were used against Syrian opposition cadres in the largely Druze populated area.
AFP in a news report noted these exchanges:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Backed — FSA Rebels Massacre an Entire Christian Village in Syria
[WARNING: Disturbing content.]
Members of the Free Syrian Army reportedly attacked the Christian-dominated al-Duvair village in Reef on the outskirts of Homs on Monday, where they massacred its citizens, including women and children, before the Syrian Army loyal to Bashar al Assad intervened on behalf of the Christians. This reported attack comes shortly after intense fighting in the city of al-Qusseir over the weekend, in which Bashar Al-Assad’s forces inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels.
The U.S. and other Western governments that are backing the FSA (Free Syrian Army), have acknowledged the presence of jihadists but insist that they’re only a small part of the rebel movement. However, al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups have been at the front of the rebel movement since day one of the Syrian war that began two years ago. According to German intelligence, 95 percent of the rebels aren’t even Syrian.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
300 Detained at Moscow Muslim Prayer Room Following Putin Crackdown
Moscow police detained 300 Muslims after President Vladimir Putin ordered a crackdown on radical Islamists ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The 300 people, including 170 foreigners, were held at a Muslim prayer room in the capital, and police said Islamist literature had been confiscated, according to Radio Free Europe.
It is the third such raid targeting Muslim places of worship in Moscow or St. Petersburg this year, Reuters reported.
The “fight against corruption, crime and the insurgency has to be carried out harshly and consistently,” Putin told a meeting of security force officers, according to the radio station.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
About 48 Percent of Children in India Are Stunted — UNICEF
(Reuters) — Some 165 million children worldwide are stunted by malnutrition as babies and face a future of ill health, poor education, low earnings and poverty, the head of the United Nations children’s fund said on Friday.
Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, told Reuters the problem of malnutrition is vastly under-appreciated, largely because poor nutrition is often mistaken for a lack of food.
In reality, he said, malnutrition and its irreversible health consequences also affect relatively well-off countries, such as India where there is plenty of food, but access to it is unequal and nutritional content can be low.
“Undernutrition, and especially stunting, is one of the least recognised crises for children in the world,” Lake said. “It’s a horrible thing. These children are condemned.”
Stunting is the consequence of undernutrition in the first 1,000 or so days of a baby’s life, including during gestation.
Stunted children learn less in school and are more likely themselves to live in poverty and go on to have children also stunted by poor nutrition. These in turn increase poverty in affected countries and regions, and drive greater gaps between the rich and the poor, Lake said.
“The numbers are phenomenal. In India, for example, about 48 percent of children are stunted, and in Yemen it’s almost 60 percent. Just think of the drag on development,” Lake said.
“And the key point is that it is absolutely irreversible. You can feed up an underweight child, but with a stunted child, because of the effects on the brain, it has a permanently reduced cognitive capacity by the age of around two years old.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: ISAF Mission Death Toll Rises to 53 for Italian Soldiers
(AGI) Rome, June 8 — An Italian soldier died in Farah on Saturday, taking the death toll to 53 for Italian citizens involved in the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission in Afghanistan from 2004 to date. The last victim before this Saturday dates back to October 25, 2012, when corporal Tiziano Chierotti died during an exchange of gunfire in Bakwa, in Herat province. At the time, he was taking part in a joint operation involving Task Force South-East and units from the Afghan army’s 207th Corps.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Three U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday when a man in an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on them in the eastern province of Paktika, a provincial government spokesman said.
So-called insider attacks by Afghan soldiers on their NATO-force allies have become an increasing problem over the past year or so, threatening to undermine already waning support for the war in Western nations sending troops.
Last year, a surge in such attacks prompted NATO to temporarily curtail some joint operations with Afghan government forces.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Alzheimer’s Time Bomb Revealed
In 2010, China had more people living with Alzheimer’s disease than any other country in the world — and twice as many cases of Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia as the World Health Organization thought.
Cases of all kinds of age-related dementia in the country rose from 3.7 million in 1990 to 9.2 million in 2010. This is the finding of the first comprehensive analysis of Chinese epidemiological research, made possible by the recent digitisation of Chinese-language research papers. Previous estimates, based on English-language papers, seem to have under-reported the number of cases by half.
“We are now only beginning to comprehend the enormous value in this ‘parallel universe’ of information,” says Igor Rutan of the University of Edinburgh, UK, who was part of the team that carried out the research.
The figures are bad news for a country where 90 per cent of the elderly must be cared for by their families — old people who still have family members living are not allowed to be admitted to a nursing home — even as widespread migration to cities has disrupted the traditional family structure.
Population bulge
The findings are a reflection of China’s ageing population, and its policies.
As countries modernise, death rates fall, and later on birth rates fall as more people take up birth control. Between the two events, though, there is a “bulge” of births, the source of the modern world’s population explosion. Eventually birth and death rates roughly equalise, but the birth bulge remains as an age bulge in the population.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Threatens to Take Back Schönbrunn Pandas
The Chinese government has threatened to take Schönbrunn’s panda’s away if the Austrian government meets the Dalai Lama again.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Key German Exports Eclipsed by China
Germany’s dominance in key export sectors outside of Europe is waning as China takes over greater market share, a new study has found. It predicts Chinese exports to Europe could even soon rival German products.
Chinese exports to Japan and the United States have taken over from Germany’s, even in the traditionally Teutonic areas of engineering, chemicals and control systems. In these markets, Germany has retained dominance only in the automotive industry.
The findings are part of a wide-ranging study on German-Chinese trade relations, carried out by Prognos on behalf of the Bertelsmann foundation.
The study also revealed that Germany has failed to establish itself as a leading exporter in major emerging economies like Brazil and India. In both markets, China has either taken over from or is hot on the heels of Germany in all areas except for automobile manufacture.
In India, China leads the way in engineering as well as the import of chemicals. Here Germany trails the United States, Argentina and South Korea.
The study authors speculate that Germany’s focus on establishing itself in China could have come at the expense of gaining a foothold in India and Brazil. However they also cite higher product prices as a possible explanation for the lower demand there.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rising Red Tide: China Encircles U.S. By Sailing Warships in American Waters, Arming Neighbors
China has been quietly taking steps to encircle the United States by arming western hemisphere states, seeking closer military, economic, and diplomatic ties to U.S. neighbors, and sailing warships into U.S. maritime zones. The strategy is a Chinese version of what Beijing has charged is a U.S. strategy designed to encircle and “contain” China. It is also directed at countering the Obama administration’s new strategy called the pivot to Asia. The pivot calls for closer economic, diplomatic, and military ties to Asian states that are increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment throughout that region. “The Chinese are deftly parrying our ‘Pivot to the Pacific’ with their own elegant countermoves,” said John Tkacik, a former State Department Asia hand.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: People-Smuggling Ring Dismantled
A criminal organisation which has been smuggling people from Iran to Tirol, Austria, since 2011 used the catholic course of faith to claim asylum.
The organisation is thought to have brought at least 60 Iran nationals to Austria against cash payments since 2011.
The organisation is thought to have organised faith courses, carried out by the Church, to convert the asylum seekers to Catholicism. Indeed, Catholicism being forbidden and punished my death penalty in Iran and religious persecution being a valid motive for an asylum application, the Iranians could virtually not be kicked out the country.
Between 30 and 40 people were baptised on Easter Sunday this year alone. In all the cases, asylum has been granted or the procedure has not yet been completed.
Christoph Hundertpfund, the deputy director of the regional investigation office said it was an ingenious method and that through the courses, the newly arrived Iranians were able to make a credible impression as to their new religion when interviewed by officials.
After months of investigations, police were able to trace seven men and women of Iranian nationality or Austrians of Iranian origin. The majority have admitted to the acts. All live in the Tirol region of Austria.
The key-player in the criminal organisation is a 36-year-old woman who was found with more than 30,000 Euros in cash or on savings accounts. She was remanded in custody.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Minister: Time to Throw Out Illegal Immigrants
Germany’s interior minister called on Friday for a tougher approach towards immigrants who appear to be in Germany just for the social support system. It was time, he said, to throw people out.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Leprosy Arrives in Ireland With Immigrant From South America
One more of the joys of multi-culturalism and mass migration!
From Irish Central:
The Irish health authority has confirmed the first case of leprosy in Ireland in living memory but has reassured the public that there is no cause for concern.
The victim, who is understood to be a native of South America in his 30s is believed to have contracted the disease outside of Ireland and was thought to have suffered from the condition in the past. The disease was discovered at a County Meath clinic. The doctor who treated him stated he presented for a disease seen “more in the Middle Ages than on a busy morning clinic in Co Meath”.
| [Return to headlines] |
Children’s Network Launches Transsexual Superhero
Show For Younger Children Nothing says “child-appropriate material” quite like gender-bending underage superheroes. At least that’s the theory over at the Hub, the network co-owned by Discovery and Hasbro, which is trotting out its latest SheZow, an animated superhero sporting a purple skirt and cape, pink gloves and white go-go boots. She is also a he. Yes, you heard that correctly.
The program, which targets children aged two to eleven, follows the adventures of a 12-year-old boy named Guy who uses a magic ring to transform himself into a crime-fighting girl. When Guy says the magic words — “You go girl!” — he becomes SheZow, wearing a purple skirt and cape, as well as pink gloves and white boots. The star of the cartoon debuting Saturday on the Hub kids’ cable channel is co-owned by cable programming giant Discovery Communications and toy manufacturer Hasbro Inc…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Migration Board to be Given “LGBTQ” Training
Workers at the Swedish Migration Board are to undergo special training in the issues facing LGBTQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and queer) refugees, following a decision by the Swedish government.
Refugees who clearly face oppression in their home countries due to their sexual orientation or identity have a right to asylum here in Sweden, according to Swedish and EU law, but there has been criticism that the migration authorities have not been consistent in their treatment of the refugees. Some refugees facing the same problems and from the same country have been allowed to stay, while others have been sent back to face repression at home.
So now workers at the migration board will undergo training, with each department around the country having their own expert in the problems facing LGBTQ people, newspaper Dagens Nyheter reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Moslem Terrorist’s Daughter: “Islam Cannot Coexist With Other Cultures”
Nonie Darwish is the daughter of Mustafa Hafez, the former head of intelligence in Gaza during the time of Egyptian control over the coastal strip. Back then, Hafez foudned the Fedajeen, the first islamic terror group there, which carried out attacks on Israel’s southern border between 1951 and 1956. Hafez was killed with a letter bomb sent to him by the Israeli army. Nonie was eight years old then. It was Israel’s first targeted killing, Hafez was declared a shahid (martyr). Even Egyptian president Nasser swore revenge and called for little Nonie “to atone for the blood of the father and kill Jews.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iwould like to thank this man for telling me that every keystroke and every phone call is being logged by our gov’t
The difference between him and Lt. Manning is that the teller of the collection did not break security of what, exactly was going on.
Lt. Manning might want to say that this is because of his sexual nature. I dont’t buy it…
While I totally rail against normal decent loving Americans that can’t seem to wake up and take action, I would ask you this: if in the 60’s through 80’s when the internet, emails, etc were not available, would the American people allow the Federal
Gov’t to take a picture of every single letter you wrote, including who it was sent to and who sent it along with the dimensions of the correspondence? I think not.
Hello there……..its me again……..”Mr. Nosy”……..Don Laird………
This is in regards to the revelations of Facebook and many other social networking websites, including Google, who have been compliant with respect to the US governments requests to divulge information about their members and customers…….to this “news” I ask the viewers/readers…..where have you been living and what have you been drinking?……….seriously……only a couple of cases of Ripple Wine and an abode in a shoebox located at the bottom of a hole at the back of a cave on the dark side of the moon with your tin foil hat pulled down tight could have rendered one so blissfully obvious of all the “info harvesting” that has been going on by both or governments and the multinational corporate infrastructure that spans the globe…………and as for the activities of the same….its going to get worse…..much, much, much worse…….Alex Jones and the Lunatic Fringe fresh in from the Burning Man Festival……..there is reason to be afraid……very very afraid.
I want you think about all your credit cards, your debit cards, your shoppers loyalty cards, your memberships in points clubs….think about your self induced non-stop vomitious regurgitation of all your most intimate personal information, (including drivers licence, birth certificate, passport, social insurance and security numbers) to faceless, nameless persons who ask for it in order to “qualify”, or because its “government orders”, or because of “safety”, or for “your own good”, or for your “security or just “because”….now think about all your accounts on YouTube and FaceBook and MySpace and and and and and…….and all their requests for your cell-phone numbers and addresses and relatives contact information (for your security of course)………..now think about all your information at your employers offices and your sports clubs and and and and……….
Now…think about how all of this is tied together in one neat little package that, with mind numbingly complex and brilliantly efficient algorithms that search, define and analyze, tell some faceless, nameless corporate drone exactly who you are and what, to the most intimate detail, you think, eat, feel, desire, need, dislike, hate, revile……..and all of that…….every single bit and byte……paints a picture of you that even God himself would envy…….or rather……that Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot would envy…….
Now…..think about that nameless, faceless corporate drone as he, with a stroke of a mouse click, sends all of that information to some faceless, nameless government drone……….
Now…….with your bowels rumbling and with a very uneasy feeling……make a coffee or tea……or pour a criminally large glass of French brandy and watch this most excellent Frontline documentary called “Spying on the Homefront”……….and then, with your renewed sense of resolve……..sit down with another excellent treatise on the madness of the Left…….read Gulag Archipelago, written by a man who lived it…….Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago
and watch the video
Here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/homefront/view/
If asked……I will jot down a few pointers on removing yourself from the horizon……if not……..then not.
To all of you…….We have become Big Brother……..the time has come to realize that cheaper tickets, cheaper gas and the thrill of being fashionable has a price……..and it is a price that speaks of the rigours of gruel, barbed wire, the rhythm of seasoned oak truncheons on skulls, mass graves, the disappeared and the wailing of widows who mourn and lament the loss of the same.
Regards, Don Laird
Dogtown, Crankville County
Alberta, Canada
“Somewhere between here and there…………”
In Ontario I innocently found out the OPP monitor Facebook, the thing is doesnt this leave them open to us writing all sorts of nonsense and having them chase their tails? just write a random punctuated string of letters on FB do it often talk about arab sounding friends and use the word “threat” innocently and see what time they waste!