Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the Obama administration to provide proof that the Syrian government carried out the recent gas attack that killed hundreds of people in Damascus. Meanwhile, President Obama has changed his stance on military action against Syria, and has asked Congress to vote on his proposed attack.
In other news, eighteen people were killed in two separate Taliban attacks, six when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a bank in Kandahar, and twelve as the result of a roadside bomb in Helmand Province.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, LS, Nilk, Takuan Seiyo, Vlad Tepes, 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.
Italy’s Central Bank Takes Over Banca Delle Marche
Temporary order to last two months
(ANSA) — Ancona, August 30 — Italy’s central bank, Bankitalia, said on Friday that it would take over the management of Banca Marche for two months.
“Bankitalia has ordered the temporary suspension of Banca delle Marche’s administration and will take control,” a statement from the central bank said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Massive Yosemite Blaze May Have Been Sparked by Illegal Marijuana Growers
The massive forest fire that has scorched 333 square miles in and around Yosemite National Park may have been sparked by illegal marijuana growers, according to one fire official in Tuolumne County.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mastercard Says it Will Cease Doing Business With Hate Groups
Holocaust deniers and other groups that spout hate won’t be able to sell their merchandise through MasterCard Worldwide, according to Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is applauding a decision by the credit card giant to stop doing business with such zany entities.
Hikind (D-Borough Park-Midwood) recently met top executives of MasterCard to thank them for their addressing what he called “this deeply hurtful issue.”
Last month, it was discovered that eight organizations were selling racist, anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial products, including books and videos, via websites through credit card sales. A report on one of the websites stated, “The alleged gas chambers of Auschwitz could not have existed.”
Hikind, who represents a district where hundreds of Holocaust survivors live, said he was outraged when he learned these hate groups were selling items and using credit card companies to collect the fees. He called on all credit card companies to stop doing business with these groups.
“MasterCard was the first to take this issue seriously,” Hikind said. “Freedom of speech allows anyone to espouse openly racist, hateful ideologies, but there’s no need to make it easier for them and no cause for a respected credit card and international brand to be associated with such reprehensible material. I applaud MasterCard for their sensitivity and respect—for going the extra mile and making the necessary efforts to do the right thing,” he said.
Unlike in some European countries, where selling racist and Holocaust-denial materials is illegal, hate speech is protected speech in the United States. That means that MasterCard is limited to “educating” its merchant banks with regard to who they are issuing merchant accounts to. “But MasterCard has been a master educator,” Hikind said. He said that nearly every hate group that he reported last month for selling Holocaust denial products has now been dropped by their individual merchant banks.
“It’s an important victory,” said Hikind, who is the son of Holocaust survivors. “The Jewish community and anyone interested in historical accuracy owe MasterCard a debt of gratitude,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Nilk | [Return to headlines] |
Roanoke Resident Kills Man Trying to Enter Home
Roanoke police say no charges are anticipated after a homeowner shot an intruder.
A person was found dead in northwest Roanoke late Thursday after an attempted home robbery led to gunfire.
Officers were called to the 3000 block of Ferncliff Avenue just before midnight Thursday after reports that multiple shots had been fired in the area.
The police roped off the house where the shooting took place as well as a house next to it and a part of the parking lot at a nearby Shell station. A broken window could be seen at the home where the shooting occurred.
In a statement released Friday, department spokesman Scott Leamon said a person inside the house had used a gun in self-defense to shoot Earnest Neal Jr., 42, of Roanoke. Neal was later found at the gas station, and died at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
The Shell station where he was found is at the intersection of Ferncliff and Hershberger Road, about four houses down from where the shooting took place and across six-lane Hershberger Road.
Clarice MacIntosh, who lives across the street from where the shooting happened, said she was at home with her 13-year-old grandson and both of them heard shots. Minutes later, she said, the street was swarming with police officers.
“It kept me up all night,” she said.
MacIntosh said parts of Ferncliff Avenue have had issues with crime, but her block of the street has always been safe and quiet. Jenny Bearden, who also lives on the street and heard the gunfire, said she has lived in her home for 50 years and never saw so much commotion. Neighbors said the police were on the street almost all night and searched the neighborhood. A K9 unit was also brought in.
Police did not say how many people were attempting to enter the house along with Neal, who has a lengthy record in the court system dating back to the 1980s. Records show that he was convicted of several crimes in Georgia, including robbery. He has also been charged with crimes in Roanoke, but the status of those charges is unknown.
Leamon said that at this point in the investigation, authorities will not bring charges against the shooter…
| — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo | [Return to headlines] |
Tables Turn on Fontaine Avenue Robbery Suspects
Charlottesville police say two men picked the wrong students to rob at gunpoint. The robbery suspects are behind bars, badly beaten by their victims.
Both suspects have severe injuries to their faces, but the victims — we’re told — are doing just fine. The pair who allegedly attempted an armed robbery had the tables turned on them Tuesday night, becoming victims themselves, so to speak.
Johnny Calderon Jr., 19, is facing four charges: two for attempted robbery, one for pointing a firearm and one for using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Calderon has a lot of bruising on his face, but he was not as badly injured as Gerald Allen. Allen’s right eye is swollen shut. Allen, 18, is facing a pair of attempted robbery charges.
Police say the suspects, both from Charlottesville, had to be taken to the hospital before going to jail Tuesday night.
The robbery happened along the 2300 block of Fontaine Avenue. When police arrived on the scene, they found two University of Virginia students had beaten up the suspects and detained them.
Police say they do not encourage victims to take matters into their own hands.
Calderon is due in General District Court Friday morning for a hearing. Allen is due in court on October 3.
Update: According to Calderon’s defense attorney Lloyd Snook, the men who detained the suspects were not University of Virginia students. This contradicts the information we received from police.
| — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo | [Return to headlines] |
‘€250m of Funds for Croatia Could be Blocked’
Vecernji list, 26 August 2013
Zagreb has failed to respond to an ultimatum from the European Commission to comply with the terms of the European Arrest Warrant.
Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told news website Dalje.com that “the government has no plans to address the matter in the coming weeks.” Brussels wants Zagreb to drop legislation blocking the extradition of Croatian citizens to other European countries.
The laws stop the extradition to Germany of former Yugoslav secret police chief Josip Perkovic wanted in connection with the assassination of Croat defector Stjepan Äurekovic in Bavaria in 1983.
The government decision threatens the €250m in European funds earmarked for Croatia as well as preparations for the country’s accession to the Schengen Area, notes Vecernji list.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Does Wine Drinking Protect Against Depression?
Enjoying several glasses of wine each week may not only protect your heart, it may also help protect your mental health, a new study suggests. Researchers in Spain have found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol — especially wine — was linked with a lower risk of depression.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Ban ‘Erases Two-Thirds of Swedish Snuff’
The EU’s new tobacco directive could threaten as much as 70 percent of existing sorts of snus on the market, snuff makers Swedish Match has warned.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Social Democrats Drop to 19 Percent in Berlin
(AGI) Berlin — Social Democrat support has plunged to 19pct in Berlin according to a poll three weeks before the general election .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL Party Leads the Polls Once Again
Yet 53% of his supporters say ‘no’ to government crisis
(ANSA) — Rome, August 30 — Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party (PdL) has roared back into first place among Italian political parties, according the latest election survey conducted by Italian online polling company SWG.
The centre-right PdL appealed to 27.9% of voters polled, rising six points over the February 25-26 elections to become Italy’s most popular political party, according to the survey. The centre-left Democratic Party (PD), which edged out the PdL in last election, sank one and a half points to 24%. The anti-establishment Five-Star Movement (M5S), led by ex-comedian Beppe Grillo, also lost ground, slipping from 25.5% last February to 20.1% in the survey, which was conducted for the television programme Agora’ on RAI 3.
The leftwing Freedom Ecology Left (SEL) party — headed by Puglia governor Nichi Vendola and allied with the PD — gained three points to reach 6.6% in the latest poll.
Support for the anti-immigrant Northern League also rose one point to 5.1%.
Mario Monti’s Civic Choice party, which won 8.8% of the vote in February together with Gianfranco Fini’s centre-right Future and Freedom Party (FLI), sank this time to 4.5%.
The PdL’s remarkable political comeback comes with a large caveat and possible political pitfall, the survey found, however.
Seventy percent of Italians believe Berlusconi should allow the government to continue regardless of whether the Senate removes him from the Upper House in a vote on September 9, including over half of the centre right’s own electorate.
The PdL has repeatedly threatened to scupper the government’s fragile right-left majority if the three-time premier’s Senate seat is taken away as a result of his definitive conviction for tax fraud August 1 — his first definitive sentence in almost 20 years of battles with magistrates he accuses of left-wing bias.
But if the PdL pulls the plug on the current government, led by the PD’s Enrico Letta, they will anger 53% of their own supporters. Only 39% of the centre-right voter constituency is actively in favour of creating government crisis.
Meanwhile, 87% of the centre-left electorate and 68% of M5S supporters think Berlusconi’s troubles should not interfere with stability of the current government.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: New Service Tax Replacing IMU to Raise Same Revenue, S&P Say
Municipalities to get same from levy as scrapped tax
(ANSA) — Rome, August 30 — The new “service tax” that is set to replace the IMU property tax that the Italian government scrapped earlier this week will raise the same revenues for local municipalities in 2014, Standard & Poor’s said in a report on Friday. The new service tax combined with the rubbish collection tax “will generate the same inflow for local municipalities as the IMU tax”, the ratings agency said in a note on the recent fiscal reform introduced by the Italian cabinet.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Palermo Mosque Discovered During Home Renovations
From late 1700s, owners to keep it as it is
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 27 — The owners of a Palermo flat have discovered a mosque inside their property during renovation work on it. The flat in Via Porta di Castro is in an area of buildings over what used to be the Kemonia river, before it was land-filled around 1600, near the Royal Palace of Palermo.
The couple, Giuseppe Cadili and Valeria Giarrusso, both journalists, bought the apartment eight years ago and initiated renovation work. They had planned to knock down the wall of a room to create an open area, but Giuseppe soon realised that the plaster was wet. “There was a leak inside of a wall. Cleaning it up a bit I realised that there was Arabic writing on it,” he said. Drawing attention to this discovery would have cost too much at the time, and therefore it was only recently that the couple decided to bring in a restoration expert, as the work is delicate and requires special training. “I would never have imagined that the writing covered all four walls,” Giuseppe continued, noting that they are decorated in detailed Arabic inscriptions in gold and silver. It was at that point that the amazed owners decided to have it examined. They received a response from Gaetano Basile, an expert in Palermo history who was the first to become aware of the case. He said that the inscriptions are artisan versions of the decorative calligraphy widespread in those years. Most of it is of purely decorative purposes, Basile was quoted by Giornale di Sicilia as saying in an article on the discovery of the mosque. “This is a well-known part of our culture, marked by the invention of ‘rabbisco’, an entirely Sicilian legacy of arabesque. The Sicilian artisan, who did not know Arabic (anymore), mistook calligraphic verses for decoration, and emulated them. Sicilian carts were full of ‘rabbischi’. It is likely that the house belonged to a North African nobleman or merchant who had made his home in Palermo around the later 1700s,” he said, noting that a large Muslim community lived in the Sicilian capital in that period. “The owner — Basile said — basically had a mosque built in his house. There are clear indications of this: first of all, it has eastern exposure, the walls are of an identical size — 3.5 by 3.5 m, it has doors located in such a way as to prevent the placement of furniture, and the ceiling has a repeating lamp pattern.” The discovery is the first of its kind, as a mosque built into private dwellings had never before been seen in Sicily. The owners see it as having a deeper meaning, however.
“We wanted to give the proper weight to this discovery and convey our love for the historic center,” Giuseppe said. “Too often things from our past are destroyed instead of bringing them back to life. This room also transmits an extraordinary feeling of serenity. This is why we decided to keep it as we found it: we put in a sofa and a desk and, out of respect for the Muslim culture, we do not serve alcoholic beverages in this room.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Party Most Popular, New Opinon Poll Finds
Rome, 30 August (AKI) — Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative People of Freedom (PdL) made a remarkable political comeback on Friday emerging as the most popular Italian party, according to a new opinion poll.
A total of 27.9 percent of electors surveyed said they would vote for the PdL — over six percentage points more than it polled in the 25-26 general election (21.6 percent).
The PdL has forged ahead of its coalition partner the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) whose support slid 1.4 percent to 24 percent since the election according to the online poll by SWG.
Berlusconi’s supporters don’t appear to have been alienated from the PdL by his recent binding conviction for tax fraud and possible ejection from the Italian Senate upper house of parliament next month.
But considerably less than half (39 percent) of the centre-right voters surveyed believe the PdL should ditch the fragile coalition government if Berlusconi loses his Senate seat — as the billionaire media tycoon has repeatedly threatened.
Seventy percent of voters polled say Berlusconi should allow the PdL to continue in coalition with the PD even if the Senate does evict him next month.
But only half of voters surveyed believe the coalition government should continue.
Berlusconi has been sentenced to a year in prison — to be served under house arrest or in community service — but has stated he will continue to lead the PdL.
Despite a series of graft scandals that have hit the PdL’s former ally, the anti-immigrant Northern League Party, its support rose one point to 5.1 percent, according to the SWG poll, commissioned for public TV channel Rai 3.
Former comedian Beppe Grillo’s grassroots Five-Star Movement, which took 25.5 percent of votes in the February election has slipped back to 20.1 percent, according to the survey.
The leftwing SEL party, which is allied with the PD, improved its support to reach 6.6 percent — a three point gain from the February election.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Socialists Crash and Bash in School Loot Raid
A Robin Hood-style band of Spanish left-wing activists openly stole cart-loads of school supplies from a supermarket on Friday, promising to distribute them to needy children.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Banks Face Hefty Fines Under US Tax Deal
Swiss banks will pay significant fines to avoid US penalties under a deal announced on Thursday which forces them to begin disclosing the offshore accounts of American clients.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Marxist-Leninist Roots of the European Union: Interview With Vladimir Bukovsky
Among your predictions for the EU-USSR there was also the gulag. Do you confirm it?
Unfortunately, yes. The EU is creating it slowly. Political correctness is imposed not by persuasion but by repression. In Britain just last month they jailed for hate speech a nineteen-year-old who had written something offensive on Twitter about a black football player. He was sentenced to a month and a half in prison.
As nobody protests, they will gradually widen the net and eventually we will get the gulag. And remember that the European police force is granted immunity, something that was not granted even to the KGB!
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Timeline of the Swedish Mafia Murders
A turf war over gambling machines in Södertälje fomented gang rivalry, a drive-by shooting, one murder, plus a double homicide of two brothers — one a local football star. As Bernard Khouri is jailed for life, The Local draws up a timeline of the Swedish mafia war that terrorized the town of Södertälje.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Truth is on the March’: An Interview With Philippe Karsenty on the Al Dura Hoax Trials (Sep. 2013)
by Jerry Gordon (September 2013)
Many in France, Israel and the West consider Philippe Karsenty as “the Emile Zola of the 21st century” given his role unraveling the al-Dura film hoax and blood libel. Karsenty in France has been at the center of the al-Dura blood libel trials since 2004. These have involved accusations of defamation by France 2 TV news and Charles Enderlin, an Israel-based Jewish producer of the French TV news network. The al Dura affair began at the start of the Second Intifada on September 30, 2000 with a staged video of a Palestinian father Jamal al Dura sheltering his 12 year old son Mohammed allegedly dying from gunfire near the IDF Netzarim outpost in Gaza. It was used as agit-prop by Palestinians and even the late Usama bin Laden to accuse Israel and World Jewry as being child killers. Several investigators in Israel, France, Germany and the US after looking at the film and forensic evidence declared it a staged hoax…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Authorities Detain Suspected ‘Spy’ Bird
In a case that ruffled feathers in Egypt, authorities have detained a migratory bird that a citizen suspected of being a spy. A man in Egypt’s Qena governorate, some 280 miles southeast of Cairo, found the suspicious bird among four others near his home and brought them to a police station Friday, said Mohammed Kamal, the head of the security in the region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Suez Canal Authority Says Attack Attempted on Container Ship
A “terrorist” staged an unsuccessful attack on a container ship passing through the Suez Canal on Saturday, in an attempt to disrupt the flow of ships through the waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said on Saturday.
The Suez Canal is a key global shipping line.
“The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried. The situation was dealt with strictly by the armed forces,” Memish said in a statement.
The statement did not specify what kind of attack it was but shipping sources told Reuters they heard the sound of two explosions as the ship passed through the waterway.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: First Photos of Ben Ali in Saudi Exile Released
Posted on social network by son; granted political asylum
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, AUGUST 27 — Over two years after the last official ones, photos have surfaced of former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in exile in Saudi Arabia since January 14, 2011. The photos show him in domestic surroundings with his son Mohammed, the youngest of his children, who lives with him and who posted them on social networks. The former Tunisian president, who rumors had claimed was suffering from ill health and in a coma from the diabetes he has been suffering from for years, seems to be in good health. In Tunisia, Ben Ali was sentenced to over a hundred years in prison on corruption, money laundering and theft charges. Saudi authorities granted him political asylum as long as he abides by conditions including no speaking to the media or involvement in politics. Ben Ali has complied with this obligation since the last Saudi ultimatum, making only a few statements through his lawyers.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Two Police Officers Killed in Egypt
(AGI) Cairo — Two policemen were killed in Sinai on Saturday as attacks against security forces in the peninsula continue .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Video From Egypt Shows Muslim Mob Attacking Christian Church, Taking Down Cross
Newly-surfaced video from Egypt shows a Muslim mob storming a Coptic church, setting cars on fire and then toppling a cross atop the steeple, in a shocking attack that Christians say has been played out dozens of times since the ouster of Mohammad Morsi.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Nation That Can’t Disembark Properly
by Badrya Darwish
I just came back from London. I had no other option but to fly British Airways because, as all of you know, Kuwait Airways is no longer a competitor to the big airlines. They cannot compete on routes even to the nearest airport, such as Dubai. On this destination, Jazeera and flydubai have grounded Kuwait Airways on the tarmac.
This is not the point of my article today. God bless British captains who really give good briefings to the passengers and provide details when approaching Kuwait airport. Arab airlines rarely do such briefings. Anyway, on that particular flight the captain asked us to be patient for five minutes until the luggage from the halls is cleared, the plane comes to a complete stop and the seatbelt signs are turned off. I think the passengers misheard his briefing.
The minute the plane touched the ground many people jumped off their seats and started opening the overhead lockers to pull out luggage. They started rushing to the door. This forced the cabin crew to ask everyone to remain seated because the plane has not reached the gate. The crew were warning passengers about the dangers. They tried to be as diplomatic as they could. I do not know why everyone wants to rush to the door the minute the plane is on the ground.
Is this a race for life? When the doors open everyone will disembark anyways. In my part of the world, unfortunately, waiting does not take place. I was lucky to be sitting in the front — but I decided to get up when everything calmed down. At this point I started contemplating.
I was thinking? If we in the Middle East cannot disembark properly from an airplane, how are we going to compete with the west and build countries and cultures? Don’t we have to learn first how to queue and drop the selfishness? There are queues in life and it does not hurt anyone’s dignity to queue and give people in front of them a chance. It is not a matter of ego. It is ignorance, in my opinion.
Can a nation which cannot disembark properly compete with the West or are we simply consumers of Western goods and services? Unfortunately, we cannot even imitate the West in the good things, such as waiting patiently in line.
This reminded me of a phrase by the famous politician Golda Meir, (a former Prime Minister of Israel) who said that she would be afraid of the Arabs once she sees them queuing in line. That woman knew what she was talking about. Look at us today.
We only have to look at our situation starting from the African Horn, through Syria and Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon and see how developed we are. The only possible conclusion for my article is: A nation that cannot disembark properly from an airplane will not reach far.
| [Return to headlines] |
Al Qaeda’s Potent Force in Syria
Why has the Obama administration been so reluctant to intervene in Syria? There are a host of reasons — American fatigue with war, President Barack Obama’s disinclination to start another conflict in the Middle East, and the splintered, fractured opposition to Bashar al-Assad.
But one reason looms large: al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, is generally acknowledged to be the most effective force fighting al-Assad.
Its fighters are willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause, are widely viewed as uncorrupt and are not involved in looting as other opposition forces are. A number of them are battle-hardened from other conflicts such as the Iraq War.
Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate is also well supplied as it benefits from the support of Sunni ultra-fundamentalists in the wealthy Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Jabhat al-Nusra, which means the “Victory Front,” was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in December and is essentially a splinter organization of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Al-Nusra’s military prowess and close ties to al Qaeda make it a potentially serious threat to U.S. interests in the region, and the group has shown it has the ability to conduct massive suicide bombings.
In November, al-Nusra claimed responsibility for 45 attacks in the provinces of Damascus, Deraa, Hama and Homs that killed dozens of people, including one suicide bomb that reportedly resulted in 60 casualties.
It was the first insurgent organization in Syria to claim responsibility for attacks that caused civilian casualties.
Despite these civilian casualties, the group has been able to garner considerable support from Syria’s Sunni population, not only because it is the premier fighting force in the campaign to topple al-Assad but also because it is involved in providing critical services such as food, medical services and Sharia courts to the embattled population.
Also, for the moment, al-Nusra is not imposing Taliban-style rule in areas that it controls as al Qaeda did in Iraq’s massive Anbar province during the first years of the Iraq War. Al Qaeda’s harsh rule in Iraq precipitated the 2006 “Sunni Awakening” in which Iraq’s Sunni tribes rose up against the group.
Al-Nusra seems to have learned from this mistake and is operating in a Hezbollah-like manner as a large-scale provider of social services, and with the consent of the population in the areas it controls.
There is some confusion about how exactly al-Nusra fits into the larger al Qaeda network.
Al Qaeda in Iraq released a statement in April announcing its official merger with al-Nusra, proclaiming that their joint organization would be called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. A leader of al-Nusra later rejected the merger but pledged the group’s support for al Qaeda’s overall leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
On June 9, Al Jazeera obtained a copy of a letter from al-Zawahiri annulling the merger.
But a week later, in an audio recording posted online, al Qaeda in Iraq rejected al-Zawahiri’s annulment of the merger, likely adding to the confusion of al Qaeda cadres.
Syria is a particularly agreeable environment for al Qaeda. During the Sunni insurgency in Iraq that began in 2003, it was a key base for training and supporting foreign fighters.
Al-Assad is also the perfect al Qaeda villain. He is an Shia Alawite and therefore a heretic in the eyes of the Sunni fundamentalists. He is a secularist and therefore an apostate in their view, and he is conducting a war without quarter against much of his Sunni population.
Some 2,000 to 5,500 foreign fighters are believed to have traveled to Syria since the beginning of the Syrian conflict to join the rebels who aim to topple the Assad regime.
Not all of them have necessarily joined jihadist factions of the rebel forces, but because most foreign fighters are drawn to the conflict because of a perceived religious responsibility, it is likely that these groups have drawn the lion’s share of the foreigners.
Even at high-end estimates, foreign fighters make up a small portion of the forces arrayed against the Assad regime: no more than 10%.
Al-Nusra is the opposition group in Syria that attracts the most foreign fighters. It is believed that there are about 100 foreign fighters from the United Kingdom fighting in Syria.
Experts say the number of Americans fighting in Syria is likely less than 10, and only a couple of instances of Americans fighting with al-Nusra have been confirmed.
Eric Harroun, a former American solider, was charged in 2013 with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade in Syria, and he admitted to fighting with al-Nusra.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Assad’s Syria Chides Bread Lines as Civilians Brace for Hit
Syrians are forming bread lines and stocking up on other food as they brace for a possible U.S.-led attack on their soil. The Syrian government called the hoarding of bread “unjustified,” state-run news agency Sana reported today, citing Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Samir Amin. The government is ready to provide more flour to meet the increased demand, he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Urge Caution on Military Intervention in Syria
The Netherlands has not been asked by other countries to contribute to any eventual military action against Syria, ministers told parliament on Thursday.
In addition, there is no definitive concrete evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria and by who, foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans and defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a briefing.
Although it is pretty certain that chemical weapons have been used, there is no incontroversial evidence. Only once this has been established by the UN, will there be a mandate for intervention, the ministers said.
Debate
During the debate, MPs from all parties urged caution. There were also questions about the reliability of foreign intelligence information. Several MPs refered to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 which the Dutch supported on the basis of information which turned out to be incorrect, news agency ANP said.
‘We know… that we cannot trust the powerpoint presentations of US ministers or the blue eyes of a British prime minister,’ Michel Servaes was quoted by Nos television as saying.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Intervention Must Put an End to Syrian Regime Says Erdogan
(AGI) Ankara — An international military operation in Syria must put an end to Assad’s regime, Turkish premier Erdogan has said .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Will Not Participate in Syria Action Says Letta
(AGI) Genoa, Aug 30 — Italy’s prime minister, Enrico Letta, said Italy “won’t participate” in military action against Syria, but that “in terms of our political position, if the alternative is either siding with Obama and Hollande or Assad, I have no doubts where Italy stands”. However, “a UN decision is a necessary step to sanction the legality of an intervention, and we stand at this step,” he stated during a rally in Genoa.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Warns Syria Strikes Could Turn Conflict Global
Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said on Friday that military strikes being planned against Syria risked escalating into “a global conflagration”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Most French People Are Against Military Action in Syria
(AGI) Paris — A poll revealed that 64 percent of French people do not want their country to take part in military action in Syria .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia’s Vladimir Putin Challenges US on Syria Claims
Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria was responsible for chemical weapons attacks.
Mr Putin said it would be “utter rubbish” for Syria’s government to provoke opponents with such attacks when it was in a position of strength.
US President Barack Obama has said he is considering military action against Syria based on intelligence reports.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Strike on Syria Would Cause One on Israel, Iran Declares
Iranian lawmakers and commanders issued stark warnings to the United States and its allies on Tuesday, saying any military strike on Syria would lead to a retaliatory attack on Israel fanned by “the flames of outrage.”
The warnings came against a backdrop of rising momentum among Western governments for a military intervention in the Syria conflict over what the United States, Britain, France and others have called undeniable evidence that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces used banned chemical weapons on civilians last week, killing hundreds. Mr. Assad has accused the insurgents who are trying to topple him of using such munitions.
Iran, which itself came under chemical weapons assault by Iraq during its eight-year war in the 1980s, has been a loyal ally of the Syrian government. Iranian hard-liners often say Syria is Iran’s first trench in a potential war with hostile Western powers. Iran has blamed Israel for the conflict in Syria, saying Israel is trying to bring down Mr. Assad.
“In case of a U.S. military strike against Syria, the flames of outrage of the region’s revolutionaries will point toward the Zionist regime,” the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Mansur Haqiqatpur, an influential member of Parliament, as saying on Tuesday…
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Syria Samples Could Take Two Weeks to Analyse, Says UN
/AGI) New York, Aug 31 — Laboratory tests on samples and other evidence collected by UN inspectors in Syria after the alleged chemical weapons attack of Aug. 21 could take two weeks to analyse. Confidential diplomatic sources confirmed that Ban Ki-moon on Friday informed the representatives of the five Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council, namely The United States, Great Britain, France, Russia and China, on the expected timescale for results.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Rebels Admit Gas Attack Result of Mishandling Chemical Weapons
In a report that is sure to be considered blockbuster news, the rebels told Dale Gavlak, a reporter who has written for the Associated Press, NPR and BBC, they are responsible for the chemical attack last week.
Gavlak is a Middle Eastern journalist who filed the report about the rebels claiming responsibility on the Mint Press News website, which is affiliated with AP.
In that report allegedly the rebels told him the chemical attack was a result of mishandling chemical weapons.
This news should deflate the accusations, against the Assad regime, coming from the U.S., Britain, France and the Arab League.
Since the chemical attacks last week, the Assad government was immediately blamed. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry said: That Assad’s guilt was “a judgment already clear to the world,” according to theguardian.com.
As a result of Assad’s government being blamed for the chemical attacks, five U.S. warships are now stationed off Syria’s coast. These destroyers are poised to deliver cruise missiles in a strike that is due to begin any time now. According to the report on Mint Press there have been several interviews conducted with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian capital.
The interviews conducted of residents, rebels and their families in Damascus and Ghouta are painting a different picture of what actually happened. Many believe that rebels received chemical weapons provided through the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan. It’s being reported that these weapons are responsible for last week’s gas attack.
The father of a rebel who was killed in what’s now being called an accident by many in Ghouta and Damascus said: “My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim. The father said at least 12 rebels including his son were killed by the chemical weapons.
Allegedly they were killed in the tunnel that was used to store the chemicals. These were provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha. He is said to be leading a fighting battalion in the effort to unseat Assad. The weapon was described as a “tube-like structure” by Abdel-Moneim.
Gavlak reports he was told by rebels that the gas “attack” was the result of rebels mishandling the chemical weapons they acquired from the Saudis. He says in the Mint Press report the following:
“They didn’t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,” complained a female fighter named ‘K.’ “We didn’t know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons.”
When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them to those who know how to handle and use them,” she warned. She, like other Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution.”
Gavlak continues in his report: “A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named ‘J’ agreed. “Jabhat al-Nusra militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material.
We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions, ‘J’ said.”…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
The Consequences of President Obama’s Challenge to Assad’s Syria
President Obama sought political cover when he announced Saturday, August 31, 2013, in a televised broadcast from the White House Rose Garden that he was seeking authorization and support from Congress for a limited military assault in Syria to confront the “menace” posed by Chemical Warfare (CW) attacks on Syrian civilians. From polls taken this weekend the US is virtually divided. Thus, whatever Congressional debate over authorization of President Obama’s announced intent to punish the Assad regime will doubtless allow more time for receipt and consideration of the results of the UN inspection team.
Watch this You Tube video of President Obama’s announcement on August 31, 2013.
Where is the future for Syria? Perhaps one should revert to the past under the French Mandate when Syria had a weak central government with ethnic semi-autonomous provinces.
But the aftermath of a possible strike on Syria’s meager air assets and command and control echelons may achieve nothing more than havoc for the beleaguered population. A rush of weapons and supplies to Assad’s forces from Iran and Russia along with more IRGC Qods force and proxy Hezbollah contingents could occur.
Syria’s civil war looks eerily familiar. Think of the actors in the Spanish civil war and the outcome. George Orwell in Homage to Catalonia portrayed the betrayal of the Republican government by Stalinist Communists that faced National forces supplied by Mussolini and Hitler’s Condor Legion.
The Syrian geo-politics are dissimilar from those operating in 1930’s Spain. Unlike the West’s position in the Spanish Civil War with weapons embargoes against the Republican side, the US, Qataris and Saudis have been beavering away supplying weapons for questionable opposition forces. The most effective of those opposition forces are seeking to overcome Assad’s military in the coming battle for control of Damascus and its suburbs. Bombing and filtering of arms to the opposition will only embolden these Jihadis seeking to establish a Sharia governed Syrian Sunni Emirate. That would threaten any freedom for Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, especially the Alawites, Syriacs Orthodox Christians, Druze and Kurds.
Sic Gloria Transit, Syria Mundi…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: 5,000 Cab Drivers Lose Licenses in Istanbul
(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, AUGUST 28 — Since last year, some 5,000 taxi drivers in Istanbul have been discharged from the profession as part of an initiative launched by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. As of last year, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality began to ask taxi drivers for a copy of their criminal record, as World Bulletin reports. Roughly 5,000 drivers who either did not present evidence of a lack of a criminal record to the municipality or who had been convicted of a crime in the past have lost their authorization to work as a city taxi driver.
Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers head Yahya Ugur said even drug addicts were eligible to become cab drivers in the past since the drivers’ criminal records were not requested. Highlighting that the removal of taxi drivers with a criminal background increased customer satisfaction, Ugur said the chamber promised customers that they would make the profession prestigious again. Ugur explained that after his chamber established a hotline for complaints and suggestions from customers, they faced a “dreadful” reality when the comments were evaluated. Among the most common complaints were fraud, including giving the customer counterfeit money, and mistreatment. Customer complaints decreased dramatically following the municipality’s move, Ugur said, adding that the next problem they wish to address is the fact that many drivers do not accept customers for short-distance rides.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
U. S. Allegations Against Syria ‘Senseless’, Says Putin
(AGI) Moscow, Aug 31 — U.S. allegations that Syria has used chemical weapons “are senseless”, said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also advised Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama to “think of the future victims in Syria”. Putin thought that Washington should present the UN Security Council with evidence of the attack, adding that he was “surprised” by the British parliament’s vote against intervention in Syria and that it showed “common sense”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Why a Nervous Hillary Clinton is Remarkably Silent on Syria
Against this backdrop it’s not hard to see why Hillary Clinton isn’t at the forefront of the Syria debate. Her own handling of the Syria crisis was a spectacular failure, as has been President Obama’s. The last thing she needs in the lead-up to her inevitable White House run is a reminder to Americans of her poor track record as Secretary of State, from the Syrian debacle to the farcical Russian reset. Syria is a liability for Clinton in 2016, and with good reason she is nervous about what happens next.
| — Hat tip: LS | [Return to headlines] |
World Cup 2022: Football and Slavery Meet in Qatar
Activists to boycott the World Cup in Doha condemning the exploitation of foreign workers in place in the country. Meanwhile , FIFA decides whether to move the competition to the winter months due to the high summer temperatures. The role of migrants trapped by the kafala system ahead of World Cup in 2022 .
Doha (AsiaNews/Agencies) — While Fifa mulls over whether to assign the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 , the International Trade Union Confederation ( ITUC ), an organization committed to protecting the rights of workers in 153 countries worldwide , is preparing to launch a boycott of the competition. “ It would be a dreadful pity and an enormous shame on all of us if we are prepared to participate in a world cup that has been brought to us by slavery,” said the group’s director , Aidan McQuade .
In Qatar, the system of kafala — or sponsorship — to date traps more than one million foreign workers, by binding to their employer and depriving them of any fundamental rights. They are Nepalese, Filipinos and Indonesians, and work either for large construction companies or as domestic employees of the rich Qataris . Once hired , they are deprived of their passports and any fundamental right. Without the permission of their ‘ sponsors ‘ they can not resign , leave the country or file a complaint in case of abuse , under penalty of arrest or deportation.
Pope Francis also spoke out against the trafficking of migrants on 8 July during his visit to Lampedusa. Celebrating Mass right beside the ‘ graveyard of the boats ‘ , the Holy Father condemned the ‘ globalization of indifference ‘ , which has deprived us of the “ ability to cry “ and our “ fraternal sense of responsibility ..”
But FIFA’s doubts over whether or not to designate Qatar as the host nation, mainly concern the climate issue. In the Gulf countries , in fact , summer temperatures often reach 50 ° C and in spite of the emirs advancing the crazy idea of on pitch air conditioning, FIFA officials are considering whether to move the competition to the winter months.
At the same time, a World Cup in Qatar would imply a mass of contracts of up to 75 billion dollars, on which the big U.S., British , French and Brazilian companies are already scrambling to lay thier hands when FIFA decided to settle the emirs . The hotels , stadiums , railways, subway lines and a new city of 200 thousand inhabitants would be built and serviced by migrants who have arrived in Qatar from Southeast Asia, constituting up to 94 % of the workforce . According to Sharan Burrow , ITUC General Secretary ,this is why “the organization will put pressure on these investment groups so that together with the development of the planned projects they will encourage an improvement of the working conditions of migrants .”
Qatar’s young Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al- Thani, is the heir of a double political game started by his father according to many analysts: maintaining the conditions that allow the survival of the kafala system and at the same time encouraging the birth of sterile non-governmental organizations to act as a counterweight . In 2002 , the Emir Khalifa al- Tani , who abdicated in favor of Tamim on 24 June , inaugurated the Commission for Human Rights , while the Qatar Foundation on Combating human trafficking , “ engaged “ in the fight against human trafficking , was conceived by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned , his second wife.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Today’s Editor-in-Chief: ‘The West Never Got Over the Cold War Stereotype’
Simonyan: The West never got over the Cold War stereotype. One thing that only few journalists understand is that Russia started dissolving the Soviet Union of its own accord. We were the ones to realize that Communism was a failure. We understood that it was wrong to impose our will on other nations. We released the Eastern bloc into freedom. We are a different country today, one with a different mentality — which is something that Western journalists sometimes find difficult to comprehend. You, for example, stated earlier that Russia was acting aggressively without backing it up with facts.
| — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Juvenile Sentenced to Three Years for Rape-Murder
(AGI) Mumbai, Aug 31 — An Indian court sentenced a juvenile to three years in prison on Saturday for the rape and murder of a female student in New Delhi last December, announced prosecutor Anil Sharma. The crime aroused great controversy nationwide at the time.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Suicide Attack in Afghanistan Kills Six and Injures Twenty
(AGI) Kabul, Aug 31 — A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a bank in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, killing six people and injuring another twenty, reported the local governor. The victims were policemen and civilians queuing for their salaries. Many policemen were also among the injured. Twelve people died in another probable Taliban attack, this time in the district of Sangin, in the eastern province of Helmand, when a roadside bomb exploded as a convoy of civilians went by.
One woman was among the victims.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Abbott Defends Candidate’s Burqa Remarks
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has defended a Liberal candidate who spoke against women wearing the burqa and says he finds the headwear confronting.
‘It is not the sort of attire I would like to see widespread in our streets. But this is a free country, everyone’s entitled to make their choice and if people want to wear a burqa, ultimately it is their business,’ Mr Abbott told reporters in Rockhampton on Saturday.
He was responding to a question about former high-ranking policeman Ray King who is challenging Treasurer Chris Bowen for the Sydney seat of McMahon and has faced criticism for his comments suggesting the burqa is a sign of oppression.
But Mr Abbott said Mr King was a good candidate and has been a ‘great servant’ to the people of NSW throughout his policing career.
‘Ray King’s comments were more to do with policing and how you deal with people in policing situations given their attire,’ Mr Abbott told reporters in Rockhampton on Saturday.
The opposition leader said he stood by his past opinion about the traditional Muslim headdress, that it is ‘very confronting’.
Mr Bowen has criticised his challenger’s views in the countdown to the September 7 poll which will decide the future MP for his largely ethnic electorate with a large Muslim population in Sydney’s outer west.
The presence of disgraced former cop Roger Rogerson at Mr King’s campaign launch was also frowned upon by Mr Bowen.
‘Roger Rogerson isn’t welcome at my campaign functions and if he’s welcome at Ray King’s, that’s a matter for him to explain,’ Mr Bowen has said.
Rogerson was chucked out of the NSW police in 1986 and subsequently convicted for perverting the course of justice.
Mr King has previously said he had no links to Rogerson.
| — Hat tip: Nilk | [Return to headlines] |
Wind Farm Scam: A Huge Cover-Up
At the heart of this scandal are the union superannuation funds that are using the wind farm scam as a kind of government-endorsed Ponzi scheme to fill their coffers at public expense. One of the biggest wind farm developers — Pacific Hydro — is owned by the union superfund Members Equity Bank. To meet its carbon reduction quotas, we’re told, Australia needs to build about 10,000 new wind turbines like the ones that have destroyed Waterloo (and dozens of communities like it from NSW to South Australia).
| — Hat tip: Nilk | [Return to headlines] |
Nelson Mandela Returns Home From Hospital
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has returned to his home in Johannesburg after a long stay in hospital in Pretoria. The 95-year-old was admitted with a recurring lung infection on 8 June.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: 2 Charged With Assisting Iranian Terror Cell
Nigeria charged two of its citizens on Wednesday with assisting an Iranian terrorist cell in planning possible attacks on Israeli targets, Reuters reports.
One of the two had allegedly travelled to Tehran and Dubai to receive cash and had known about spying on Israeli interests.
The Nigerian secret service arrested Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and Saheed Oluremi Adewumi, plus one other Nigerian, in February.
It accused them of being members of a “high profile terrorist network” that was planning attacks on home soil.
The alleged cell was not named in the charge sheet. Shortly after the arrests, Iran denied that it had committed any “illegal act” in Nigeria.
Nigerian authorities are growing concerned about an apparent surge in interest in the West African country by Shiite Muslim groups with links to Iran or Lebanon. Three Lebanese have been in court over an alleged Hezbollah plot since June.
Although the threat pales in comparison to Sunni Islamist groups like al Qaeda or Nigerian outfit Boko Haram, recent cases have raised alarm.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Kyenge: “EU Should Share Responsibility for Immigrants”
(AGI) Genoa — Responsibility for immigrants should be shared, not left to individual states said Italian minister Kyenge .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
@Russia Today’s Editor-in-Chief: ‘The West Never Got Over the Cold War Stereotype’
A total of 2 million Brits watch the program, while BBC news contemptuously attemps to subvert the declared will of the British people by spewing out Syrian interventionists porn in association with jihad central. The British people were not only opposed to the false pretence that is humanitarian intervention but also the desecration of sovereignty that is Regime change. Ill-defined and vague concepts that have become tools of the jihadists strategy of attrition – manipulating Western foreign policy, exhausting blood and treasure, and pitting infidel nation against infidel nation.
David Cameron’s act of penance should be to clear out the nest of vipers at the BBC that continues impose an islamic worldview on the British people.
@Jolie Rouge
Every single word you so elloquently and precisely are putting here – agreed!
Putin may as well challenge Obama to present proof that the sun rises in the East. Only on some other planet is anything else credible. Here on this Earth, the Syrian regime has the chemical industries to produce sarin, it has the artillery and rocket artillery tubes to deliver it, it has motive to attack the neighborhood that was hit, and several governments, including the French and US government, have intercepts that trace the orders for the attack right to the top of Assad’s regime.
The rebels have no chemical factories, no sufficient mass of artillery or rocket artillery, no motive to attack their own civilians, and there is no sigint that points to them. Leaving aside the sigint, which in theory could be forged, there is proof of the same quality as watching a sunrise with one’s own eyes. Everything fits if it’s Assad, while an endless line of preposterous assumptions must be made to get to the conclusion that it was the rebels, or the Mossad, or Burmese mercenaries, who are responsible.
The rebels have already admitted that they released the chemical weapons, though they are claiming that this was as a result of untrained recruits getting into the stockpiles and accidentally setting those weapons off.