Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/4/2013

Barack Hussein Obama’s proposed war in Syria came a step closer to reality today when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-7 in favor of the administration’s resolution authorizing military action. The vote was bipartisan on both sides of the issue, with Sen. John McCain leading the Republicans who favor war.

In related news, Sweden has granted permanent residency status to all Syrian refugees currently in the country.

In other news, Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man who confessed to kidnapping three women and holding them captive for a decade, has reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, Kitman, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Black Homeownership Hits 18 Year Low
» Italy: Higher Tax on Coffee Could Cost Jobs
» Spain Youth Unemployment Reaches Record 56.1%
 
USA
» Ariel Castro: Who Held 3 Women Captive in Cleveland, Is Found Dead
» Cleveland Kidnapper Castro Found Hanged in Jail
» Conserving Vegas’ Most Precious Resource
» Courts Discreetly Confirm Mmr Vaccine Causes Autism
» District of Corruption, USA
» Early School Dismissal for Florida Muslim Students … Religious Entitlement or Islamic Con Job?
» Hackers Find Weaknesses in Car Computer Systems
» Matt Drudge Breaks With Republicans, Joins Libertarians
» Media Ignores White House Ban on Military Surplus Guns
» Move Over, ObamaCare. Here Comes Obamaschool
» MSM Claims Military Revolt Against Obama a Hoax
» NASA Ponders Kepler’s Future
» The Right Decision on Beach Mosque
» The Sagebrush Rebellion Continues
» This is Not Parody — John McCain Plays Poker on His iPhone During the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing Today on Syria
» US Man Ordered to Wear Idiot Sign as Punishment
» Welcome to the ‘United States of Al-Qaeda’
 
Europe and the EU
» ‘Climate Scientists Too Easily Jump to Conclusions’
» Denmark’s First Minaret Installed
» Italy: Finmeccanica Poised to Sell Energy Firm
» Norway: Architects Want to Save Tower Bombed by Breivik
» Sweden: Obama’s Security Bill to be Hefty
» UK: Developers of New London “Walkie Talkie” Skyscraper Rush to Stop it From Melting Local Property
» UK: Shot Dead in Front of 30 People But No-One Will Testify: Coroner Condemns Wall of Silence After Gym Instructor Was Shot Dead as He Mourned the Cot Death of His Baby
» UK: Thousands of Primary School Pupils Face a Three-Day Week to Cope With Places Crisis
 
North Africa
» Al Jazeera Reports Egyptian Soldiers Killed in Sinai
» Italian Mission Visits Libya to Train Administration Staff
» The Dangerous Job of Selling Books in Cairo
» U.S. Ambassador Scandals With the Muslim Brotherhood Leaders
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel Should Give Gas Masks to Palestinians, Says PNA
» Temple Mount: Arabs Pelt Jewish Visitors With Stones
 
Middle East
» 94 Percent of Broadcast Stories on Syria Have Made ‘No Mention of Al Qaeda’
» America, Syria, And Russia: Opening the Gates of Hell
» CIA Trained Al-Qaeda Cell to Enter Syria
» French PM Asks Parliament to Support Syria Intervention
» German Hostage Escapes From Syria
» Is the United States Going to Go to War With Syria Over a Natural Gas Pipeline?
» Italy: Military Intervention in Syria Doesn’t Convince PD Leader
» Jihadis From Caucasus Form Own Fighting Group in Syria
» Obama’s Syria Attack Resolution Authorizes Boots on the Ground
» Poll Shows 59 Percent of Americans Against Strike on Syria
» Rush Limbaugh Suspects Obama Conspired With Al-Qaeda to Frame Bashar Al-Assad
» Russia Blames Rebels for March Chemical Attack in Syria
» Senate Foreign Relations Panel Approves Resolution on Military Action in Syria
» Speyer: The Kurds Deserve a Country of Their Own
» Syrian Rebels Split on Air Strikes
» Syria: Obama: America’s Credibility on the Line
» Syria: Putin Accuses U.S. Congress, Lies on Attack
» Syria: ‘Martial Arts Champion Killed in Sports Centre Attack’
» Syria’s ‘Chemical Weapons’ Turn Out to be Sodium Fluoride Used in the U.S. Water Supply
» The Planned Destruction of Christians in Syria
» Tool of Betrayal: John Kerry’s Dinner With Bashar (Photo)
» Turkey’s Giant Projects to Fuel Islamic Finance Boom
» US-Backed Terrorists Behead 24 Syrians Including Baby
 
Russia
» Putin: Snowden is a ‘Strange Guy’ Who is in for a Tough Life
» Russian Human Rights Activists Cancel Meeting With Obama
 
South Asia
» Catholic Man Killed in Land Dispute in Bangladesh
» Economic Giant India Feels Growing Pains
» India: New Anti-Christian Violence in Karnataka, But Religious Freedom Non-Negotiable for Sajan George
» Nepal: Kathmandu: Christians Have No Right to a Cemetery
» Taliban Threats Against Immunisation Raise Polio Epidemic Risks in Pakistan
 
Far East
» China Corruption Probes Reflect Power Struggle
» UN Probes North Korea’s Abductions of Foreigners
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» South African Gold Miners Go on Strike Over Wage Dispute
 
Immigration
» Britain’s Borders in Chaos: How Terrorist Warning System Doesn’t Work, Millions of Passengers Go Unchecked and Staff Are Too Frightened to Blow the Whistle
» Every Third Child Has Problems With Language in Vienna
» Netherlands: Eight in 10 Oppose Opening Borders to Romanians, Bulgarians: PVV Poll
» Sweden: Stockholm Grants Residency to Syrian Refugees
» Sweden’s Asylum Burden and Malta’s Proportionately the Same
» UK: Iranian Asylum Seeker Groped Women in the Street Because That’s How He Was Told to Communicate With Them by People He Met in a Nightclub
 
Culture Wars
» Conservative Treason: Selling Out Your Children
» Former Territorial Army Male Soldier, 28, Becomes Britain’s First Transgender Muslim Woman and is Now Married
» Get Out of the Military, Don’t Enlist
» Russian Police Arrest ‘Putin in Lingerie’ Gallery Director
» The Blasphemy Police
 

Black Homeownership Hits 18 Year Low

by John Nolte

In a report released Tuesday, Bloomberg reports that black homeownership has collapsed to an 18 year low. Bloomberg buries this brutal fact under a nonsensical headline that makes it look like a local Chicago story: “Black Homeownership Dying Where Obama Revitalized.” But four paragraphs down we not only learn about the collapse in the black homeownership rate, but that it is now almost half that of whites:

For most Americans, the real estate crash is finally behind them and personal wealth is back where it was in the boom. For blacks in the U.S., 18 years of economic progress has vanished, with a rebound in housing slipping further out of reach and the unemployment rate almost twice that of whites. The homeownership rate for blacks fell from 50 percent during the housing bubble to 43 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 1995. The rate for whites stopped falling two years ago, settling at about 73 percent, only 3 percentage points below the 2004 peak, according to the Census Bureau.

For those in the working and middle class, if you have any wealth, it is most likely found in whatever equity you have in your home — either based on what you have paid into it, its increase in value, or both. This is why the housing crisis was and is so devastating to so many everyday Americans… of all colors.

Had Obama enacted proven economic policies after becoming president, the economy and housing market would have already rebounded and beyond. But Obama chose big government policies, and now we find ourselves in the middle of a so-called recovery that only our pathetic and subservient media could spin as “good enough.”

The sad irony is that the first black president is wreaking economic havoc on black Americans. It is not just the home ownership rate that has cratered. The poverty rate for blacks today is 28%, compared to 10% for whites. The unemployment rate for blacks is 12.6%, compared to 6.6% for whites.

As Zero Hedge points out, it was just a few days ago that Obama gave a speech celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. And yet, after a half-century of a War on Poverty and five years of a black man as president, the gap between white and black in every important economic area is still just as wide as it was trillions and trillions of taxpayer dollars ago.

[NOTE: Emphasis added]

[Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Higher Tax on Coffee Could Cost Jobs

VAT to jump to 10% on coffee sold in vending machines

(ANSA) — Rome, September 4 — Italians who buy coffee from vending machines may be left with a bitter taste in their mouths when a tax hike kicks in this January.

An increase to 10% in the value-added tax on coffee products sold in vending machines. up from the current 4% VAT, will be noticed, says the association representing operators of the machines.

It says that the higher tax will hurt consumption and possibly jobs in the industry.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Spain Youth Unemployment Reaches Record 56.1%

Youth unemployment in Spain has reached a new high of 56.1%, a quarter of the 3.5 million under-25s jobless across the eurozone, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

The number of young Spaniards belonging to what has become known as the lost generation is up 2% since June to 883,000. Only Greece has a higher percentage of young people out of work, at 62.9%.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ariel Castro: Who Held 3 Women Captive in Cleveland, Is Found Dead

Ariel Castro, who held three women captive for years in his Cleveland home, was found hanging in his cell Tuesday night at an Ohio prison facility, corrections officials said.

[Return to headlines]
 

Cleveland Kidnapper Castro Found Hanged in Jail

Ariel Castro who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade has reportedly committed suicide. In August he was sentenced to 1,000 years in jail; his case had attracted international media attention.

Corrections department spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said 53-year-old Ariel Castro had been found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. local time on Tuesday at the state prison facility in Orient.

Resuscitation efforts by prison medical staff failed and Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, she said, adding “A thorough review of this incident is underway,”

Castro “was housed in protective custody which means he was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes at staggered intervals,” read a statement by the Ohio Department of Corrections.

The former bus driver had been sentenced August 1 to life in prison without parole plus consecutive sentences that totaled 1,000 years, for having kidnapped three women who he used as his sex slaves for nearly a decade.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Conserving Vegas’ Most Precious Resource

The western USA has been drought-stricken for over a decade. Saving water is now a priority in the megacity of Las Vegas, but private consumers are having a hard time doing so.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Courts Discreetly Confirm Mmr Vaccine Causes Autism

You won’t hear anything about it from the mainstream media, but the federal government’s kangaroo “vaccine court” has once again conceded, albeit quietly, that the combination measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine does, indeed, cause autism. In a recently published ruling, part of which was censored from public view, a young boy was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars after it was determined that the MMR vaccine led to a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Ten-year-old Ryan Mojabi’s parents say he first suffered an encephalopathy after being vaccinated for MMR on December 19, 2003. Known as a “table injury,” encephalopathy is a recognized, compensable adverse reaction to vaccines, and one that the kangaroo vaccine court has previously linked to vaccines. According to Ryan’s parents, the MMR vaccine caused their son’s encephalopathy, which manifested as “neuroimmunologically mediated dysfunctions in the form of asthma and ASD.”

After being bumped around from court to court, Ryan’s case was eventually heard by the vaccine court’s Autism Omnibus Proceedings, according to The Huffington Post. And in the end, the federal government agreed that Ryan’s encephalopathy had been caused by the MMR vaccine, a landmark ruling that confirms what Dr. Andrew Wakefield found more than 15 years ago when studying gut disorders in children given the MMR vaccine.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

District of Corruption, USA

Last week, I outlined the connections between the illegal occupier of the Oval Office and the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist organization. I outlined the fact that Huma Abedin, top aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. I asked about the security of state secrets, considering the infiltration of the executive branch of our government by the Muslim Brotherhood.

At the time that piece was written, the chemical weapon attack on Syrian citizens was only four days old. Even though no clear evidence existed that Bashar al-Assad, dictator of Syria, was responsible for that attack, Obama was already claiming such to be the case. On August 21, 2013, Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest issued this statement on behalf of Obama,

[…]

Which brings us to the question — What is this insistence on striking Syria really all about?

How much does this insistence of Obama have to do with the fact that Bashar al-Assad is a Shia Muslim as opposed to the Sunni Muslims to whom Obama is connected via the Muslim Brotherhood?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Early School Dismissal for Florida Muslim Students … Religious Entitlement or Islamic Con Job?

Released for jummah prayers on Fridays

By Randy McDaniels and Jerry Gordon

The Islamic Society of Tampa Bay (ISTABA) issued a press release last week urging parents to fill out their “Religious Observance Early Dismissal Request Form” and press their respective schools for special and indefinite religious accommodations for Muslims Students, enabling them to attend the “Mandatory” Friday Islamic sermon and prayers every week from 12:30 PM until 3:00 PM. A request which would essentially deprive Muslim students at least a half day of required teaching each week on a permanent basis.

The Dismissal Request Form was in all actuality a demand rather than a request. The Islamic Society of Tampa cited Florida Statue(s) 1006.53, 1002.20 (2c)(c), and 1003.21 (2)(b), stating these dismissal were a matter of Florida Law, while failing to cite all of the language, ISTABA conspicuously omitted sections of the statutes which state Boards must adopt a policy which REASONABLY accommodate Religious Observances.

The Islamic Society went on to state, “According to Islamic teachings, it is an obligation to observe this prayer otherwise it is a sin”

[…]

The reality is that the ISTABA excusal for Friday Jummah raises the visibility of ‘creeping shariah’ by institutionalizing Da’wa, the call to Islam for both Muslim and non-Muslim students. Moreover, because the ISTABA Masjid may espouse extremist Muslim Brotherhood, Deobandism and Salafist Qur’anic doctrine these students would be exposed to sermons and preachings that conflict with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, separation of Church, Mosque in this instance, from State.

The Obama Justice Department in amicus filings in Tennessee court matters on Shariah and decisions by Federal Judges in a recent court case brought by CAIR overturning an Oklahoma Constitutional Amendment, supplanted by a facially neutral American Law for American Courts statute passed in the 2013 Session, have emphatically communicated that Islam is a “recognized and protected faith” in the US. However, that doesn’t extend to the doctrine of that faith as Islam and the state are one in the same, which in our view amounts to sedition…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Hackers Find Weaknesses in Car Computer Systems

DETROIT — As cars become more like PCs on wheels, what’s to stop a hacker from taking over yours?

In recent demonstrations, hackers have shown they can slam a car’s brakes at freeway speeds, jerk the steering wheel and even shut down the engine — all from their laptop computers.

The hackers are publicizing their work to reveal vulnerabilities present in a growing number of car computers. All cars and trucks contain anywhere from 20 to 70 computers. They control everything from the brakes to acceleration to the windows, and are connected to an internal network. A few hackers have recently managed to find their way into these intricate networks.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Matt Drudge Breaks With Republicans, Joins Libertarians

Matt Drudge, the founder of the enormously popular conservative news aggregator DrudgeReport.com, tweeted today that since there are no real differences between Democrats and Republicans the only two real political parties are Authoritarians and Libertarians. “It’s now Authoritarian vs Libertarian,” Drudge tweeted. “Since Democrats vs. Republicans has been obliterated, no real difference between parties…” Drudge also asks his followers why anyone would still vote Republican. “Who are they?!” he asks. “Raised taxes; marching us off to war again; approves more NSA snooping.”

           — Hat tip: Kitman [Return to headlines]
 

Media Ignores White House Ban on Military Surplus Guns

With the national — and most local — news organizations breathlessly covering President Barack Obama’s slow march to war against Syria, he managed on Thursday to find time to perform what he believes is his primary duty: not disarming Bashar al-Assad’s or the al-Qaeda rebels killing and maiming innocent Syrians, but disarming law-abiding Americans and US businesses who sell firearms, according to a number of firearms legal experts and police advisors.

The White House surprised the so-called “gun lobby” with two new executive actions, that include a measure that targets the import of military surplus weapons which is the raison d’être of many gun collectors in America, former police firearms instructor Jeff Kingridge told NewsWithViews.com.

“Without evidence of one case in which a legitimate military gun collector’s firearms purchased from a military-surplus store were used in a homicide, our current president has taken it upon himself to pass laws that are constitutionally questionable with input from congress, said Kingridge.

“Vice President Joe Biden was chosen to make the announcement about the new rules, which Obama added to the list of actions the White House already determined the president may take without congressional approval,” he added.

Obama’s gun-control measures by fiat are the president’s reaction to Congress declining to pass any gun control legislation in the aftermath of mass-shooting including Newton, Conn., school massacre.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Move Over, ObamaCare. Here Comes Obamaschool

The president gave a speech on August 22 in Buffalo outlining his proposal to “reform” the student loan program. He acknowledged that the program has some problems, but assured the audience they are easily fixed. Just take the principles behind Obamacare and apply them to education. The president personally “guaranteed” that his proposals would make college more affordable.

Here’s the plan. The government will rate colleges based on fees (the lower the better) and graduation rates (the higher the better) and student success in finding a job. Then student loan funds will be allocated to schools according to the rating. Students will also be guided to the best-rated schools via government web sites. And schools will get more funding if they set up demonstration projects to reduce costs. This will all encourage more “competition” among schools. Yes, you heard that right: more government control of colleges will increase market “competition.”

We don’t have a 2,000 page bill in Congress yet, but it’s all quite familiar: government will take even tighter control of higher education just as it has taken even tighter control of medicine, and use Obamacare as its operating manual.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

MSM Claims Military Revolt Against Obama a Hoax

The mainstream media has responded to the military revolt against Barack Obama’s plan to attack Syria by claiming that the viral #IdidntJoin Twitter trend is a hoax invented by pro-Assad hackers.

Despite numerous images of soldiers and veterans holding up signs expressing their vehement opposition to military intervention in Syria going viral, in addition to a plethora of other tweets that were sent to Congressman Justin Amash expressing the same sentiment, the International Business Times website claims that the photos and tweets are the work of Syrian hackers “impersonating” US military personnel.

The article postulates that the original picture of a Petty Naval Officer declaring his opposition to fighting on the same side of Al-Qaeda is an image of a man “simply dressing up.” The article erroneously implies that the Syrian Electronic Army, which posted the image along with several others during its hack of the official US Marines website, was responsible for creating the hoax.

In reality, the image is completely genuine. It was first sent to radio host Angel Clark who posted it on social networking websites, prompting a wave of other veterans and active duty military personnel to follow suit.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

NASA Ponders Kepler’s Future

Spacecraft could continue to hunt for planets — or take on alternative tasks, such as asteroid spotting

Ideas range from a survey of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects to a study of Jupiter-sized exoplanets in large orbits. Kepler scientists will sort through the proposals and decide by 1 November which ones, if any, to recommend to NASA headquarters for further review.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Right Decision on Beach Mosque

A Muslim group that has worshiped for the past five years in a storefront off Lynnhaven Parkway wants to build a mosque in southern Virginia Beach. The next step is approval from the City Council.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Sagebrush Rebellion Continues

Is your property truly your own or may the federal government on virtually any pretext take it away from you?

More than a century ago, Congress began the movement to exercise federal regulatory control over the nation’s waterways. This year the Clean Water Act turns 41. For four decades EPA regulations have caused thousands of property owners to suffer fines, lose the economic value of their property, or declare bankruptcy and lose their property entirely. Farmers and land owners near waterways have come to learn all to well what it means to experience a regulatory takings — to have your property devalued and your title to property transformed from defeasible to indefeasible. An owner in title only, those who suffer the worst following receipt of EPA Compliance Orders must pay taxes on property they can neither use nor sell.

EPA has defined properties across the United States to be “wetlands” or “jurisdictional wetlands” because those properties accumulate water seasonally, are adjacent to navigable waterways, or are used by migrating water fowl or other water dependent species.

EPA has deemed those who own commercial or residential lots near navigable waters and choose to build structures on those lots to have violated EPA regulations that protect “jurisdictional wetlands.” The Supreme Court case of Sackett v. EPA is an excellent example of EPA’s “jurisdictional wetlands” regulatory abuse…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

This is Not Parody — John McCain Plays Poker on His iPhone During the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing Today on Syria

While the rest of the world was paying attention to the questions and answers from John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and Joint Chief’s Chair Martin Dempsey, about Syria — John McCain was playing video games on his cell phone:

[NOTE: see the picture-proof at the URL above before Rageboy McCain finds a way to intimidate everyone.]

[Return to headlines]
 

US Man Ordered to Wear Idiot Sign as Punishment

A 58-year-old Ohio man who threatened police during 911 calls has been ordered to stand outside a police station wearing a sign that says he is an idiot. Speaking as he began his punishment, Richard Dameron said he was under the influence of alcohol when the offence took place and that he took full responsibility for his actions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Welcome to the ‘United States of Al-Qaeda’

Look out Free World: Here Comes the USA — the newly minted ‘United States of al-Qaeda’.

The ‘United States of al-Qaeda’ is the first hard evidence of President Barack Obama’s Fundamental Transformation of America, which in effect throws all U.S. citizens in with the terrorists known as al-AQaeda; a new kind of military of which no one can be proud.

It was in 2008 when running for the presidency, that Barack Obama declared he would someday soon lead a civilian army of his very own: “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we set. We gotta’ have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” (Barack Obama, July 2, 2008).

To a majority of the American population, it may no longer be “our military” but Obama’s ‘United States of al-Qaeda’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘Climate Scientists Too Easily Jump to Conclusions’

For the past 15 years global temparatures have stopped rising. Allegedly, it’s because the Pacific is cooling — but that reason doesn’t quite convince German climate researcher Hans von Storch.

DW: Over the past 15 years, global temperatures have not risen, although there’d been many estimates that they would. Now, US scientists have presented a surprising explanation: In the magazine “Nature,” they suggest that the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean are responsible. Is that plausible?

Hans von Storch: It’s possible. When we calculate the average global temperature, we measure it near to the ground or the water surface. The air above the ocean is almost the same temperature as the water itself. So if this water would be relatively cool, then this would indeed have an impact on the average global temperature we measure.

Are you then convinced by the new study?

Whether I am convinced is a different story. I can only say: “Yes, it is possible.” But of course then you’d have to ask: “Why is it that the ocean suddenly gets cooler?” But if we do assume that happened, then the explanation might make sense.

So the US scientists haven’t actually explained why the eastern Pacific suddenly got colder?

No, so far they haven’t. But what is clear is that we have indeed had very little warming over the past 15 years. And this development is different from what we had projected. If this was to continue and global temperatures basically did not rise at all, we’ll have a problem.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark’s First Minaret Installed

“A happy and big day for Muslims in Denmark,” says the spokesperson for the organisation behind the upcoming 6,800sqm mosque in Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s skyline received a new addition this morning when a 20-metre minaret was put in place at the upcoming mosque in Copenhagen’s Nordvest district.

It is the first minaret in Denmark, but its purpose will be primarily symbolic as Danish law forbids using minarets to broadcast a call to prayer.

The minaret belongs to the 6,800 sqm Sunni mosque on Rovsingsgade, which is being viewed as the first ‘real’ mosque in Denmark and which will be the largest in Scandinavia upon its completion.

Funded by Qatar

The mosque has received 150 million kroner in funding from the former ruling emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, leading to concerns that the mosque will espouse conservative Islamic views.

The imam who will lead the mosque, 53-year-old Jehad Al-Farra, is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Farra said last month that while he has ties to the organisation, which works to create a single global Islamic community and which is criticised for following Sharia laws, the organisation that runs the mosque embraces several Muslim sects.

Dream come true

Mohamed al Mainouni, the media spokesperson for Dansk Islamisk Råd, the 25,000-member organisation responsible for building the mosque, said that seeing the minaret put into place was a significant moment.

“This is a happy and big day for Muslims here in Denmark,” al Mainouni told public broadcaster DR. “This is quite simply a dream that is being realised, so this is huge.”

Al Mainouni predicted that the mosque would have its official opening within a few months.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Finmeccanica Poised to Sell Energy Firm

Reports say Italian defence giant to sell Ansaldo Energia

(ANSA) — Rome, September 4 — Italian defence giant Finmeccanica is poised to sell Ansaldo Energia to a South Korean buyer, Bloomberg said Wednesday.

Citing published reports from Reuters, Bloomberg said that Rome-based Finmeccanica is near to reaching an agreement with Doosan Heavy Industries to sell its power engineering company Ansaldo Energia.

Reuters cited unnamed sources in saying the draft deal could place a value as high as 1.4 billion euros on Ansaldo Energia.

The reports are creating significant volatility in trading in Finmeccanica shares on the Milan Stock Exchange, which gained about 5.58% in value by early afternoon.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Architects Want to Save Tower Bombed by Breivik

Eight out of ten architects in Norway want to keep the concrete government tower damaged by Norway terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, citing its Picasso-designed murals and brutalist design, a survey for NRK has revealed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Obama’s Security Bill to be Hefty

The bill for police handling security during US President Barack Obama’s visit is expected to be a hefty one, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported Wednesday. For instance, the roughly 2,000 police officers called in from across the country are expected to cost SEK 24 million during the American president’s two-day visit to Stockholm.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Developers of New London “Walkie Talkie” Skyscraper Rush to Stop it From Melting Local Property

Developers of a new skyscraper in London have begun working to resolve an unanticipated problem: a reflection so intense it has “melted” a car. Local business owners have also reported damages from the “fryscraper.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Shot Dead in Front of 30 People But No-One Will Testify: Coroner Condemns Wall of Silence After Gym Instructor Was Shot Dead as He Mourned the Cot Death of His Baby

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

A coroner has condemned a wall of silence protecting a vicious killer after a father was shot dead in a busy pub in front of up to 30 customers.

Gym instructor Lee Erdmann, 37, was sat at the bar mourning the loss of his baby daughter to cot death when another regular he had been talking to calmly pulled out a gun and shot him in the back at point blank range.

As Mr Erdmann collapsed to the floor the gunman then shot him again in the body with a .38 calibre revolver before repeatedly kicking and stamping on his head as he lay dying from his wounds.

Up to 30 drinkers at a 3am lock-in witnessed the shooting of the father-of-four at the Wellington pub in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Some rushed him to hospital in a car but he was pronounced dead later from ‘catastrophic’ injuries.

Police interviewed all who saw the shooting but despite a £50,000 olive branch and offers of being placed in witness protection programmes, all were too frightened to identify the killer and the crime remains unsolved.

The killing in September 2011 occurred on what would have been the birthday of Mr Erdmann’s daughter Jessica. She died of cot death when she was just four months old a few years earlier.

It is thought on the night he was shot dead he had gone out for a drink with friends as he couldn’t sleep.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Thousands of Primary School Pupils Face a Three-Day Week to Cope With Places Crisis

Thousands of pupils could be forced on to three-day weeks because of a chronic shortage of school places.

Working parents face the ‘logistical nightmare’ of having to arrange childcare on week days when their youngsters would normally be in lessons.

The radical measure may be introduced by a London council in 2015 at dozens of primary schools as a huge influx of youngsters threatens to fill classes to bursting.

The Mail reported yesterday how the crisis follows a baby boom, rising immigration and families being forced out of the private sector.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Al Jazeera Reports Egyptian Soldiers Killed in Sinai

(AGI) Cairo, Sept 4 — Al Jazeera has reported that two Egyptian soldiers have been killed and eight wounded in a rocket attack on a convoy in the Sinai Peninsula.

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

Italian Mission Visits Libya to Train Administration Staff

(AGI) Palermo, Sept 3 — An Italian delegation of representatives from the Ministry for Public Administration and Simplification, from the Sicilian region, Confindustria Sicily, Formez and Cosvap, is visiting Libya to train administration staff within the framework of the “Building Democracy” project.

The project was presented in Palermo on July 29 by Minister Gianpiero D’Alia together with the President of the Sicilian Region, Rosario Crocetta, and the Libyan Labour Minister, Muhammed Elfituri Ahmed Swelem. During this three day visit, the delegation will present the programme to train public administration staff, strengthen the private sector’s potential and also learn the skills needed to address the urgent issues such as fighting corruption and managing migration flows following the complex political and social transition.

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

The Dangerous Job of Selling Books in Cairo

Edouard Lambelet’s well-known German bookshop is located close to Tahrir Square in Cairo. The bookseller has lived through many conflicts in Egypt, but for the first time, he’s now considering throwing in the towel.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Ambassador Scandals With the Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

Cairo, Egypt-To many of us here in Egypt, it seems that President Obama sees the world as a chess board with the U.S. ambassadors like pieces as he moves and implements his vision and personal beliefs, a vision that serves only his friends and convictions, regardless of anything else.

As revealed to many worldwide now, Mr. Obama looks like a sleeper cell of the Muslim Brotherhood, and that he was recruited by his brother, Malik Obama, as well as the influence of his several advisers belonging to the Brotherhood in the White House. The same goes for U.S. ambassador in Egypt Anne Patterson. It’s as if she’s the official representative and operational tool for Muslim Brotherhood schemes. It’s as if Patterson is the Ambassador of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, not the American one.

Patterson came to Egypt after Pakistan, and after penetrating the Pakistani military and intelligence. (Wikileaks)

Since her arrival in Egypt, Ms. Patterson hasn’t stopped conspiring against the Egyptians, through the use of the Muslim Brotherood.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Should Give Gas Masks to Palestinians, Says PNA

(AGI) Ramallah — Israel should provide the Palestinians with gas masks against possible Syrian reprisals, said the PNA ..

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

Temple Mount: Arabs Pelt Jewish Visitors With Stones

Police forces were dispatched on Wednesday to break up Muslim stone throwers who were targeting Jewish visitors on the Temple Mount (Har Habayit).

As soon as stones were thrown and riots broke out, police forces stepped in to make arrests.

Security forces were prepared for a riot as this incident follows renewed incitement by Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah, who called for Muslims to physically prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount last week.

Yesterday, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel was arrested on charges of “incitement against Israel and regarding the Temple Mount,” and is currently being questioned by police.

This morning’s attack on Jewish visitors is likely connected to Salah’s claim last week to his followers that Israel is planning to “break in” to the Temple Mount, on which the Islamic Al Aqsa compound is located, built atop the ruins of two Jewish Temples.

After warning of the alleged “danger” of increased Jewish prayer at the site, Salah called on Muslims from across Israel — from the Negev and Galilee, Akko and Haifa — to descend on the Temple Mount to prevent the “dangerous mass invasion into Al Aqsa” with their bodies.

In the past, such statements have led the Israeli Police to close off the Temple Mount to Jews, out of concern that Jewish presence at the holy site could be met with Muslim riots, which on Wednesday proved to be true.

[…]

[Return to headlines]
 

94 Percent of Broadcast Stories on Syria Have Made ‘No Mention of Al Qaeda’

The public has been confused about the identity of “Syrian rebels” — who could receive arms and training from the U.S. is the very near future. One conservative watchdog group blames this confusion on broadcasters.

“The United States is poised to fire missiles at Syria in response to chemical attacks on Syrian civilians. But the assault will also pit the U.S. against one side of the civil war and aid the other side, which includes al Qaeda,” says Dan Gainor, vice president for business and culture at the Media Research Center.

“Broadcast news outlets are clearly aware of the Islamic terror group’s role in Syria, but rarely report it. Nearly 94 percent of all Syria stories since the gas attacks have made no mention of al Qaeda whatsoever,” Mr. Gainor continues.

“It’s not like the networks haven’t had time. Since the gas attack on Aug. 21 in Ghoutta, Syria, ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news shows have done at least 171 stories on the conflict,” he says. “Just 11 of those stories have made any mention of the terrorists of al Qaeda, and all of those have been passing references. There hasn’t been one story focused exclusively on al Qaeda in Syria during that time.”

The connection is clear and journalists know it, Mr. Gainor says, citing ABC’s chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross, who noted the unusual alliance. “The role of the al Qaeda group fighting against Assad is one of the great ironies of the United States military strike in Syria,” Mr. Ross explained.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

America, Syria, And Russia: Opening the Gates of Hell

What is happening in Syria will not only affect America, Russia, Great Britain, China, Syria, Iran, and Israel. It will affect the entire world because Syria, controlling major oil assets off its coast, occupies a critical position in the global oil economy. It is possible for oil prices to go through the roof, and that would send a tsunami across the global economy. There have been reports put out by big banks like SocGen and Goldman Sachs that oil could soar to $150 a barrel if the Syrian conflict goes hot and draws in Russia and China.

According to an article by Steve Quayle in his, “V — The Guerrilla Economist Updates,” “The trouble for Syria began with two things. First the discovery of natural gas in the Mediterranean right off the coast of Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Read that list again, especially Lebanon and Syria. Is the picture becoming clearer? This discovery took place about a decade ago but the thing is that there already exists in the Middle East a Liquid Natural Gas Producing power house. This is the tiny nation of Qatar.”

Quayle continues, “Now here is where you need to put your thinking caps on. Qatar is floating in LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) it has over 77 Billion Tonnes in Reserve and that is with a moratorium in place. The problem is that Qatar would love to sell its LNG to the EU and the hot Mediterranean markets. The problem for Qatar in achieving this is their regional big brother Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have already said “NO” to an overland pipe cutting across the Land of Saud.” The Qatar / Syria region has vast reserves of natural gas. Russia has a deal with Syria that allows it to sell this Natural Gas and Oil to Europe.”

Russia now controls the oil coming out of Syria and being sold throughout Europe and China. However, there appears to be a battle for the control of that oil…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

CIA Trained Al-Qaeda Cell to Enter Syria

The New York Times reports that a 50 man cell of “rebels” trained and armed by the CIA and US special forces is to sneak over the border from Jordan into Syria this week to begin fighting government forces there, a move that should prompt concern given that moderate rebel forces are now fully infiltrated by extremist al Qaeda linked terrorists.

The details were revealed in a report detailing a meeting between the president and Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, during which Obama assured them that covert action would be stepped up in an attempt to do more damage to the Syrian army.

Obama told the two that in addition to a limited strike, “we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition.”

The Times reports that “the C.I.A.’s program to arm the rebels would be deliberately limited at first to allow a trial run for American officials to monitor it before ramping up to a larger, more aggressive campaign.”

“There seems to be emerging from this administration a pretty solid plan to upgrade the opposition,” Graham said after the meeting.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

French PM Asks Parliament to Support Syria Intervention

(AGI) Paris — France’s Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has asked parliament to support military action against Syria ..

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

German Hostage Escapes From Syria

A German engineer who was abducted in Syria by jihadists has managed to free himself and escape to Turkey. He had been kidnapped in May with two other aid workers.

72-year old German national Ziad Nouri reportedly managed to break open a door and escape while his captors were asleep.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Is the United States Going to Go to War With Syria Over a Natural Gas Pipeline?

Why has the little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria?

Could it be because Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid natural gas in the world and Assad won’t let them build a natural gas pipeline through Syria? Of course. Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell lots and lots of natural gas to Europe. Why is Saudi Arabia spending huge amounts of money to help the rebels and why has Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan been “jetting from covert command centers near the Syrian front lines to the Élysée Palace in Paris and the Kremlin in Moscow, seeking to undermine the Assad regime”? Well, it turns out that Saudi Arabia intends to install their own puppet government in Syria which will allow the Saudis to control the flow of energy through the region. On the other side, Russia very much prefers the Assad regime for a whole bunch of reasons. One of those reasons is that Assad is helping to block the flow of natural gas out of the Persian Gulf into Europe, thus ensuring higher profits for Gazprom. Now the United States is getting directly involved in the conflict. If the U.S. is successful in getting rid of the Assad regime, it will be good for either the Saudis or Qatar (and possibly for both), and it will be really bad for Russia. This is a strategic geopolitical conflict about natural resources, religion and money, and it really has nothing to do with chemical weapons at all.

It has been common knowledge that Qatar has desperately wanted to construct a natural gas pipeline that will enable it to get natural gas to Europe for a very long time. The following is an excerpt from an article from 2009…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Military Intervention in Syria Doesn’t Convince PD Leader

(AGI) Perugia, Sept 4 — Democratic Party leader Guglielmo Epifani has said that the Syrian situation will “soon be discussed by parliament, yet I am not sure that a military intervention is the best way to respond to the use of chemical weapons”. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party event in Perugia, Epifani said: “There is no consideration of what will follow armed intervention. Italy is in the Mediterranean and the government has done well to avoid military intervention, hoping that possible solutions to this crisis may be reached at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg”.

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

Jihadis From Caucasus Form Own Fighting Group in Syria

A foreign fighter in Syria says jihadis from the Caucasus have formed an independent fighting force.

The group is called The Mujahedin of the Caucasus and the Levant.

Thousands of foreign fighters have joined the fight since the conflict began in March 2011.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama’s Syria Attack Resolution Authorizes Boots on the Ground

The Obama administration’s draft resolution for military intervention which Congress is set to vote on next week is so broad that it would authorize boots on the ground as well as regime change and open ended war throughout the entire region, according to Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith.

Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003 — 2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002 — 2003.

In an article for the Lawfare Blog, Goldsmith reveals how the White House’s proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) would give Obama the power to deploy ground troops in Syria, despite the administration’s claims that it is only seeking to carry out “limited” strikes that have no connection to regime change.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Poll Shows 59 Percent of Americans Against Strike on Syria

(AGI) Washington, Sept 4 — Despite the Republican Party authorising a strike on Syria in Congress, 59 percent of the country stands firmly against it. A recent Washington Post/ABC poll revealed that the majority of Americans are against a violent solution to the Syrian crisis should that involve a unilateral strike against Bashar al-Assaad’s regime on the part of the USA. Only 36% of Americans are in favour.

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

Rush Limbaugh Suspects Obama Conspired With Al-Qaeda to Frame Bashar Al-Assad

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh show, the talk show host acknowledged reports from the Associated Press that the admitted intelligence on Syria’s chemical weapons attack was “no slam dunk.”

He also announced he believes Obama may have been “complicit” in the attack and possibly helped plan it.

Limbaugh expressed doubt over allegations Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. Limbaugh asked if the allegations are true, what does Assad have to gain?

[…]

However, Limbaugh changed his mind when he discovered another piece making similar accusations by a journalist named Yossef Bodansky.

In the article Bodansky argues the “deception playing out in Syria is a deception similar to the one used in Sarajevo in 1995 to provoke air strikes against the Serbs for the benefit of the Bosnian Muslims.”

According to Limbaugh, “If this is true, this is the setup of all time.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Blames Rebels for March Chemical Attack in Syria

(Reuters) — A Russian expert report shows a makeshift weapon used in a chemical attack near the Syrian city of Aleppo in March was similar to ones made by rebels, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Senate Foreign Relations Panel Approves Resolution on Military Action in Syria

A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved an authorization of force against the Syrian regime, setting up a showdown next week in the full Senate on whether President Obama should have the authority to strike.

The 10-7 vote showed bipartisan support for a strike, but bipartisan opposition as well. Yes votes included Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, and Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona. No votes included Democratic Senators Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Murphy of Connecticut. The Senate’s newest member, Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, voted present.

[Return to headlines]
 

Speyer: The Kurds Deserve a Country of Their Own

by Jerry Gordon

As I watched the US Senate and House Foreign Affairs hearings on President Obama’s request for limited authority to strike Syria’s Assad for the sin of gassing 1,500 of his own people, I remarked to myself how soon we forget what happened to another group in the Middle East. I am referring to the Kurds, a non-Arab ethnic group split across four countries: Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria who number in excess of 40 million. The Kurds were denied sovereignty promised at the Versailles Peace discussions when the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 established the Republic of Turkey and the secret Sykes Picot agreement of 1915 was implemented with French and British Mandates decreed at San Remo in 1920. What became the modern nation of Iraq under Hashemite King Faisal was designed by noted British Arabist Gertrude Bell and became a reality in 1926. The modern nation of Syria was created out of the French mandate in 1938, while Lebanon, a province became an independent country in 1944. As a result of geo political map making of the modern Middle East , the Kurds were split asunder…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Syrian Rebels Split on Air Strikes

The West is fretting about whether to intervene in the Syrian war, and the opposition is also split. Islamist rebels oppose a strike, while mainstream rebels want a no-fly zone — but only if it proves a game-changer.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Syria: Obama: America’s Credibility on the Line

President, I hope Putin will change stance

(ANSAmed) — SAINT PERESBURG, SEPTEMBER 4 — US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the credibility of the US and the international community is on the line over their response to Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons. ‘My credibility is on the line. The international community’s credibility is on the line’, the president said during a press conference in Stockholm, where he is meeting with Swedish Premier Fredrik Reinfeldt before heading to the G-20 summit in Russia. ‘America and Congress’s credibility is on the line, because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important’.

Obama insisted he had not been the one to first set a red line on chemical weapons use, the international community had.

‘I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line’, he said.

The president also said he believes in peace but we the world is full of violence and the international community must take responsibility. Every diplomatic effort was made to solve the problem, Obama told the press conference, adding that when he sees 400 children killed by gas agents he sees humanity violated and decisions he wished not to take must be adopted.

He said he believed Congress would back limited military action in Syria both in the timing and objectives because the US recognizes that ‘if the international community fails to maintain certain norms and standards that govern how countries interact and people are treated that over time this world becomes less safe’.

Obama said mistakes on Iraq would not be repeated and stressed the US has a high degree of certainty that chemical attacks were carried out by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

The president also said he remained confident Russian President Vladimir Putin would change his stance over Russia’s support to Assad’s regime.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Syria: Putin Accuses U.S. Congress, Lies on Attack

(ANSAmed) — MOSCOW, SEPTEMBER 4 — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused US politicians of lying during Congress’s debate over Syria. ‘They are now discussing whether to authorize the use of force’ without UN backing, he said during a meeting in Moscow. ‘But it is an absolute insult to commonsense. The American Senate is substantially backing an aggression’, he added.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Syria: ‘Martial Arts Champion Killed in Sports Centre Attack’

Damascus, 4 Sept. (AKI) — Syrian Taekwondo champion Mohammad Nehme died in a mortar attack Wednesday on a Damascus sports centre, local reports said.

Seven other people were wounded in the attack by “terrorists” on the al-Fayhaa sports centre, according to the official Syrian news agency Sana.

Nehme, 27 anni, had represented Syria in Taekwondo since 2006.

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

Syria’s ‘Chemical Weapons’ Turn Out to be Sodium Fluoride Used in the U.S. Water Supply

What, exactly, are those two dangerous chemicals that need to be controlled via “arms control” regulations? You won’t believe me when I tell you. They are:

  • sodium fluoride
  • potassium fluoride

You can see this yourself in the screen capture of The Independent breaking news story. Note the headline and the subhead. The headline describes “nerve gas chemicals” and the subhead explains them as “sodium fluoride” and “potassium fluoride.”

If these chemical names sound familiar, that’s because sodium fluoride is the same toxic chemical that’s routinely dumped into municipal water supplies all across the USA under the guise of “water fluoridation.”

In fact, the forced feeding of sodium fluoride to the U.S. population is called a “public health” victory by the CDC, FDA and dentists everywhere. Yet this same chemical, when sold to Syria, is openly and repeatedly referred to as a “chemical weapon.” This is true across the BBC, the Guardian, Daily Record and Sunday Mail, France24.com and literally thousands of other news websites.

According to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, any government “regime” that uses chemical weapons against its own people should be bombed / invaded / overthrown by a coalition of other United Nations members. By his own definition, then, the United States of America should now be invaded by the UN because the government uses a deadly chemical weapon — sodium fluoride — on its own people.

By implication, then, John Kerry is now calling for the UN to bomb the USA. As the international media now confirms, sodium fluoride is a chemical weapon, and this chemical weapon is used against the American people every single day in the water supply, a favorite attack vector for terrorists…

You’ll also notice that the label includes instructions for using this sodium fluoride baby water:

“…ready to mix with formula and cereal, dilute juice or drink — just open and pour!”

Yep, you read it: the same “chemical weapon” that’s about to start World War III is part of your baby’s formula recipe. When sodium fluoride is in the hands of Syria’s Assad, it’s called a “chemical weapon,” but when it’s part of your baby’s diet, it’s called “nutrition.” How’s that for Orwellian doublespeak?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Planned Destruction of Christians in Syria

The New York Times story, “President Gains McCain’s Backing on Syria Attack,” is predictable, considering that Obama had invited Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to the White House for the specific purpose of supporting his proposed military strike on Syria. Obama has also asked the same two senators to travel to Egypt to undermine the military leaders who overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood government there.

What is lacking from the media coverage is any recognition that the inevitable result, according to congressional testimony, will be the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood and associated terrorist groups in Syria, and the genocide of the remaining Christians there.

In Egypt, right in front of our eyes, Obama facilitated a Muslim Brotherhood takeover, which has been stopped dead in its tracks by a true people’s revolution that has brought the military to power. The Muslim Brotherhood has responded by attacking Christians and their churches.

Incredibly, it seems as if the crisis in Egypt will be repeated, except in the case of Syria the explicit purpose of Obama’s military intervention, as it seems to be developing under the guidance of McCain and Graham, is the destruction of the regime that has been standing in the way of the complete obliteration of the Christians. There will be no one with authority left to rescue the Christians from the Muslim Brotherhood when it takes control in Damascus.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tool of Betrayal: John Kerry’s Dinner With Bashar (Photo)

Kerry said the Syrian leader “now joins a list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein who’ve used these weapons in a time of war,” a reference to the as of yet unproven accusation that the government of Syria used chemical weapons on its own people. Despite a lack of evidence, Kerry insists “the case gets stronger by the day” for a military attack aimed at al-Assad and his regime.

John Kerry apparently prefers to dine with characters he now disingenuously compares to Saddam and Hitler. In 2009, as a member of a peace delegation sent to Syria, then Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz, dined with the Assads at the Naranj restaurant in Damascus.

Following the visit, the AFP reported:

“President Barack Obama’s administration considers Syria a key player in Washington’s efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, US Senator John Kerry said in Damascus on Thursday. ‘Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region,’ Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech after meeting President Bashar al-Assad. ‘Both the United States and Syria have a very deep interest… in having a very frank exchange on any differences (and) agreements that we have about the possibilities of peace in this region,’ he said in the statement.”

The Kerry meeting is reminiscent of Donald Rumsfeld’s visit to Baghdad in December of 1983.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey’s Giant Projects to Fuel Islamic Finance Boom

(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, SEPTEMBER 4 — Turkey’s large infrastructure investments may boost the country’s Islamic finance sector which has already been witnessing a boom, daily Hurriyet reports quoting the country’s top capital markets officials as saying. “Islamic finance tools may be benefited from in (financing of) in Turkey’s mega projects like bridges, airports, and Kanal Istanbul. These projects are compatible with the Islamic financing structure,” Ibrahim Turhan, chairman of Turkey’s stock exchange Borsa Istanbul said yesterday, speaking at the Islamic Finance News Roadshow.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US-Backed Terrorists Behead 24 Syrians Including Baby

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Syria have beheaded all 24 Syrian passengers traveling from Tartus to Ras al-Ain in northeast of Syria, among them a mother and a 40-days old infant.

Gunmen from the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant stopped the bus on the road in Talkalakh and killed everyone before setting the bus on fire.

According to media reports, the attack was carried out because the passengers who were from three different villages in Ras al-Ain, supported anti-terrorist Kurdish groups which were formed recently to defend Kurdish population against anti-Syria terrorists.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Putin: Snowden is a ‘Strange Guy’ Who is in for a Tough Life

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who received asylum in Russia, is a “strange guy” who condemned himself to a difficult fate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Human Rights Activists Cancel Meeting With Obama

(AGI)Moscow — Russia’s most prominent human rights activists have cancelled their meeting with Barack Obama for logistical reasons .

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

Catholic Man Killed in Land Dispute in Bangladesh

The victim, Johnny Gomes, was involved in a dispute with a cousin, who might be the killer. Urban growth in Gazipur is causing frequent reprisals.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) — A young Catholic was killed in a land dispute in the village of Bagdi (Gazipur District), near Dhaka. His body was found on Saturday, after a day of search. The victim’s name was Johnny Gomes; he was 30-years-old and married. The family said it is “desperate”, partly because it appears that the killer was a cousin, Sony Gomes, to whom he was very close.

Mousumi, the victim’s wife, said that on the day of his disappearance, Sony had invited her husband to go fishing, but that he did not come back. A few hours later, the woman received a phone call from Sony, telling her, “I killed your husband.”

Mousumi reported the incident to the local police station, which found the body after an intense search.

“No one can believe that Sony killed Johnny,” said Jhorna Cruze, secretary of St Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church to which the victim belonged, speaking to AsiaNews.

However, some residents of the area suggest that a dispute over the sale of land might be behind the murder.

Gazipur is experiencing rapid urban growth, and the owners of factories and construction companies continue to buy up land to expand their activities. This has pushed up the value of real estate, fuelling clashes with locals.

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

Economic Giant India Feels Growing Pains

The latest turmoil affecting the currency and lending markets of the world’s emerging economies has hit India particularly hard. As the country’s structural problems become more evident, some see an opportunity at hand.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

India: New Anti-Christian Violence in Karnataka, But Religious Freedom Non-Negotiable for Sajan George

The Christian leader slams three new attacks in August. Despite changes in the state government, the influence of the Hindu ultra-nationalists Bharatiya Janata Party continues to cause acts of anti-Christian violence and boycotts.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) — “I am outraged by these new anti-Christian incidents in Karnataka,” said Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). “Religious freedom is non-negotiable,” he told AsiaNews as he criticised fresh acts of violence against minority Christians. Three new attacks occurred in the Indian state in August alone, all by Hindu extremists.

The latest occurred on 18 August in Chikkamalaguru District when Hindu radicals stormed the home of Ms Doddamma, a member of the Rehebothe Prarthana Mandir Pentecostal Church.

The group of men asked her why she visited Hindu families and who gave her permission to preach Christianity.

Faced with her silence, the men dragged her and her daughter to a nearby Hindu temple, where they ordered some holy men to reconvert them to Hinduism. Faced with their refusal, the Hindus brutally beat the two women, as others destroyed their home.

On 11 August, in Chitadurga District, Rev Paramajyothi, the pastor at an independent Pentecostal Church, was attacked by Hindu ultra-nationalists. Dragged out of his church, he was stripped him and beaten mercilessly under the eyes of his congregation and family. The religious leader suffered several injuries, including three broken teeth.

Once discharged from the hospital, he turned to the police in Bejikere for protection since the fundamentalists had issued threats against him, ordering him to leave the village. Police instead filed a complaint against the attackers, as well as the clergyman.

On 3 August, 50 Hindu extremists violently attacked Somashekarwas, an Evangelical Christian in Bijapur District. Pulling his hair and ripping his clothes, they ordered him to reconvert to Hinduism. They also swore at his wife Kusumabhai and ordered the couple to leave the village if they were not willing to renounce Christianity. Because of their refusal, the attackers reported them to the police in Nedugundhi, accusing them of practicing forced conversions.

“Although Congress rules in Karnataka,” Sajan George noted, “many years of government by the (ultra-nationalist Hindu) Bharatiya Janata Party have contaminated police with Hindu radicalism. The social and economic boycott of Christians is common, as well as physical and verbal abuse. The minority is vulnerable and this climate encourages fundamentalists to break the law.”

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

Nepal: Kathmandu: Christians Have No Right to a Cemetery

The measure, which was to “preserve the sanctity of the soil near the Hindu shrine of Pashupatinath” compels a minority to seek burial sites concealed in the forest or near the rivers. Christian leader: “We fear that the Nepalese Hindu faith profane our graves.” The government does not respond to the requests of the faithful.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) — Christian communities in Kathmandu are being forced to bury their dead outside official cemeteries. Local sources told AsiaNews that “since the government has banned the construction of a cemetery near the Hindu shrine of Pashupatinath, Christians and other religious minorities in the country must perform their funeral rites in forests, near rivers, away from population centres and places under the control of Hindu radicals.”

Two years ago, city authorities decided to “protect” the Hindu temple of Pashupatinath from the presence of other religions, preventing Nepalis from other religious groups from carrying out their funeral rites near the sanctuary.

“It was decided to protect the sacredness of Hindu land,” said Sushil Nahata, a member of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT). “In some areas, cemeteries were expanding in an unregulated manner. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that Christians are given specific and separate areas.”

As a result of government action, religious minorities in the Kathmandu Valley found themselves forced to bury their dead in hidden places, far from population centres, with the risk of desecration by some Hindu groups.

Between April and May 2011, members of the Christian community in the capital went on a hunger strike that lasted for 39 days. This led to the establishment of a 16-member committee, which includes the minister for Peace and Reconciliation, the minister of Culture and Tourism as well Christian leaders, whose task is to find a solution to the dispute.

However, in spite of the pressure from the religious minority, Nepali authorities have always preferred to stall or when they did give something, it was always very little.

Indeed, Culture Minister Ram Kumar Shreshatha noted that “the government is very close to granting the Christian community a burial ground,” but so far the deadline set by the Committee has come and gone with nothing done.

“If promises prove untrue, Christians (who make up 1 .4 per cent of the Nepali population) will be forced to launch a new wave of nationwide protests,” said a still hopeful C.B. Gahatrai.

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

Taliban Threats Against Immunisation Raise Polio Epidemic Risks in Pakistan

From North Waziristan, the disease is spreading to other provinces (Sindh and Punjab). Islamists blocked the vaccination campaign. At least 1.5 million children have not received the vaccine. For WHO expert, the successes achieved in recent years in combating the disease are at risk.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Pakistani health authorities warn that a serious polio outbreak could spread across the country in the coming weeks. This acute viral disease affects the nerves, causing paralysis or death in the most serious cases. North Waziristan is one of the areas that are most at risk with five new cases confirmed by the authorities.

The problem is compounded by the Taliban who have threatened healthcare workers and civilians who accept vaccination. As indicated by an expert of the World Health Organisation (WHO), this could “seriously jeopardise the success in fighting polio that has been achieved in the past couple of years.”

Pakistan is one of only three countries left in the world where polio is endemic. In 2011, it had 198 confirmed cases, the highest number of any nation in the world, but in 2012, this was brought down to 58 through a vaccination programme backed by the United Nations. Islamic extremists could however reverse this progress.

So far this year, there have been 27 confirmed polio cases in Pakistan-the third highest total in the world after Somalia and Nigeria.

Two powerful Pakistani Taliban militants have banned vaccinations in North and South Waziristan over roughly the past year because of their opposition to US drone strikes.

Gunmen have also killed over a dozen vaccination workers and police guards in different parts of the country. Many suspect the Taliban of carrying out these murders, although the group has denied the allegation.

Militants claim that the vaccine is meant to sterilise Muslim children and have accused health workers of being US spies.

The allegation gained traction after the CIA used a Pakistani doctor to try to confirm the presence of Osama bin Laden in 2011 in Abbottabad, not far from the capital Islamabad, under the guise of an immunisation programme.

Children are the big losers in this war between the Taliban and the government. With more and more of them getting the disease, parents and family are desperate because they cannot afford to pay for the vaccines or the journey to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where vaccinations are also performed.

Polio can spread widely and unnoticed before it starts crippling children. On average, about one in 200 cases will result in paralysis.

Cases have been reported across the country, including Punjab and Sindh. Under the original WHO vaccination programme, planned to immunise 34 million children, but 1.5 million have not received the vaccine because of security threats.

Something similar is happening in Somalia, where 108 new cases of polio (out of 192 registered throughout the world) were recorded this year.

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

China Corruption Probes Reflect Power Struggle

After the fall of high-flying politician Bo Xilai, Chinese authorities have launched a series of investigations against top party officials. Experts say this is a reflection of power struggles within the Communist Party.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UN Probes North Korea’s Abductions of Foreigners

Witnesses and victims in Japan and South Korea detail the suffering of an estimated 130,000 people held in forced labor colonies in North Korea and the anguish of relatives of people abducted by Pyongyang’s agents.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

South African Gold Miners Go on Strike Over Wage Dispute

Thousands of South African gold miners have gone on strike as a result of failed wage talks that are threatening the country’s fragile economy. Last year, gold mine strikes triggered deadly violence between rival unions.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Britain’s Borders in Chaos: How Terrorist Warning System Doesn’t Work, Millions of Passengers Go Unchecked and Staff Are Too Frightened to Blow the Whistle

Crippling staff shortages and a failing system to screen criminals have left Britain’s borders in a state of chaos, officials warn today.

Terrorists and offenders are slipping through the net, while tens of millions of passengers are arriving on flights and ferries without proper background checks, they say.

In a devastating report, Westminster’s spending watchdog highlighted massive security flaws at the country’s ports and airports.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Every Third Child Has Problems With Language in Vienna

One third of Vienna Kindergarten children cannot speak good enough German and need extra help. In Vienna 4,000 of the 11,000 cannot speak good enough German according to the 2012/13 language ability tests.

Austria wide one in four Kindergarten children do not have the desired level of German knowledge. State Integration Secretary Sebastian Kurz, ÖVP, would like to make a second year at Kindergarten compulsory for children with language problems.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Eight in 10 Oppose Opening Borders to Romanians, Bulgarians: PVV Poll

Some 81% of the Dutch are opposed to opening the borders to people from Romania and Bulgaria next year, according to a Maurice de Hond poll carried out on behalf of the anti-immigration PVV. The poll of 1,300 people shows 73% expect opening the borders will lead to a rise in crime and 74% think Dutch jobs will be lost to the newcomers. ‘It is crystal clear what the Dutch want,’ PVV leader Geert Wilder said in a statement. ‘The borders have to remain closed to workers from Romania and Bulgaria.’ Romanian and Bulgarian nationals are currently only allowed to work in the Netherlands with a special permit but that will change on January 1 next year.

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

Sweden: Stockholm Grants Residency to Syrian Refugees

Dagens Nyheter

Sweden is the first European Union country to grant permanent residency permits to Syrian refugees, reports Dagens Nyheter on September 3.

“In the light of the worsening situation in Syria, we have complied with international law, which stipulates that permanent [residency] permits should be granted if it appears that the conflict will continue indefinitely,” explained the Director-General of the Swedish Migration Board, Anders Danielsson, in a radio interview quoted by the daily.

The decision will mean that 8,000 Syrian refugees, who are currently in Sweden, will be able to stay on indefinitely, and that they will also be granted family reunion rights, reports Dagens Nyheter. To date, some two million Syrians have fled the war in their country.

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

Sweden’s Asylum Burden and Malta’s Proportionately the Same

Maltese politicians don’t tell the electorate that Sweden receives as many asylum claims, as a proportion of its population, as Malta

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Iranian Asylum Seeker Groped Women in the Street Because That’s How He Was Told to Communicate With Them by People He Met in a Nightclub

An Iranian asylum seeker was told by people that he met in a nightclub that the way to approach a woman was to grope them, it has been claimed.

Mohammed Bagherifard, 30, is due to be sentenced for sex offences after he rubbed a woman’s rear at his hostel Angel Lodge in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

He also fondled another woman while she was out walking with a friend. In another incident he touched another woman’s bottom and slid his hand down her leg.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Conservative Treason: Selling Out Your Children

The recent, incredibly well-funded neo-conservative bandwagon popping up all over the country investigating the Common Core to the exclusion of the dangerous issue of tax-supported school choice and charter schools with no elected boards, has prompted me to write this article.

I am devastated by the speed with which the United States free economic and political system is being destroyed by the neo-conservative leadership. Our little band of excellent long-time education researchers/activists has been marginalized by the well-funded leadership of the Trotskyite (communist) neo-conservative movement. The leadership of this movement is, I believe, quite evil. Those carrying out this Common Core diversion from the real issue — publicly funded school choice/charters, with no elected boards — will have to answer many questions when they meet their Maker. (Scroll down to the last part of this article to see a listing of perpetrators.)

This leadership has parents, who are new to the history of education, doing research on Common Core standards, when Common core is not the issue. It is only the latest label applied to the brainwashing that has been taking place in the nation’s schools since the early 1940s. It is dangerous due to computer assessment and data collection. Other than that, it is no more dangerous than the tax-exempt Carnegie Corporation’s federally funded National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that has been mandating state sampling of students in proper attitudes, values and beliefs since the early 1970s.

Many truly conservative Americans mistakenly believe that “educational choice” — i.e., charters, cyber charters and vouchers — is “private” education. Nothing could be further from the truth. Follow the money trail.

[Comment: A MUST READ article to understand how American schools are being “Sovietized”.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Former Territorial Army Male Soldier, 28, Becomes Britain’s First Transgender Muslim Woman and is Now Married

…But she has run into trouble with her local mosque in Swindon, Wiltshire, as they would not let her pray with the other women.

Miss Vallender says she has been victimised by worhippers, who she says have asked her personal, and banned her because she is a transexual, and she wants to ‘get justice’ for transgender and Muslim people.

‘They say I am the first transgender Muslim but I bet there are more — they are just frightened,’ she said.

‘The way they treated me was disgusting.

‘They asked me questions about my bra cup size, asked about my Adam’s apple, about my period and asked to see my birth certificate.

‘They said I had to pray with the men so I left and pray at home instead.

‘I hope people will change their attitudes and other people like me will realise they are free to just be themselves.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Get Out of the Military, Don’t Enlist

Only someone who hasn’t been following what’s been going on in our military can deny the deliberate attack on Christians serving in uniform — especially since the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was done away with allowing sexual deviants to flaunt their sin and filth. While we have always supported our troops, that was it for our family. Only a fool couldn’t see what would happen once sodomites and lesbians were let out of their closets:

10,700 men raped in the US military (2010) (url)

The numbers were bad enough before DADT was repealed in July 2011; it’s escalated:

  • Majority of sexual assaults and rapes committed in military in 2011 were against men [url]
  • Victims of sex assaults in military are mostly men (14,000 in 2012) [url]
  • Military sodomite abuse: The untold story [url]

Many of the victims are too ashamed to come forward so we really don’t know how high the numbers actually are.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Police Arrest ‘Putin in Lingerie’ Gallery Director

(AGI) Moscow — Sept 3 — Police have arrested the director of a gallery which showed a picture of President Vladimir Putin in lingerie. Tatiana Titova the director of Muzei Vlasti (Museum of Power) in St. Petersburg, was held following the exhibition last month. The Muzei Vlasti was forced to close 10 days after it opened on Aug. 15, following an exhibition that caused a scandal and is being investigated after it was accused of “extremism”. The author of the paintings, Konstantin Altunin, showed a number of satirical portraits of members of the Russian political class. In one Mr Putin appeared with Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev in lingerie. Police seized four paintings and Mr Altunin fled to France a few days later, and applied for asylum. The investigation into the Museum of Power started after a visit by St. Petersburg deputy, Vitaly Milonov, a champion of traditional Russian values and one of the main sponsors of the controversial anti-gay law. He said the show contained “offensive material”. The arrest was reported by prominent gallery owner Marat Gelman, who had problems with the authorities when his Moscow gallery held an exhibition for feminist punk band Pussy Riot. The owner of the St. Petersburg museum, Aleksand Donskoi, told Mr Gelman of the arrest. He is the controversial founder of the G-spot Museum in Moscow, which is dedicated to eroticism.

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

The Blasphemy Police

In 2010, the bestselling atheist Richard Dawkins, in the “On Faith” section of the Washington Post, called the pope “a leering old villain in a frock” perfectly suited to “the evil corrupt organization” and “child-raping institution” that is the Catholic Church. Nobody seemed to mind very much.

Three years later, in a throwaway Tweet, Professor Dawkins observed that “all the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though.” This time round, the old provocateur managed to get a rise out of folks. Almost every London paper ran at least one story on the “controversy.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/4/2013

  1. Re; On Syria, our ‘Dear Leader’ is doing the bidding of the $audi$. There can be no other rational explanation.

Comments are closed.