A young man named Paul Ciancia made his way into the terminal at Los Angeles Airport and opened fire with an “assault rifle”, killing a TSA agent and injuring several other people before he was subdued. The immediate response by Democrat legislators was to call for stricter gun control laws.
In other news, two members of the Greek Golden Dawn party were killed in a drive-by shooting outside their offices in Athens. There’s no word yet whether the attack caused Greek politicians to call for stricter gun control laws.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, 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.
All-Time High Unemployment: The Economic Depression in Europe Just Keeps Getting Deeper
The unemployment rate in the eurozone is higher than it has ever been before. This week we learned that eurozone unemployment came in at an all-time high of 12.2 percent for September. Back in January 2012, it was sitting at just 10.4 percent. So anyone that believes that “things are getting better” in Europe is just being delusional. In fact, the economic depression in Europe just keeps getting deeper.
The funny thing is that the mainstream media will barely call what is going on in Europe a “recession” even though the unemployment rates in both Spain and Greece are now much higher than anything that the United States ever experienced during the “Great Depression” of the 1930s. There haven’t been as many headlines about the financial crisis in Europe lately because the ECB has been papering over the debt problems of the periphery (at least for the moment), but the economic conditions on the ground for average Europeans just continue to get even worse. Later on in this article, you will read about a 25-year-old Spanish man with three college degrees that moved to London in a desperate search for a job who is now cleaning up poop for a living. The economic collapse of Europe continues to march on, and there is no end in sight.
All you have to do is look at the latest unemployment numbers to realize that things are getting worse in Europe…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cyprus Debacle Could Cost Two Years’ GDP by 2020
An economic crisis which forced the brutal downsizing of Cyprus’s inflated banking sector could cost the island more than double its GDP by 2020, banking experts said on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Is Paul Krugman a Voodoo Economist?
Readers ask me if Paul Krugman could be correct that deficits don’t matter and that neither does printing endless reams of money with which to purchase the Treasury’s debt instruments that finance the deficits…
Keynesian stimulus policy works when the jobs from which people have been laid off still exist. By boosting aggregate demand for goods and services, the stimulus puts people back to work. But if the jobs have been moved offshore and the factories closed, the jobs no longer exist. No stimulus policy can put the unemployed into jobs that no longer exist.
Krugman has not come to terms with this basic fact. Nor have the majority of economists. Economists assumed that new and better jobs would take the place of the offshored ones. However, as I am forever pointing out, there is no sign of these jobs in the employment data.
Most economists believe that jobs offshoring is free trade and that free trade is beneficial, which simply demonstrates their confusion. Jobs offshoring is based on the pursuit of absolute advantage, the antithesis of comparative advantage that is the basis of free trade.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sign the Audit the Fed Petition
To Your Senators
Whereas: Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, our dollar has lost 97% of its value; and
Whereas: The Federal Reserve’s “print-now-ask-questions-later” policies are driving the costs of housing, food, gasoline, higher education and medical care sky-high; and
Whereas: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “QE4” — dubbed “QE infinity” — is pumping more than $85 BILLION per month into our economy; and
Whereas: Audit the Fed (S. 209) would EXPOSE the corruption and cronyism at the Fed and stop Ben Bernanke’s economic snake oil “solutions” from wrecking our fragile economy.
Therefore: As your constituent, I URGE you to support Audit the Fed (S. 209) at every opportunity.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago-Based Arab Group Faces Fresh Terrorism Scrutiny
Members of a Chicago-based Arab-American group connected to President Barack Obama have once again come under fire for their ties to terrorism.
According to a report by the Associated Press, published last Friday, Rasmieh Yousef Odeh — an associate director at the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) — was convicted in a terrorist attack decades ago in Israel and lied on an immigration application to become an American citizen.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Deadly Rampage Creates Chaos at Lax
Gunman targeting TSA agents opens fire in terminal, killing a screener. Flights are disrupted across nation.
A composed, solitary gunman shot his way into Los Angeles International Airport on Friday morning, killing a transit security screener and injuring at least one more before being wounded by police and taken into custody. The incident was over in less than 10 minutes but caused chaos at the world’s sixth-busiest airport and disrupted thousands of flights across the nation.
The suspected gunman was identified as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, a New Jersey native who lives in Los Angeles.
Authorities declined to discuss the gunman’s motivation publicly. But a law enforcement official told The Times that a note was found on the gunman expressing “disappointment in the government” and noting that he had no interest in hurting “innocent people.” Ciancia also sent a sibling a text message last week suggesting that he was prepared to die, officials said.
It appears the gunman targeted Transportation Security Administration agents, who are not armed. Authorities said he approached several people cowering in the airport terminal, pointed his gun at them, asked if they “were TSA” and then moved on without pulling the trigger if the answer was no. A witness said the gunman cursed the TSA repeatedly as he moved through the terminal.
J. David Cox Sr., president of the union that represents 45,000 TSA flight screeners, called the shooting a “heinous act.” The gunman was not a TSA officer and “never had been,” according to the union, the American Federation of Government Employees.
The TSA was created in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in an attempt to improve the safety of American transportation. Its screeners cannot make arrests and do not carry weapons.
A former classmate of Ciancia’s said Friday the suspected gunman was a loner and had been bullied at their private high school…
| [Return to headlines] |
Eric Holder Says the Justice System He Leads is Broken. Can He Fix it?
The path to prison has been worn by millions of black men since the 1960s, when race-baiting political rhetoric turned into tough-on-crime legislation that disproportionately impacted African Americans. With the second term of the Obama administration well underway, the first African-American to hold the job of America’s top law enforcement official is planning to do something about it.
In a major speech before the American Bar Association in August, Holder called for “sweeping, systemic changes” to a “broken” judicial system.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fiat Chrysler US Sales Up 11%, Best Since Oct 77
43rd straight monthly gain
(ANSA) — New York, November 1 — Chrysler’s October sales in the United States were up 11% on the same month in 2012, the Fiat-controlled US carmaker said Friday.
It was the best October since 2007 and the 43rd straight monthly gain, the Detroit No.3 said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Hypersonic Successor to Legendary SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Unveiled
Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works has finally unveiled the long-awaited successor to the SR-71 Blackbird. Aviation Week and Space Technology’s Guy Norris pulled the covers off the project that Lockheed Martin is simply calling the SR-72. The new airplane will be roughly the same size as the record-setting Blackbird, but will be able to fly twice as fast as the jet that still holds the speed records.
The new spy plane will be capable of Mach 6 cruise speeds, making it the first hypersonic aircraft to enter service should it be produced.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kerry Admits US Spying ‘Reached Too Far’
In an unprecedented statement since revelations of widespread US electronic spying first came to light, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that in some cases surveillance had gone too far.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
LAX Shooting: Get Ready for More Anti-Second Amendment Propaganda
The liberal press has wasted precious little time demonizing the Second Amendment in the wake of the shooting by an off-duty TSA worker at LAX.
Mother Jones tweeted the following a few minutes ago:
LAX Police Chief Gannon: Single shooter entered, pulled an assault rifle, began shooting at checkpoint, went past & into terminal 3.
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 1, 2013
Note the push-button word: “assault rifle,” a favorite emotional phrase adopted by the gun-grabber crowd. Every weapon, of course, is an “assault weapon,” but what the libs never tell you is that firearms are primarily defense weapons.
“Guns used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense,” Gun Owners of America noted in 2008. “Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year — or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Melting’ Starfish Along West Coast Prompt Fukushima Concerns
Scientists are attempting to find out why one species of starfish is literally melting in the waters off of Washington state and Canada.
Biologists in Seattle took to the Puget Sound waters last weekend to collect sick and healthy sunflower starfish for testing. Several labs including one at Cornell University will examine and compare samples with Canadian specimens already being analyzed.
“We’ve got some sea stars that look like they’re melting on the bottom,” Seattle Aquarium biologists Jeff Christiansen said.
Whether the cause is environmental or disease related is currently unknown, but the number of melting starfish increases drastically with each passing day.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NBC Buries Own Reporter to Hide Obama Lie
RESTON, VA — In a bombshell report for NBC News.com, NBC News senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers found buried in the 2010 Obamacare regulations language predicting, “A reasonable range for the percentage of individual policies that would terminate is forty percent to sixty-seven percent.” Myers’ reporting shows that Barack Obama knowingly lied to the American people for more than three years when he regularly insisted that those who like their current health insurance would be able to keep it under Obamacare.
Yet, according to an analysis from the Media Research Center, this massive, deliberate breach of trust was worthy of only 21 seconds of coverage on NBC Nightly News, buried at the end of the show’s fourth story, with no follow up on Today. ABC and CBS completely censored Lisa Myers’ discovery with not one single second of coverage on either their morning or evening programs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Spying Went Too Far, Says U. S. State Secretary Kerry
(AGI) Washington, Nov 1 — Surveillance by America’s National Security Agency went too far, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. In some cases it “has reached too far inappropriately”, he said. It was the first time the Obama administration had accepted this since the whistle blower, Edward Snowden, leaked news about the NSA spying on allied countries.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The thuggery of ACA czarina Kathleen Sebelius.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is allergic to the truth. She is the ruthless enforcer of Obamacare’s Jenga tower of lies upon lies upon lies. Now that this fatally flawed government edifice is collapsing, you can expect Sebelius to do what she has done her entire career: blame, bully, and pile on more lies.
Three years ago, when insurers and other companies had the audacity to expose Obamacare’s damage to their customers and workers, Sebelius brought out her brass knuckles. Remember? As I reported at the time, the White House coordinated a demonization campaign against Anthem Blue Cross in California for raising rates because of the new mandate’s costs. Obama singled out the company in a 60 Minutes interview, and Sebelius sent a nasty-gram demanding that Anthem “justify” its rate hikes to the federal government.
A private company trying to survive in the marketplace was forced to “explain” itself to federal bureaucrats and career politicians who have never run a business (successful or otherwise) in their lives. Sebelius went even further. She called on Anthem to provide public disclosure of how the rate increases would be spent — a mandate that no other private companies must follow.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ObamaCare: Illegal Voter Mine for the Democratic Party?
On Wednesday, two national election watchdog groups alleged that ObamaCare is really a massive voter registration vehicle masquerading as a healthcare bill.
Gregg Phillips, the founder of the election integrity group Voters Trust takes it one step further. “I think [it] is the biggest voter registration fraud scheme in the history of the world,” he told Breitbart News.
Phillips, along with Catherine Engelbrecht of True The Vote, cited a report published by Demos, an organization founded by left-wing activist billionaire George Soros. “Building a Healthy Democracy: Registering 68 Million People to Vote Through Health Benefit Exchanges,” couches this effort in noble terms, contending that “the freedom to vote must be fiercely protected for all citizens, regardless of class or privilege.” Yet the report focuses on the problems encountered by lower-income Americans who register and vote in far lower percentages than those earning more than $100,000 per year. Report author Lisa J. Danetz notes that of the approximately 68 million individuals she envisions being registered by the law, most of them will be low-income individuals “who will eventually enroll in subsidized health care under the law.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Open Mosque Day — Muslims Serve Up Tea and Taqiyyah
A Summary Report on Open Mosque Day in Southern California
Prepared by a team of activist investigators
was Open Mosque Day at 23 mosques and Islamic Centers in Southern California. California has 246 mosques — 120 of them in the Southern California area. It is second only to the Greater New York area with 192 mosques. An invitation communiqué from the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California assured non-Muslims that “Muslims are happy to answer questions about their religion.”
An Orange County Register article on the Open Mosque Day event noted:
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Tech Giants Throw Weight Behind Legislation Which Would Actually Rein in NSA Spying
The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee — NSA shill Diane Feinstein — introduced a Trojan Horse of a bill today which pretends it reins in the NSA, but would actually legalize bulk surveillance on Americans.
But the tech giants just threw their support behind a real reform bill. Specifically, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and AOL put their support behind the USA Freedom Act … the bill introduced by Senator Leahy and Congressman Sensenbrenner to start reining in the NSA for real.
The tech giants aren’t supporting the bill out of the goodness of their hearts, but because cooperating with the NSA has cost them tens of billions of dollars. And see this.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Is the shutdown of the last US smelter part of a multi-pronged attack on ammunition?
There’s a multi-pronged attack on ammunition:
- Creating market shortages by massive purchases
- Drying up the market by making ammunition components like lead and spent brass scarce and expensive
- Using environmental regulation to ban the use and manufacture of lead
And after the domestic sources of ammunition dry up, the UN Arms Trade Treaty (UN-ATT) can be used to stop the importation of ammunition.
The gun control movement’s public agenda against “assault rifles” hasn’t been effective. But their war on ammunition by limiting access via regulation, manipulating the market and shutting down manufacturing, has been very effective. And if they succeed, it would be the same as a comprehensive ban on guns.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Top Generals Reveal Obama’s Secret High Level Military Purge
In Obama’s America, the military must forsake their constitutional oath in favor of blind allegiance to their new commander. And whether it’s top nuke commanders being removed for failing to play ball with the global elite, or just silencing potential whistleblowers, top military generals are now speaking out about the ‘mass purge’ within the United States military.
One such general, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, has now gone on record in speaking with news organization WND about the mass culling of high level military officers on behalf of the Obama administration. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady says that the attack on high level military personnel is so great that it has now obliterated the morale of troops at large, but is more importantly centered in terminating any high level individual that will not go along with the plan.
“There is no doubt he (Obama) is intent on emasculating the military and will fire anyone who disagrees with him,” the retired general told WND…
Overall, the new media has forced this issue into the spotlight, reaching millions with the powerful information that has been confirmed time and time again by scenarios like Senator Lindsey Graham’s same day speech regarding a nuclear strike on the exact destination of the nuclear warheads. Meanwhile, the establishment has been busy in attempting to eliminate high level military officers who will not blindly follow commander Obama on his every unconstitutional demand.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
United Nations to Destroy Property Rights of Thousands Around Alamo
UNESCO won’t grant Alamo “World Heritage” status without property restrictions in “buffer zone”
The official nomination states that a “buffer zone” will be created around the five San Antonio Franciscan Missions, including the Alamo:
A buffer zone surrounds the nominated property following the boundaries set up in the various city ordinances, including Rio Overlay Districts 3-6, Mission Historic District, River South Management Area, and the Alamo Historic District. The buffer zone runs from Travis Street in the north to Camino Coahuilteca on the south, Presa Street on the east and Mission Road and Roosevelt Ave on the west. The total area of the buffer zone is 1,828.8 hectares (4,519.1 acres).
But what exactly is a buffer zone?
The UNESCO 2013 Operational Guidelines gives the following definition:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
What Are You Going to Do When a Massive EMP Blast Fries the U.S. Electrical Grid?
It is only a matter of time before a massive EMP burst fries the U.S. electrical grid. What that happens, how are you going to survive? In the United States today, we are completely and totally dependent on electrical power. Unless you are Amish (or are a part of a similar community), you probably have absolutely no idea how to survive in a world without electricity.
Unfortunately, our electrical grid is extremely vulnerable at this point. As you will see below, intelligence officials believe that China and Russia already have “super-EMP weapons”, and a whole host of smaller nations and terrorist groups are believed to be working on developing similar weapons. But even if the U.S. is never attacked by an EMP weapon, scientists tell us that it is inevitable that a massive solar storm will fry our electrical grid someday. If an event similar to the solar storm of 1859 happened today, it would be absolutely catastrophic. Known as “the Carrington Event”, that massive solar storm fried telegraph machines all over Europe and North America. At some point we will experience another such solar storm, and some scientists believe that we are already 50 years overdue for another one. In fact, the earth had a “near miss” just a few months ago.
So what will happen if we are hit by a massive EMP blast? Well, according to a government commission that investigated this issue, approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population could potentially die from starvation, disease and societal chaos within one year. It would be a disaster unlike anything that we have ever seen before in U.S. history.
Frank Gaffney, the president of the Center for Security Policy, is even more pessimistic. He believes that a single EMP blast could potentially end up killing almost the entire population of the United States…
“Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity”
As a society, we are simply not equipped to function without electricity.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
White House Campaign Says ObamaCare Ensures No Insurer Will Ever Drop Customers
With millions set to lose their current health care plans, Americans are reacting with disbelief and fury to a White House campaign claiming that Obamacare guarantees that no insurer will ever be able to drop customers.
The White House posted the following tweet earlier today:
Thanks to #Obamacare, insurers CAN’T: 1. Deny you coverage. 2. Drop you if you get sick. 3. Drop you as a customer. pic.twitter.com/t4KL1i0sds
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 1, 2013
[Comment: Baghdad Bob now works for the White house.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Air-France-KLM Writes Off Its Stake in Alitalia
CEO Colaninno says he will leave airline after capital plan
(By Sandra Cordon) (ANSA) — Rome, October 31 — Air France-KLM said Thursday that it has written off the value of its 25% stake in financially troubled Alitalia while its chief executive warned that it won’t help the Italian carrier with a capital injection unless “very strict conditions” are met.
Shareholders in the Air France-KLM group made the decision to write off its investment based on Alitalia’s need for a 300-million-euro capital injection, which will dilute the value of existing shares. “Given the uncertainty of the situation of Alitalia, Air France-KLM group has decided to fully depreciate the value of the shares held,” the group said in a statement attached to quarterly financial results.
In those results, the Air France-KLM group included a third-quarter impairment charge of 119 million euros to reflect the write-off.
Earlier this month Alitalia shareholders approved an emergency 300-million-euro capital hike to pull the airline from the brink of bankruptcy.
The State-owned post office, Poste Italiane, pledged to buy up to 75 million euros in any unsubscribed shares in the capital increase. Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit also said they would take a stake worth up to 100 million euros.
The capital boost is part of a government-engineered 500-million-euro rescue package, which also includes 200 million euros in loans.
Once that plan is complete, Alitalia Chairman Roberto Colaninno announced, he will no longer be a manager at Alitalia, but would remain on the board and retain his large stake in the carrier. “After having supported the recapitalization of Alitalia, at the end of the (relevant) operations…my resignation will be formalized,” Colaninno said in a statement. “I will not be available to take up a top position again”.
As Alitalia looks for support for its capital injection, Air France-KLM chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac said his group has been “clear from the beginning” that it could still assist Alitalia — but only under “very strict conditions” including financial restructuring and changes to the airline’s medium- and long-haul networks.
“We have always said that we are a serious and loyal partner of Alitalia, which means that we will help Alitalia but (under) very strict conditions,” said de Juniac.
Meanwhile, as Alitalia struggles to stay in business, it reported a small net profit in the third quarter of seven million euros, 20 million euros less than what was reported during the same period in 2012, the carrier announced at a board meeting on Thursday.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the quarter was reported as 36 million euros, down from third-quarter results of 50 million euros in 2012.
In the first nine months of this year, Alitalia posted a loss of 162 million before interest and taxes, compared with a loss of 119 million euros in January to September 2012.
The carrier also lowered its net debt to 813 million euros in the third quarter after trimming debt in the previous quarter ending June 30 to 851 million euros.
The carrier also denied reports suggesting that it would not be able to operate its flights, stating that its operations would be continuing without disruption. Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported Thursday that Alitalia is “in danger of collapse” and therefore airline tickets “are not guaranteed”.
In a statement, Alitalia denied that report and said it “confirms the continuity of its flights”. The recent Alitalia rescue package has prompted International Airlines Group, parent company of British Airways and Iberia, to urge the European Commission to intervene to suspend what it said was “flagrant State aid” — a charge the Italian government has denied.
The EC has asked for more information about the Alitalia aid package — particularly, the involvement of Italy’s post office that could total 75 million euro.
Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Christoph Franz also slammed the planned capital increase on Thursday, saying that while there were legal ways of helping carriers facing difficulties, limits existed in relation to repeated State aid.
Franz made the comments during a conference call for analysts, in which he also added that repeated actions of State aid distort the level of the playing field. He said his company had repeatedly asked the European Union to apply the policy guidelines on this matter.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: DF Politician Faces Police Charges for Leaking Information
Pernille Bendixen told press about how much taxpayer money goes to two families in Vollsmose; despite facing charges, she has no regrets
Odense Council has reported its own council member, Pernille Bendixen (DF), to the police after she passed on sensitive information about two criminal families to the media. Bendixen revealed to Fyens Stiftstidende how much taxpayer money in Odense goes to two criminal families, including that of the notorious gang leader Fez Fez, whose family lives in the troubled Odense suburb of Vollsmose.
According to Bendixen’s leak to Fyens Stiftstidende, Odense Council spent 4.5 million kroner in subsidies on Fez Fez and his family last year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Press Attacks French President Hollande
(AGI) Berlin, Oct 31 — The German press has attacked French President Francois Hollande describing him as overcome by events, and incapable of reacting to the many current crises with the required authority. With the headline “The wrong person at the Elysee Palace”, Der Spiegel emphasised that “there is a crisis in France, farmers are ready to man the barricades, entrepreneurs are refusing to pay national insurance and football teams are threatening to strike over the super-tax for the wealthy,” with the result that the French president “has lost status and authority.” ..
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Golden Dawn: 10 Police Officers Linked to the Party
According to the results of an internal investigation
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, OCTOBER 31 — An internal police investigation into suspected connections between the Greek Police (Elas) and the ultra-right Golden Dawn linked 10 officers to the party “directly or indirectly” but found no indications of “organized cells” within the force.
Unveiling the findings of the investigation on Wednesday, as daily Kathimerini reports, the head of the police’s internal affairs department, Panayiotis Stathis, told a press conference that no “organized cells or factions” linked to Golden Dawn were discovered during the monthlong probe but he conceded that “lax supervision” of officers was a problem that needed to be addressed.
Police questioned 319 officers at precincts across the country before arresting 15 on a range of charges, Stathis said.
Of these officers, 10 were found to be connected “directly or indirectly” to Golden Dawn’s activities, he said. As part of the investigation, police also raided 79 homes and Golden Dawn offices, seizing weapons and military equipment.
Stathis also told reporters that the investigation had monitored a significant increase between 2009 and 2013 in the involvement of police officers in “extreme police behavior” — a trend which reached a peak last year. He said that another 118 officers were being investigated on a range of charges and that the files of many of them had been sent to prosecutors.
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias described the probe as “an operation of self-catharsis.” Golden Dawn and its MPs are currently the subject of a criminal investigation with three MPs in pretrial custody on charges of belonging to a criminal organization.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Two Golden Dawn Members Killed in Drive-by Shooting Outside Party Offices
Two members of Golden Dawn have reportedly been shot dead outside the party’s offices in the northern Athens neighborhood of Neo Iraklio. One of the two men shot dead is reported to be the secretary of the local party office.
According to unconfirmed reports the men were shot by gunmen who were on a motorcycle and wearing helmets. A third victim was reportedly injured. Police are at the scene and have cordoned off the area.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Holiday Backlash: Germans Cringe at Rise of Halloween
Halloween is barely two decades old in Germany, but it’s swiftly become a wildly popular holiday among children and adults alike. Retailers say it’s now a vital source of revenue. Still, not everyone is getting in the spooky spirit.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Lupi Says if No Air France-KLM Help, New Air Partner Needed
Alitalia seeking capital injection of 300 million
(ANSA) — Rome, October 31 — If Air France-KLM refuses to invest in a capital injection for troubled airline Alitalia, then another “international partner” must be found, Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi said Thursday.
He spoke after the chief executive of the Air France-KLM group said it would only participate in the 300-million-euro capitalization if “very strict conditions” were met.
“If Air France were to decide not to subscribe to the capital increase in Alitalia, (then) it is evident that a strong international partner must be found,” said Lupi.
Air France-KLM announced it has written off the value of its 25% stake in Alitalia, and chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac said his Air France-KLM group has been “clear from the beginning” that it could still assist Alitalia — but only under “very strict conditions” including financial restructuring and changes to the airline’s medium- and long-haul networks.
Earlier this month, Alitalia shareholders approved an emergency 300-million-euro capital hike to pull the airline from the brink of bankruptcy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy to Back NSA Spying Case Initiative
New EU initiative aims to reform guidelines governing relations
(ANSA) — Rome, October 31 — Italy has decided to back the European Union initiative that aims to redefine the protocols that govern the bloc’s collaboration with the US following the outbreak of the National Security Agenda spying scandal, according to a decision taken by government representatives at Thursday’s inter-ministry committee on Italian security (Cisr).
The NSA scandal broke out earlier this year after former US NSA contractor Edward Snowden made revelations about massive eavesdropping of phone and Internet records carried out by the department. Since then, the press has been full of reports that the NSA was also spying on French, German, Spanish and Italian citizens, as well as the pope and the Vatican.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Alfano Supports Cancellieri on Giulia Ligresti’s Case
(AGI) Rome, Oct 31 — Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano expressed his “solidarity to Justice Minister Annamaria Cancellieri, for an artfully exploited situation, which instead demonstrated her heightened sensitivity and attention to Giulia Ligresti’s health conditions. Even the judge concluded that Ligresti’s situation was critical, to the point of reducing her precautionary detention. … Therefore, no actions were taken nor intentions expressed beyond Minister Cancellieri’s mandate.
In fact, her only intention was to avoid the possible deterioration of an already difficult situation, while fully respecting her institutional boundaries”, Alfano concluded.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: New Rubbish Tax to Give ‘Up to 680% Hike’
Average TARI-linked rise will be 290%, Confcommercio says
(ANSA) — Rome, November 1 — A new rubbish tax in the 2014 budget will hike costs by up to 600%, retail group Confcommercio said Friday.
The tax, TARI, will trigger an average rise of 290%, Confcommercio said.
The rise for bars will be 300% and 480% for restaurants.
Fruit-and-vegetable traders will see their rubbish bill rise by 650% and discotheques 680%.
The 2014 budget has been criticised for raising taxes and not cutting labour costs enough to stoke growth in an economy that has seen nine straight quarters of decline.
An unpopular property tax called IMU has been scrapped under pressure from ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi but has come back in various guises to avert a crisis in local-government finances.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s President Napolitano to Cooperate in Mafia Probe
(AGI) Rome, Oct 31 — Italy’s President, Giorgio Napolitano, on Thursday vowed to cooperate in the Palermo enquiry on secret talks between the government and the mafia, underscoring “limited knowledge” of the subject. With Palermo judges having called Napolitano to testify in the probe concerning alleged talks subsequent to the ‘90s murders of anti-mafia judges, the president clarified he would not be appealing the summons on point of law, but denied any privileged information.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Syrian Man Sets Himself on Fire in Rome — Reports
A 24-year-old Syrian man set himself on fire near the Colosseum in Rome on Thursday in front of hundreds of horrified tourists, Italian media reported. The man, referred to by the initials B.S in the reports, poured a bottle of lighter fluid over himself before setting himself alight.
The flames were put out by police and the man, who reportedly has a Swedish passport but is originally from Syria, was taken to the Sant’Eugenio hospital in the capital with third-degree burns on his face, chest and arms, the reports said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Zonkey’ Baby Ippo Draws Crowds in Florence
An act of love between Martin the zebra and Giada the donkey in the romantic Italian city of Florence has produced a rare “zonkey” baby that is drawing crowds to an unusual exotic animal shelter.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Anders Breivik Told His Dying Mother: ‘Sorry I Ruined Your Life’
NORWEGIAN mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik hugged his mother before she died this year and apologised for ruining her life, according to a new biography. The Mother, written by journalist Marit Christensen and published yesterday in Norway, adds to the complicated picture of Breivik’s relationship with his mother, Wenche Behring Breivik.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Cold Killer Breivik Said Sorry to Mother for Ruining Her Life
Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik apologised to his mother for ruining her life before she died of cancer this year, according to a new biography.
Based on hours of conversation with his mother, journalist Marit Christensen’s biography The Mother says Wenche Behring Breivik once described herself as the world’s “saddest mother”, who both hated and loved her son.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Raw Nerve: Germany Seethes at US Economic Criticism
German policymakers are striking back at the United States, after a US Treasury report blasted the country’s massive trade surplus. Sensitivities in Berlin are still high over US spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedes Implore Chinese: ‘We Are Not Swiss’
Fed up with being mistaken for Switzerland by the Chinese, Swedish authorities have launched a competition in China to tease out humorous ways to keep the two European countries apart.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Mysterious Hooded Men & Occult Circles Appear Globally
Who are these mysterious hooded men that have been showing up at soccer games in Europe wearing occult-style symbolic robes?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Benghazi Witnesses Grilled in Secret on Capitol Hill
The Justice Department had asked GOP Rep. Darrell Issa not to interview the two security agents, saying it could jeopardize prosecution of the terrorists who attacked the U.S. mission in Libya in 2012.
WASHINGTON — Two of the Justice Department’s key witnesses in last year’s terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, were summoned to Capitol Hill this month and grilled for hours in separate legal depositions.
Responding to congressional subpoenas, the State Department security agents were asked how the Libyan terrorists stormed the mission and set parts of it on fire, how they were armed and how they killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The agents also were asked about security breakdowns and whether the administration reacted appropriately to the Sept. 11, 2012, assault.
[Comment: It is possible that the Justice Dept.’s objections are really because they do not want Congress to find out the truth.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Caught Using Puppies as Fire Bombs
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A pet rescue operation has saved three puppies from Muslim Brotherhood clutches, after discovering the militant members were dousing the animals with gasoline, setting them on fire and throwing them into the chaos of a Tahrir Square demonstration, as makeshift bombs.
Robyn Urman, a rescuer with the New Jersey group, Pet ResQ Inc, said this isn’t the first time Muslim Brotherhood members had been busted trying to use animals as gasoline-fired bombs, Breitbart reported. And this particular discovery didn’t end well for all the dogs.
The Muslim Brotherhood members were caught near Tahrir pouring gasoline over more than 20 puppies — but only three could be saved.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A man claiming to be Egypt’s official executioner has spoken of how much he loves his job in a sinister interview.
Hajj Abd Al-Nabi, who claims he has hanged some 800 people convicted of crimes ranging from adultery to murder, said: ‘In all honesty, I love my work. I just love it!
‘I never say “no” when they need me at work. This is my work and my livelihood.’
But Mr Al-Nabi’s exuberant commentary on his macabre profession takes an even more chilling turn as he explains how strangulation had been his ‘hobby’ since he was a teenage boy.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Troops Kill Four Hamas Militants in the Gaza Strip
(AGI) Gaza, Nov 1 — Troops killed four Hamas militants while destroying a tunnel from the Gaza strip into Israel, both sides reported. Israel believed the tunnel was used to launch terrorist attacks.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
by Caroline Glick
US President Barack Obama views lies as legitimate political tools. He uses lies strategically to accomplish through mendacity what he could never achieve through honest means.
Obama lies in both domestic and foreign policy.
On the domestic front, despite Obama’s repeated promises that Obamacare would not threaten anyone’s existing health insurance policies, over the past two weeks, millions Americans have received notices from their health insurance companies that their policies have been canceled because they don’t abide by Obamacare’s requirements.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board explained that Obama’s repetition of this lie was not an oversight. It was a deliberate means of lulling into complacency these Americans who opted to buy their insurance themselves on the open market, in order to stick them with the burden of underwriting Obamacare…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Prince Frederik Makes Historic Trip to Israel
Crown Prince welcomed by Israeli president during first ever visit by a Danish royal
Crown Prince Frederik made a historic pilgrimage this week, becoming the first Danish royal ever to visit Israel.
Frederik’s visit was in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Denmark’s effort to save the country’s Jews during the Holocaust. Following the invasion of Denmark by the Nazis, more than 7,500 members of the Danish Jewish community were ferried in small boats to unoccupied Sweden to escape persecution.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Attacks in Iraq Kill 964 People in October
(AGI) Baghdad, Nov 1 — Attacks in Iraq killed 964 people in October, the highest in a month since 1,073 people died in April 2008. Iraqi government figures put the number of wounded for the month at 1,600. In October, 855 civilians, 65 police and 44 soldiers were killed. Iraqi security forces killed 33 militants and arrested 167. Iraq has seen a surge in sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the past months, causing thousands of deaths.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: Top Court Upholds Death Penalty for Kurdish Activist
Teheran, 31 Oct. (AKI) — Iran’s Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence issued against Kurdish activist and dissident Mansur Arvand, who faces being hanged next month, the Herana website reported on Thursday.
Arvand’s family are calling on world governments to halt his execution.
A lower court found Arvand guilty of endangering national security and of collaboration with a Kurdish opposition group classified as an “enemy” of the Islamic Republic.
He was arrested in 2011 by Iranian intelligence agents in the city of Mahabad and imprisoned there.
Despite the election in June of moderate Hassan Rouani as Iran’s president, executions in the Islamist country have continued, according to human rights activists.
More than 90 people have been put to death in the past four months in Iran, which after China is the country that executes the most people each year, according to rights groups.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Ex-Imam Formed Militia Group in Syria
The Commission for Civilians Protection — an organsation founded by the Swedish former imam, Haytham Rahmeh — smuggles weapons into Syria and has formed an armed militia group which cooperates with groups loyal to al-Qaeda.
The militia has over 2,000 members, its political leader, Nazir Hakim, told Swedish Radio News. “We needed a military solution,” he said. Hakim added that the militia operates in Halab, al-Asor, Latakia, Hama, Homs and Damaskus. “We are everywhere,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: ‘Brahimi Negotiating Release of Kidnapped Bishops’
Beirut, 31 Oct. (AKI) — The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is negotiating the release of the two Orthodox bishops seized in northern Syria in April, allegedly by a radical Chechen group, Lebanese daily al-Joumhouria said on Thursday.
The unnamed Chechen group’s leader, named as Mohammed Akroff was contacted by Brahimi’s representative in Damascus, Mokhtar Lamani, and in a recorded six-minute call told him the two bishops are well.
The negotiations to release bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji are going under the auspices of Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan.
Among conditions set by the kidnappers are the release of Turkish officers detained by the Syrian regime, the paper said.
Ibrahim and Yaziji were abducted from their car by gunmen on 22 April outside the northern Syrian city Aleppo, near the Turkish border.
“Brahimi confirmed to [Lebanon’s head of public security Abbas]Ibrahim that the two bishops are well,” an informed source was cited as telling al-Joumhouria.
The bishops are being held in Syria in a perilous area, according to the unnamed source.
Brahimi informed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as well of the phone-call between Lamani and Akroff, al-Joumhouria said.
Ibrahim was cited by Lebanese daily al-Liwaa as saying on Wednesday that talks on the two hostages had also taken place with Assad and with Qatari officials.
Qatar has offered financial and logistic help to secure Ibrahim and Yaziji’s release, according to al-Joumharia.
Ibrahim is a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo and Yaziji is a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the city. They are the most senior Christian clerics caught up directly in Syria civil war and the kidnapping of such high-ranking Christian figures is unusual.
The Greek ambassador to Syria and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Churchare reported to have been involved in efforts to free the prelates.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey, Iran Signal Thaw in Ties Amid Mutual Concern on Syria
Iranian FM meets with Turkish leadership in Ankara, both countries expressing concern of the rise of al-Qaida in Syria.
Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria’s civil war, signalling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Erdogan Praises Female MPs for Wearing Hijabs in Parliament
Ankara (AFP) — Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday the “will of the people had prevailed” after four female lawmakers wore headscarves in parliament for the first time in years, breaking a taboo in the staunchly secular country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Fireball Explosion Shows Meteor Risk Greater Than Thought
As researchers recover more leftover pieces from the space rock that detonated earlier this year near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, the event is helping to flag a worrisome finding: Scientists have misjudged the frequency of large airbursts.
Computer simulations also imply that such airbursts cause more damage than nuclear explosions of the same yield, which are typically used as an analogue to ballpark impact risk. The meteor explosion over Chelyabinsk gives the bottom-line message that the risk from airbursts is greater than previously thought.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tymoshenko Release: Ukraine’s Geopolitical Future Hangs on Deal
EU negotiators have arrived in Ukraine to try to secure the release of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. A successful agreement will pave the way for a free trade deal and unprecedented cooperation between the EU and Ukraine — as well as a new rift with Russia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Four Year-Old Girl Raped at School in Pakistan
(AGI) Lahore, Nov 1 — A 4-year-old girl in Pakistan has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after being raped by her teacher. The child, identified only as Sumaya, was at a ‘madrasa’ Koranic school in Vehari, in the country’s eastern Punjab province. The local police chief, Rao Tariq Pervez, said the attack took place on the day the child started attending lessons for the first time.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Drone Strike Kills Leader of Pakistani Taliban, Pakistani Officials and Militants Say
An American drone strike killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, on Friday, according to Pakistani intelligence officials and militant commanders in the tribal belt.
If confirmed, his death would be a major achievement for the covert C.I.A. program at a time when drones have come under renewed scrutiny over civilian casualties in both Pakistan and the United States.
While prior reports of Mr. Mehsud’s death have proved false, and the Pakistani Taliban offered no comment, there was a proliferation of accounts of his death on Friday from multiple sources, including the militants, within hours of the missile attack. Mr. Mehsud, a showy and ruthless militant leader whose group has been responsible for the death of thousands of civilians across Pakistan as well as many soldiers, had a $5 million United States government bounty on his head.
| [Return to headlines] |
China Moves Spy Ship to Hawaiian Waters in “Retaliation” Against U.S.
Unprecedented development showcases Beijing’s increasing military confidence
China has sent a surveillance ship to Hawaiian waters for the very first time in an unprecedented move which is being described as a provocative retaliation to the U.S. naval presence in the East China Sea.
According to a report by GoldSea.com, a news outlet aimed at Asian-Americans, a 4,000 ton People’s Liberation Army electronic reconnaissance ship was recently spotted near Hawaii within the U.S. 200-nautical mile EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone).
The report was also picked up by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which ran an article entitled China moves spy ship near isles, Asian media say.
The ship “is equipped with various electronic gear for eavesdropping on radio communications and tracking ships and aircraft. It is also believed to have jamming equipment to interfere with the radio communications of other ships,” according to the report.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Next Moon Mission Targets Lunar ‘Bay of Rainbows’
China is making major headway in its mission to land a rover on the moon — a big step forward in the nation’s ambitious lunar exploration plans.
At China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the moon-bound Chang’e 3 spacecraft is undergoing its final tests ahead of a planned launch in early December. Meanwhile, a Long March 3B carrier rocket, reportedly modified with new technologies and improved reliability, is set to reach the launch center via train from Beijing on Friday (Nov. 1).
The touchdown target for the Chang’e 3 mission — a lander and a lunar rover — is thought to be Sinus Iridum, known as the Bay of Rainbows, a plain of basaltic lava on the moon, according to reports by China media outlets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China’s ‘Airpocalypse’ Tracked by NASA Satellite
It’s fair to say that China isn’t exactly known for good air quality. But a recent spate of air pollution in northern China that nearly shut down a city of 11 million has put a spotlight on the problem, as well as China’s reliance on coal, which provides 70 percent of its energy and is a big contributor to the country’s pollution woes.
In mid-October, cold weather in northern China led officials and citizens to turn up their coal-powered heating systems in the city of Harbin.
This resulted in an “epidemic” of smog and smoke (termed the “airpocalypse” by some) that limited visibility to less than 10 meters (about 30 feet) and led buses and drivers to get lost on roads, according to news reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fuel-Cell Revolution: Can Toyota Save the Electric Car?
Toyota has developed a new long-range electric vehicle powered entirely by a cutting-edge fuel cell. The project represents a dramatic departure from the goal of developing a mass-produced, effective, battery-driven electric car. But what does it mean for our future?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A ten-year-old boy has died after a teacher ‘told him’ to jump from a building.
The Chinese youngster, named as Jun Jun, fell 30 floors to his death after failing to write a self-criticism letter demanded by his teacher.
The fifth-grade primary school student had been told to write a 1,000-character apology by his teacher, Miss Chen, for talking in class.
His devastated parents have now launched a campaign against the extreme pressure put on Chinese students.
Neighbours say the 30-year-old teacher told him to jump out of a building after he didn’t do the task.
‘The police investigation is still under way,’ an official in Jinjiang district said, refusing to comment further, the Hindustan Times reported.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mexican President Urges Citizens to Exercise to Fight Obesity
Obesity epidemic forces president to launch campaign to promote fitness in Mexico
President Enrique Pena Nieto has encouraged Mexicans to walk more, use stairs and exercise one hour every day as he launched a campaign against rampant obesity and diabetes. “We can’t keep our arms crossed in front of a real overweight and obesity epidemic. The lives of millions of Mexicans are literally at risk,” Mr Pena Nieto said.
Seven in 10 adults are either overweight or obese in Mexico, while one-third of the country’s children fall in that category, according to official figures. Mexico now has a higher rate of overweight people than the United States.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Part 2: Cultural Disintegration
As a reminder validating the reason for this series: demographic experts project the United States adding 100 million immigrants to this country by 2050 — a scant 37 years from now. All totaled, since we reached 300 million in October of 2007, we will add 138 million people by 2050 to total 438 million people — enough to duplicate 20 of our top cities’ populations to our country. The Pew Research Center, U.S. Population Projections by Fogel/Martin and the U.S. Census Bureau document those demographic facts.
If you’re not in tears or feel a shot of fear up your spine when you read the facts, you might be brain dead. Your children will inherit this demographic nightmare.
In other words, we expect to add 33 million immigrants within 10 years by 2023. (Source: Roy Beck at www.NumbersUSA.org) Those numbers accelerate from there with immigrant birth rates, chain migration, diversity Visas and continued illegal migration from a desperate world that adds 80 million people net gain annually — or, 1 billion desperate people every 12 years.
But as you can imagine, the folks coming to our country lack the ability to speak English, arrive with any needed skills and throb with their own distinct cultures.
They arrive from warn-torn Somali, Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo (rape capitol of the world outside of Chicago), Iraq, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, India, China, Indonesia and just about every overpopulated God-forsaken country on the planet.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Atheists to Sue Alabama City After Police Partner With Pastors to Fight Crime With Christianity
A prominent atheist organization states that it plans to sue an Alabama city that was recently in headlines surrounding the launch of a new program that unites area pastors and police in reaching the hurting in the community…
But Public Safety Director Chis Murphy told the publication that some misunderstand the intent of the program.
“The purpose is crime prevention, not religious recruitment,” he stated.
“We took careful strides when we first organized this to make sure it was broad-based and not just Christian,” Murphy added to the Montgomery Advisor.
He noted that the city also spoke with Jewish and Muslim communities while developing the crime-fighting initiative.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium Mulls Child Euthanasia Law
by Rick Moran
How far is too far for the culture of death? Apparently, there are no boundaries left.
The Associated Press is reporting on the debate going on in Belgium over children being allowed to decide to end their own lives.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boy, Girl, Other: Intersex Advocates Call for Surgery Ban
A new law in Germany allows parents to leave their child’s gender blank on birth certificates. Intersex activists are pleased, but want to go further. Often themselves scarred by invasive operations performed at birth, some want to prohibit sex reassignment surgeries on children.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
TV Has to be at Least 42 Percent Gay?
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has issued a new report boasting that “TV hasn’t merely reflected the changes in social attitudes; it has also had an important role in bringing them about. Time and again, it’s been shown that personally knowing an LGBT person is one of the most influential factors in shifting one’s views on LGBT issues, but in the absence of that, many viewers have first gotten to know us as television characters.”
If network executives were honest, they’d be slamming this report. If. Haven’t they routinely insisted that TV shows have zero effect on the audience? That’s their constant mantra when defending sex and violence on TV. They’re silent. They know exactly how much they influence.
GLAAD and The Hollywood Reporter commissioned a poll last fall that found in the past 10 years, about three times as many voters have become more supportive of “marriage equality” (31 percent) as more opposed (10 percent). When asked how television has influenced them, 27 percent said “inclusive” TV shows made them more “inclusive,” while six percent were more “anti-marriage equality.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Over this year, there have been a number of news reports on another movement in the church advocating for the acceptance of homosexual behavior and same-sex relationships. Matthew Vines, an openly homosexual 23-year-old student at Harvard University, posted a video on YouTube of a speech he gave on homosexuality and the Bible. In the talk, he claims repeatedly that God’s Word does not condemn monogamous same-sex relationships.
Now, a recent report from the Christian Post highlighted the amount of compromise happening within the church on this issue. The headline of the article explains, “50 ‘Hand-Picked’ Christians Trained To Convince Churches To Re-Interpret Scripture’s Gay Boundaries.” Vines apparently hosted a training conference recently in his home state of Kansas for Christians who want to convince their churches to accept same-sex relationships.
Vines explained, “The goal of the conference was to be training Christians who are in churches that don’t currently support LGBT people and to give them the biblical tools and knowledge that they need to go back to their churches and have constructive, persuasive conversations with other believers on these issues.” Sadly, all this training and effort these Christians are going through is based on a false interpretation of Scripture. Vines’s ideas are founded on eisegesis (reading man’s preconceived ideas into Scripture) rather than exegesis (starting with the Bible to understand what it says about something).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Astronomers Puzzle Over Newfound Asteroid That Acts Like a Comet
An oddball cometlike asteroid could explain how rocky bodies develop wispy comet tails—or just add more confusion
The distinction between comets and asteroids is in principle a clear one, encoded right in the words themselves. Both terms come from Greek roots—”comet” descends from a word meaning “long-haired” and “asteroid” means, roughly, “starlike.” So there it is: comets are fuzzy, and asteroids are discrete pinpricks of light. The definitions hint at compositional differences as well: comets are icy, which leads them to come apart when they draw near the sun, whereas rocky asteroids are somewhat more robust.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Earth’s First Life May Have Sprung Up in Ice
IF YOU thought life evolved in bubbling hot springs, think again. Pieces of RNA have been made that can copy RNA strands longer than themselves, supporting the idea that the first life was based on self-replicating RNA, not DNA. What’s more, they work best in the cold, hinting that life began on ice.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Food Riots, China Cyber Attacks, The Rise of Conscious AI and Other ‘What If’ Predictions
This article is about “what if” scenarios that are admittedly on the more radical side of predictions. But with surprising frequency, civilization goes through radical changes that are genuinely revolutionary: the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, the breakup of the old Soviet empire, the fall of Rome, the invention of the integrated circuit and so on. Many people believe our current civilization is on the verge of radical changes like the ones I’m covering here.
So here’s a close look at several “what if” scenarios that you’ll probably find outlandish. I’m not saying these are all going to come true, but what if they did? (I put this article in the category of dark fiction…)
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Origins of Syphilis Still a Mystery, Researchers Say
Syphilis has been infecting people for centuries, and many researchers have tried to pinpoint the part of the world where the bacterium that causes the disease first appeared, before spreading across the globe and becoming the international disease that it is today.
Yet, despite researchers delving into studying the disease — looking at it from the angles of history, politics, paleopathology and molecular chemistry — the origin of syphilis remains an enigma, say researchers who recently reviewed the literature about syphilis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Solar Activity Heads for Lowest Low in Four Centuries
The sun’s activity is in free fall, according to a leading space physicist. But don’t expect a little ice age. “Solar activity is declining very fast at the moment,” Mike Lockwood, professor of space environmental physics at Reading University, UK, told New Scientist. “We estimate faster than at any time in the last 9300 years.”
Lockwood and his colleagues are reassessing the chances of this decline continuing over decades to become the first “grand solar minimum” for four centuries. During a grand minimum the normal 11-year solar cycle is suppressed and the sun has virtually no sunspots for several decades. This summer should have seen a peak in the number of sunspots, but it didn’t happen.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gun control? Baron, what a joke that has become to those who can see the utter stupidity in those two words! And I hope your headline in this post jars a few sensibilities!
“A young man named Paul Ciancia made his way into the terminal at Los Angeles Airport and opened fire with an “assault rifle”, killing a TSA agent and injuring several other people before he was subdued. The immediate response by Democrat legislators was to call for stricter gun control laws.
In other news, two members of the Greek Golden Dawn party were killed in a drive-by shooting outside their offices in Athens. There’s no word yet whether the attack caused Greek politicians to call for stricter gun control laws.”
Indeed.
GD’s ability to possess weapons has been restricted completely.
This is why they are safe to murder in drive by shootings now.
Pssst – that’s not the reason they are “safe to murder”. I’d loan you my clue bag if I honestly thought you’d look for some.
“In Obama’s America, the military must forsake their constitutional oath in favor of blind allegiance to their new commander. And whether it’s top nuke commanders being removed for failing to play ball with the global elite, or just silencing potential whistleblowers, top military generals are now speaking out about the ‘mass purge’ within the United States military.”
So, I write a song for Obama:
With fannies high, Obama’s marching minions
Go prancing down America’s main drag!
It’s time to pack up all your un-PeeCee opinions,
Whether in speech, on airwaves, or in mag!
It’s time to pack up all your un-PeeCee opinions,
Whether in speech, on airwaves, or in mag!
No apologies to Horst Wessel.