Four men stripped down and streaked through the ice and snow behind a police cordon today in Stockholm at the venue where the Nobel prize ceremony was underway. The streakers were protesting political prisoners in China. All four were immediately arrested.
In other news, South African President Jacob Zuma was booed and jeered at a memorial service in Johannesburg for the late Nelson Mandela.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Erick Stakelbeck, Fjordman, Insubria, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Cartel Power: Megabanks Gain Ground Despite Fines
Authorities around the world are taking action against large banks for questionable practices including collusion and rate manipulation, but the power of these financial institutions continues to grow. Germany’s Deutsche Bank in particular finds itself under fire.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
House and Senate Negotiators Reach Budget Deal
House and Senate negotiators reached a budget deal that would raise military and domestic spending over the next two years, shifting the pain of across-the-board cuts to other programs over the coming decade. The agreement reached by lawmakers on Tuesday includes about $65 billion in across-the-board domestic and defense cuts while adding an additional $25 billion in deficit reduction by extending a 2 percent cut to Medicare through 2022 and 2023, two years beyond the cuts set by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
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Italian Spread Dips to Lowest Level Since 2011
Spike in borrowing costs caused demise of third Berlusconi govt
(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — The spread between Italy’s 10-year BTP bond and the German benchmark briefly dropped to its lowest level since July 2011 on Tuesday.
The spread, a key measure of Italy’s borrowing costs and of investor confidence, dropped to 226 basis points after closing trading Tuesday at 228.
It subsequently climbed back up to 228 points with a yield of 4.11%.
Italy risked enduring a Greek-style financial meltdown in 2011, when the rate on the 10-year-bond peaked at over 7%, with the spread between it and the German benchmark above 500 points.
That crisis caused ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s third government to collapse in November 2011 to make way for ex-premier Mario Monti’s emergency technocrat administration. Austerity polices introduced by Monti’s executive reassured investors and steered Italy out of the crisis, but they also deepened its longest recession in over two decades.
As a result unemployment has reached record levels of over 12%, with over four in 10 under-25s jobless.
Premier Enrico Letta, whose left-right coalition government replaced Monti’s executive in April, said in October that Italy will remain vulnerable to financial turbulence while the interest rate on its 10-year bond is above 3%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Don’t Protect Politicians Any More’ Says Grillo
‘Pitchfork’ movement ‘could be start of fire’ says M5S leader
(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — Anti-establishment leader Beppe Grillo on Tuesday urged police to join a burgeoning anti-government movement and stop protecting Italy’s politicians, hit by a string of pork-barrel and perks scandals and accused of failing to help the swelling numbers of ‘new poor’ in the country’s longest postwar recession.
“I ask you not to protect these politicians any more,” said the populist former comedian, whose 5-Star Movement (M5S) stormed to third place in February’s general election in a huge protest vote.
A rising anti-capitalist, anti-euro and anti-austerity movement called Forconi (Pitchforks) on Monday caused chaos across Italy, blocking roads and railways and rampaging through city streets.
In Turin police showed solidarity by taking off their riot helmets after quelling a protest.
Grillo said Monday’s angry demos, which piggy-backed a truckers’ protest and also drew far-right groups, “could be the start of a fire or the harbinger of future and perhaps uncontrollable revolts”.
He said the Forconi’s rise was the result of “people exasperated at their living conditions and the arrogance, deafness and couldn’t-care-less attitude of a political class that won’t give up its privileges”.
Until now Italy has not seen big grass-roots and street-level anti-austerity and anti-euro protest movements like Spain’s Indignados or the various Occupy groups because the M5S has siphoned off public anger at nose-diving living standards and widespread corruption.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Ends Two-Year Run of Negative Growth
Istat says GDP flat in third quarter
(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — Italy ended a two-year run of negative growth in the third quarter of this year, when gross domestic product (GDP) was flat with respect to the previous three months, Istat said Tuesday. The national statistics agency revised its initial estimate of a 0.1% drop in GDP for the July-September period with respect to the second quarter of 2013. Istat also revised its year-on-year GDP figure from 1.9% down with respect to the third quarter of 2012 to 1.8% down.
Italy has been in recession since the second half of 2011, with eight consecutive quarters of negative growth making this the longest downturn in over two decades.
“The end of the recession cannot yet be declared,” said Istat.
It said that, in part, this was because “it is not Istat’s job” to certify the end of the recession.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Anti-Austerity ‘Pitchfork’ Protests Spread
Grillo tells police ‘don’t protect politicians’
(By Christopher Livesay) (ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — Thousands of protesters joined truckers in Italy on Tuesday as they entered a second day of strikes as part of the so-called Pitchfork (Forconi) Movement, blocking or slowing transportation in a number of cities in Italy. The nationwide wildcat strike protesting heavy taxes, high fuel costs and alleged government mismanagement has stretched from the north to the south of Italy, fueled in part by anti-establishment leader Beppe Grillo, who went so far as to urge police to join the burgeoning movement and stop protecting Italy’s politicians, hit by a string of pork-barrel and perks scandals and accused of failing to help the swelling numbers of ‘new poor’ in the country’s longest postwar recession.
“I ask you not to protect these politicians any more,” said the populist former comedian, whose 5-Star Movement (M5S) stormed to third place in February’s general election in a huge protest vote.
Grillo said the angry demos, which piggy-backed a truckers’ protest and also drew far-right groups, “could be the start of a fire or the harbinger of future and perhaps uncontrollable revolts”. He said the Forconi’s rise was the result of “people exasperated at their living conditions and the arrogance, deafness and couldn’t-care-less attitude of a political class that won’t give up its privileges”. Until now Italy has not seen big grass-roots and street-level anti-austerity and anti-euro protest movements like Spain’s Indignados or the various Occupy groups because the M5S has siphoned off public anger at nose-diving living standards and widespread corruption.
The protests have continued to bring traffic to a crawl in Grillo’s home city of Genoa, as well as other northeastern cities at the movement’s epicenter, such as Turin, Savona and Imperia. A Senator for the Piedmont region, where Turin is located, appealed to Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and Premier Enrico Letta for more security forces, and warned the situation “is becoming a true emergency”.
“Take into account that Turin is the epicentre of this subversive protest with disturbing traits. This can not be faced with 150 men,” said Stefano Esposito, who is with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). In Turin, two separate processions disrupted transportation and commerce, when Pitchfork demonstrators and hundreds of students protested simultaneously. Shopkeepers complained they had to lower their shutters to protect themselves against passing demonstrators. Leader of the Pitchfork Movement Mariano Ferro told ANSA the strike would go on for days before closing it with a descent on the government in Rome.
“It is not time to go to Rome. It is necessary to live through a few more days of passion, and make Italians’ adrenaline rise,” Ferro told ANSA in a telephone call. Another protest leader, Danilo Calvani, said the movement will bring millions to the streets of the nation’s capital next week if MPs don’t abstain from a planned confidence vote in parliament Wednesday. “It will be a peaceful siege and we will share the route with law enforcement, but we are determined to stay until the politicians leave,” Calvani said.
Pitchfork leaders attributed the violence in Turin on Monday to “four hooligans, but the vast majority (of the protests) were peaceful”. Police fired teargas at protesters who threw rocks, and 14 policemen were injured in demonstrations by the end of the day. Police in Turin on Monday also removed their anti-riot helmets after blocking an assault of 50 troublemakers on Turin’s tax revenue agency in a gesture many, including demonstrators, interpreted as a sign of solidarity. Police in Bolzano also doffed helmets in an assault on the local tax agency office, as well as in Genoa, when demonstrators passed the city’s police headquarters. Police unions UGL, SIULP, and Grillo claim police were acting in solidarity with protesters. “We share and applaud the gesture of those policemen who took off their helmets in a sign of solidarity with demonstrators who peacefully showed their malaise at the grave crisis that Italy is going through,” said Valter Mazzetti, national secretary of the state police union UGL. Meanwhile Bolzano and Turin police headquarters called the gesture normal operating procedure. Turin police headquarters said police removal of riot gear under the circumstances was “normal behavior” linked with “defusing tension and the needs of public order”. In all three incidents demonstrators gave a long applause to police. Meanwhile the interior minister condemned violence and vandalism surrounding the protests. “The line in the sand is respect for law and order and democracy, meaning we’ll support those who protest peacefully, but it must be done in accordance with the law. We won’t allow our cities to go up in flames,” he said. Alfano also denounced demonstrators swarming stores and shopping malls, forcing shoppers out and scaring owners into closing. In the southern town of Molfetta, an Ipercoop supermarket and the Fashion District mall were among stores where shoppers fled as protesters charged inside chanting anti-government slogans. A clerk at the Mongolfiera shopping center said “demonstrators told us to hurry up and close, and said they’d be back tomorrow”.
Alfano called “such threats unacceptable”.
Up north, Piedmont union leaders for CGIL, CISL and UIL on Tuesday distanced themselves from the protest movement which has become particularly acute in their home territory. “The hardship of families, of workers, of the unemployed is palpable, but the demonstrators like those yesterday in Turin don’t do anything, because they don’t have proposals, they don’t have representation. They look only for chaos and are not clear because they don’t have the background,” said Alberto Tomasso, Giovanna Ventura and Gianni Cortese, regional heads for CGIL, CISL and UIL, respectively, in a joint statement. The union leaders on Tuesday presented reasons for staging a joint demonstration on December 14 against the 2014 budget bill currently in parliament.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
General Motors Names Mary Barra as Chief Executive
General Motors said Tuesday that it has named Mary Barra, the automaker’s head of product development, as its next chief executive, succeeding Dan Akerson, who will step down in January. She would be the first female chief executive of a major automaker.
Ms. Barra, 51, has been with G.M. for 33 years, rising through a series of manufacturing, engineering and senior staff positions.
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Stakelbeck: Brotherhood Supporters Advising White House
My latest report details how 2 Muslim Brotherhood supporters with radical ties have obtained influential advisory positions in the Obama administration.
The two men, Mohammed Elibiary and Mohammed Magid, are both U.S. citizens and have helped craft the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy.
That strategy includes embracing the Muslim Brotherhood: the first modern Islamic terrorist organization.
The fox is guarding the henhouse. Click the link above to watch my report.
| — Hat tip: Erick Stakelbeck | [Return to headlines] |
Austria and Luxembourg Accused of Undermining EU Credibility
BRUSSELS — Luxembourg and Austria came under attack on Tuesday (10 December) after the two countries stood firm and blocked plans to increase transparency in tax reporting.
At a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, the final formal gathering of 2013, ministers from the two countries insisted that they will not agree to a reformed savings tax directive until the EU has reached agreements on banking secrecy with nearby tax havens such as Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Computer Seizures Reveal Wealth of Evidence Against Golden Dawn
Investigating magistrates Ioanna Klappa and Maria Dimitropoulou, tasked with probing the activities of the far-right Golden Dawn party in order to determine whether it constitutes a criminal organization, are sifting through hundreds of files on four computers seized from the homes of party leader Nikos Michaliliakos, spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris and parliamentary deputies Yiannis Lagos and Nikos Michos, which allegedly contain damning evidence against the party, Kathimerini has learned.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Mulling Fund for Taxes on Swiss-Held Capital
Government to submit draft amendment to budget bill
(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — The government might submit a draft amendment to Italy’s new so-called stability law or budget bill that will include setting up a fund to hold future exceptional tax measures, such as those levied on capitals held in Swiss banks following a bilateral agreement, sources said Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway to Sweden: Can We Rent Out Your Prisons?
Sweden’s surplus of prison spaces has prompted Norway’s justice minister to ask about possibility of renting places in Swedish prisons for Norwegian prisoners.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Streakers in China Protest at Nobels
Four naked men braved icy conditions to take themselves behind a police security cordon around the Stockholm Concert Hall, the venue of the Nobel Prize presentation ceremony, Swedish Radio News reports. The four, who were protesting about political prisoners held in China, were quickly arrested by police and removed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukrainian President Promises Some Demonstrators Arrested in Protests Will be Released
Ukraine’s embattled President Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday promised that some demonstrators arrested in the massive protests sweeping the capital will be released, part of a bid to defuse a political stand-off that is threatening his leadership.
Yanukovych also vowed to renew talks with the European Union on concluding a much-awaited trade and political agreement, after his refusal to sign the deal last month prompted the biggest protests since 2004’s pro-democracy Orange Revolution, some drawing hundreds of thousands of people to Kiev’s streets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Albanian ‘Blood Feuds’ Force Families Into Isolation
Shkodër, Albania — Bilal Ademi remembers the day when 70 men in his family were forced into hiding. On May 18, 2010, Ademi’s cousin, a policeman, shot and killed another officer while on duty.
The Ademi men are the objects of a “blood feud,” targets of retribution for the killing of Tom Jakini. According to a set of traditional Albanian laws dating back to the 15th century called the “Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini,” the family of the victim has the right to avenge Jakini’s death by killing one of the Ademi men.
In Shkodër and surrounding villages in northern Albania, a country nestled on continental Europe’s western Balkan shore on the Adriatic Sea, these conflicts can drive entire families to confine themselves indoors out of fear for their lives. Absent a brokered peace, there is no expiration on vendettas. The Kanun dictates that even male children born into families involved in blood feuds become targets once they reach their teenage years. Women are supposed to be exempt, but in rare instances are not spared.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Obama’s Four-State Solution
Inadvertently, President Barack Obama just made an important contribution to our understanding of the Palestinian conflict with Israel.
Since Hamas ousted all PLO forces from the Gaza Strip in 2007, Gaza has operated as a separate political entity from Judea and Samaria. Indeed, it has been a de facto independent Palestinian state, controlled by Hamas. Gaza’s only connection to Judea and Samaria has been financial. Every month, the PLO-controlled Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria transfers tens of millions of dollars in US and other international donor funds to Gaza to finance the terror state.
Despite the clear distinction between the two areas, the US and the rest of the world have continued to insist that an Israeli-PLO peace deal will cover Gaza as well as Judea and Samaria. Obama always insists that a future Palestinian state must be “territorially contiguous,” meaning in a final deal Israel will be required to cut itself in half in order to give the Palestinians a land corridor connecting Gaza with Judea and Samaria.
But during his remarks at the Saban Forum on Saturday, Obama let the cat out of the bag. Gaza, he admitted, is a separate entity. A peace deal, he explained, “is going to have to happen in stages.”
As he sees it, a peace deal will involve an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. A post-Israel Judea and Samaria will be so wonderful that the Gazans will decide to join it…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Qatar-Backed Pro-Brotherhood Paper to Launch in London
The al-Jadeed newspaper is owned by London-based Fadaat Media Limited Company, although sources confirmed that the new publication will be financed by Qatar. Fadaat Media Limited said that the publication is part of an integrated media project which hopes to enhance the Arabic media sector.
The company announced in a statement that Egyptian journalist and frequent Al Jazeera guest Wael Qandil, known for his criticism of the current military-backed government in Egypt and his support for the Muslim Brotherhood, has been appointed as the editor-in-chief.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Orthodox Bishop to Press, ‘Christians Take Up Arms’
Luqa al-Khoury, ‘all methods of self-defense are legitimate’
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT- A Greek Orthodox Syrian bishop invited young Christians to take up arms to defend “the homeland” and the Christian presence in Syria.
In an interview published on the website of Panarab-Iraqi newspaper Azzaman, and republished Tuesday morning in several Middle Eastern media outlets, Bishop Luqa al-Khoury said, “Every Christian youth capable of taking up arms, should do so and defend Syria […] Christians are prayerful and peaceful, but it seems that today, faced with these people, prayer and peace aren’t enough anymore.” The Syrian bishop confirmed his stance on Libyan TV’s LBC, saying that declarations attributed to him by Azzaman weren’t correct, but that, “in this situation, all methods of self-defense are legitimate.” Al-Khoury added, “Syrian Christians won’t leave Syria of their own will, because they are attached to their land.
Christians and Muslims have been living (in Syria) for over 1,600 years […] Syrian Christians aren’t afraid even though the main goal of those who target the churches is to attack Christians’s historic identity.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Refugees Struggle in Turkey
Turkey expects to receive a million Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Turkish assistance is considered to be effective — but with the increasing numbers, the aid is being stretched to its limits.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Islamic Jihad on Christian Nuns: A History
By Raymond Ibrahim
Yet another phenomenon with a long paper trail in Islamic history has just taken place, even as the Western “mainstream”—little acquainted with true history or reality—dismisses it as an aberration. Asia News has the details:
Islamist rebels have kidnapped a group of nuns from the Greek Orthodox monastery of St Thecla (Mar Taqla) in Maaloula (an ancient Christian community where Christians were earlier forced to convert to Islam or die)… “Armed men burst in the monastery of St Thecla in Maaloula this afternoon (Dec. 2). From there, they forcibly took 12 women religious,” Mgr Zenari said …. Neither the nuncio nor the Greek Orthodox Church know (the) reason behind the kidnapping.
The “reason behind the kidnapping”? Sexual abuse and rape certainly should not be discounted, as these have been the lot of thousands of women abducted by U.S.-sponsored “freedom fighters” in Syria. Indeed, a new report issued by the National Reconciliation Commission in Syria states that some 37,000 women have been raped since the war started.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India: German Tourist ‘Raped by Yoga Teacher’
Police in the Indian holiday state of Goa arrested a yoga teacher on Tuesday accused of raping one of his students, a 33-year-old German tourist. Krishna Sharma, a 36-year-old from northern Uttar Pradesh state, was arrested in the morning at Goa airport as he was trying to leave, said police inspector Tushar Vernekar. He is alleged to have raped the German woman in her guesthouse on Monday night.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China: Poisonous Smog is a Military Asset, If You Think About it
China’s polluted skies aren’t filled with smog — it’s camouflage — if you believe Global Times, a nationalist newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily.
The claim that polluted skies can be beneficial to a nation in times of war is rationalized as follows: Tiny particles in the air can throw off the accuracy of missile guidance systems, and any other weapons dependent on human sight are be put at a disadvantage; reconnaissance equipment doesn’t work well when it’s tasked with navigating through poisonous brown clouds.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Barack Obama, David Cameron and Helle Thorning-Schmidt Take Selfie at Nelson Mandela Memorial
President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt have taken a selfie today at the memorial service for the late South African President Nelson Mandela.
The eyebrow-raising candid snap, calls to mind the infamous “Selfies At Funerals” tumblr — being at a memorial service and all.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Is This REALLY Time to Take a Selfie, Dave?
Cameron and Obama strike a pose with Danish PM during memorial service for Mandela (after President’s historic handshake with Fidel Castro’s brother)
Hundreds of world leaders gather in Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium for Nelson Mandela’s memorial service
Barack Obama paid tribute to anti-apartheid icon, saying ‘We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again’
Shook hands with Cuba’s Raul Castro on his way to the podium in historic gesture of reconciliation
He was joined by ex-Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter at the ceremony
Perhaps not in keeping with the tone of a memorial service, US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt grinned as they cosied up for a quick picture at today’s memorial service for the former South African president, prompting an outpouring of criticism.
Obama had earlier paid an emotional tribute to Nelson Mandela, calling the South African leader a ‘giant of history’ as he spoke in a stadium where around a third of the seats were mysteriously left empty.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma Booed at Mandela Memorial
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 10 (Reuters) — South African President Jacob Zuma was booed and jeered at a memorial to anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, a major public humiliation in front of other world leaders six months before national elections.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Americans Believe Deportation of Illegal Immigrants Not Agressive Enough
According to a new Rasmussen Report, the majority of Americans do not believe the deportation of illegal immigrants living in the United States is aggressive enough.
More than 20 House Democrats last week urged President Obama to halt the deportation of illegal immigrants until Congress passes a comprehensive immigration reform plan, but voters by a two-to-one margin oppose that idea. Most already think the federal government is not vigilant enough in deporting those who are in this country illegally.
Only 29% of Likely U.S. Voters think the government should stop deporting illegal immigrants until Congress passes an immigration reform plan. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% oppose a halt to deportations
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Post-Lampedusa: Hopes Dashed for New EU Asylum Policy
Two months after the deadly shipwreck off Lampedusa, Europe has done nothing to change course on its asylum policy. A new agreement between the EU and Turkey only reinforces the practice of pushing the refugee problem to Europe’s periphery.
Brussels is offering to fulfill one of Turkey’s oldest wishes: visa-free entry into Europe for Turkish citizens. In return, Turkey is agreeing to readmit rejected asylum applicants who reached the EU after being smuggled through Turkey. The agreement, which the EU intends to sign next week, will enable Turkey to become an outpost of sorts for the Dublin system, despite not being a member of the EU itself. It may be a good deal for Turkey, but the agreement is bad news for refugees.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Town Pays to Send Gypsies Home
The town of Borås, in central southern Sweden, is to remove a group of gypsies camping on parkland in the town centre, and help them return to Romania, Swedish Radio news reports. Some 70 gypsies from Romania have been living in make-shift tents in a wooded area of the park since the summer.
The town council is not permitted to force them to leave, but has pledged financial support for those who wish to return to Romania. One of those affected by the decision said that almost all of the group — around 60 — have welcomed the move because they want to return to Romania but could not otherwise afford to do so.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado Boy, 6, Suspended, Accused of Sexual Harassment for Kissing Girl on Cheek
A 6-year-old boy has been suspended from a Colorado school for kissing a girl on the cheek. School officials in Canon City are accusing Hunter Yelton of sexual harassment and they want it on his school record.
The boy’s mother tells KRDO-TV her son was suspended once before for kissing the girl and had disciplinary problems, but the girl did not object to being kissed. She told the station that the two children like each other.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mixed-Race Miss France Targeted by Racist Slurs
Flora Coquerel crowned Saturday; mother has African origins
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, DECEMBER 10 — The new Miss France has come in for an online racist onslaught. Shortly after the nineteen-year-old Flora Coquerel was crowned on Saturday, racist slurs began appearing on Facebook and Twitter that referred to her as a “nigger”, alongside slogans like “death to foreigners” and “it would be good to see a bit of white in our country”. “I am mixed race and proud to be so,” Miss France said. “Many people can identify with me. I am proof of a multicultural France.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
There was also anger expressed at the lack of Muslim contestants in the contest, especially as there are more than six million Muslims living in France.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
10 Dangerous Things in Victorian/Edwardian Homes
10. Electricity
The arrival of electricity was an extraordinary innovation. At first, people didn’t know how to use it — warning signs advised them not to approach the electric socket with a match. In the early 20th Century, electricity companies sought to interest consumers in electric products beyond lighting. Some of these were obviously flawed — the electric tablecloth into which lamps could be directly plugged clearly didn’t go well with a water spillage — but the real danger came from consumers trying to run many appliances from one socket, from trying to fix problems themselves and from un-insulated wires. The newspapers are full of cases of people electrocuting themselves.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Coldest Spot on Earth Identified by Satellite
The coldest place on Earth has been measured by satellite to be a bitter minus 93.2 Celsius (-135.8F). As one might expect, it is in the heart of Antarctica, and was recorded on 10 August, 2010.
Researchers say it is a preliminary figure, and as they refine data from various space-borne thermal sensors it is quite likely they will determine an even colder figure by a degree or so.
The previous record low of minus 89.2C was also measured in Antarctica. This occurred at the Russian Vostok base on 21 July, 1983.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Life From Earth Could Have Hitched Ride to Moons of Jupiter, Saturn
Life on Earth or Mars could have been brought to the moons of Jupiter or Saturn on rocks blasted off those planets, researchers say. These findings suggest if scientists ever detect life on those moons, they might have to contemplate the possibility that it came from elsewhere rather than originating there on its own.
The idea that life can spread through space is known as panspermia. One class of panspermia is lithopanspermia — the notion that life might travel on rocks knocked off a world’s surface. If these meteoroids encase hardy enough organisms, they could seed life on another planet or moon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Life Possible in the Early Universe
Planets orbiting the first stars could have been habitable, challenging arguments for a multiverse.
Aliens might have existed during the Universe’s infancy. A set of calculations suggests that liquid water — a prerequisite for life — could have formed on rocky planets just 15 million years after the Big Bang.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Simulations Back Up Theory That Universe is a Hologram
A ten-dimensional theory of gravity makes the same predictions as standard quantum physics in fewer dimensions.
A team of physicists has provided some of the clearest evidence yet that our Universe could be just one big projection.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Water Seems to Flow Freely on Mars
Any areas of water could be off-limits to all but the cleanest spacecraft
River-like valleys attest to the flow of water on ancient Mars, but today the planet is dry and has an atmosphere that is too thin to support liquid water on the surface for long. However, intriguing clues suggest that water may still run across the surface from time to time.
Dark streaks that hint at seasonally flowing water have been spotted near the equator of Mars. The potentially habitable oases are enticing targets for research.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Apparently when Mugabe’s name came up the crowd cheered.
All the dignitaries from the west are on proverbial [disfavored] list from now on.
Wot’s the price of tyres these days?
In June 1994, I joined the thousands on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the D Day landings. All the world leaders were there (apart from the French). That included the Clintons, Lech from Poland (Can’t remember how to spell his surname) and countless others. Lech received the biggest cheer of the day from a traditionally non-leftist crowd while booes,rancour and scorn were dished out in equal measure to ex-premier Margaret Thatcher and prime Minister John Major. It looks ominous for Zuma at the next election – hopefully.
Odd the French weren’t there; they do a good job of looking after our war graves, and make returning vets very welcome.
“Four men stripped down and streaked through the ice and snow behind a police cordon today in Stockholm at the venue where the Nobel prize ceremony was underway. The streakers were protesting political prisoners in China.”
NWO trying its usual tactics to undermine one of the nations that still does things its own way.