Two American soldiers were killed and two others wounded when gunmen dressed in Afghan security uniforms opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan. The attackers were killed in the ensuing firefight. This was the latest in a series of attacks by Afghan soldiers on their American allies.
In other news, widespread flooding in England is continuing as the western part of the country braces for additional heavy rains.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, MC, RR, 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.
Exclusive: EU Executive Sees Personal Savings Used to Plug Long-Term Financing Gap
(Reuters) — The savings of the European Union’s 500 million citizens could be used to fund long-term investments to boost the economy and help plug the gap left by banks since the financial crisis, an EU document says.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Unemployment Rises to 28 Percent, A Record High
Greek unemployment rose to new heights in November of last year, reaching a record 28 percent from a downwardly revised 27.7 percent in the previous month, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Thursday.
Youth unemployment remained exceptionally high, hitting 61.4 percent in November of last year, according to ELSTAT.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Immolation Threat Evidence of Dire Straits, Says Vatican
‘Church witnesses and shares in the people’s hardship’
(ANSA) — Vatican City, February 11 — Two-day demonstrations by the so-called Pitchfork movement of disgruntled farmers that culminated in the occupation of a major Rome basilica on Monday are evidence that the country has fallen on hard times, the Vatican said Tuesday.
“The Church and the Vatican are witnesses to and share in the hardship that so many people are experiencing in their daily lives,” Vatican chief press officer Father Federico Lombardi told ANSA.
Police officers bearing blankets grabbed two such protesters carrying gasoline and a lighter as they threatened Tuesday to set themselves on fire in St. Peter’s Square. The pair had asked Pope Francis for asylum in the Vatican.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
ISTAT Depicts Italy Hit by Poverty, Taxes, Pollution
Almost one in four Italians in dire straits
(By Sandra Cordon) (ANSA) — Rome, February 11 — Almost one in four Italian households face serious financial hardship while taxes have risen to almost the highest levels in Europe, and about half of families live with air pollution, the national statistical agency Istat said Tuesday.
In a sweeping report on 100 different measures of life in Italy in 2012, titled Noi Italia, the agency found a mixed picture: low employment and worsening economic productivity coupled with high levels of car ownership and falling levels of reading and interest in books.
According to the report, 24.9% of households in 2012 were in a situation of “deprivation”, meeting at least three of the agency’s nine factors of economic hardship. These include the inability to meet unexpected expenses, falling behind in loan payments or being unable to afford a meal with a high protein content at least once every two days.
Istat said the percentage of people in such deprivation had risen to 24.9% from the 22.3% reported in 2011, when Italy entered its longest postwar recession.
Contributing to the economic problems is the growing tax burden in Italy that reached an average 44.1% of income paid in 2012 — almost as high as average levels in Sweden, said Istat.
Sweden has been known for high tax levels to support an extensive social safety net.
Italy’s average tax levels have grown from 41.3% in 2000 to 42.5% in 2011.
And paying those taxes has become increasingly difficult, as only about 61% of working-age adult Italians have jobs, well below the target of 75% employment set by the European Union, said Istat, which measured employment levels among people aged between 20 and 64 years.
It also found that the level of women working in Italy is only about 50.5%, one of the worst in Europe, while about 71.6% of eligible men had jobs in 2012.
The European average level of employment in 2012 was 68.5%.
Italy also has one of the highest percentages of long-term unemployment, defined as being jobless for at least 12 months, noted Istat. Italy’s figure was 52.5% of total unemployed versus 44.4% of EU average.
The southern half of the country accounted for 59.8% of the long-term unemployed with about 37.6% in the north.
Making matters worse, Istat found that Italy is the bottom of the list of European Union (EU) countries in terms of competitiveness of labour costs. The agency found that for every 100 euros an Italian business spent on labour costs in 2010, the most recent year in which there is comparative data for the rest of the EU, the added-value generated was 126%.
This was lowest in the EU and far behind the figure of 211.7% for Romania, said Istat, which noted that Italy’s labour-cost competitiveness improved in 2011, with every 100 euros of labour costs generating 128.5% of added value.
In Italy, the competitiveness index lost nearly 10 points between 2001 to 2010, dropping from 135.8 to 126.1; in painful contrast to the European average index, which in 2010 was 144.8, down by only a single point from 2001.
On social issues, Istat found that nearly four in 10 Italian families live with high levels of air pollution.
Among the worst areas was the northern industrial region of Lombardy, base for Italy’s major business capital city of Milan, with about 50.1% of families there affected.
Nearby in the north-west region, the percentage fell to about 44.4% of households experiencing pollution. The rate fell even further to about 36.5% around Venice in the north-east and dropped to low levels of about 24.7% in the far north Trentino-Alto Adige region.
In Italy’s centre, the region of Lazio — where the Italian capital city of Rome is based — pollution levels reached as high as 43.6% while further south, the Campania region reported levels of 40.1% and Sicily was one of the lowest at 35.1%.
Perhaps contributing to the pollution was the high rate of automobiles in Italy, one of the highest levels of ownership in the world at 62 cars per 100 inhabitants in 2012.
That was also the second-highest among the member states of the European Union.
The downside is traffic congestion due to relatively high density of vehicles, said Istat.
On the social side, Istat found that Italy has a big population of non-readers, with only 43% of Italians saying they read one or more books in 2013.
The percentage rose to 49.5% among people living in the centre-north, compared to 30.7% in the south. Almost half of women read at least one book last year, compared to 36.4% of men.
Likewise just under 50% of Italians read a newspaper at least once a week, while the number of people who get their news from the Internet was on the rise. Cinema topped the list of favourite cultural activities, followed by visits to museums and exhibitions.
Istat also found that Italy produces the most high-quality food products in Europe — excluding wines, Italy boasted 248 products sporting the EU’s coveted Denomination of Protected Origin (DOP), Protected Geographic Indication (IGP), or Guaranteed Traditional Specialty (STG) seals.
France came in a distant second at 192 such products, followed by Spain with 161.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
JP Morgan Executive Becomes 5th Banker to Die in Last 2 Weeks
Some fear spate of deaths linked to imminent financial crisis
Two weeks after the suicide of a JP Morgan banker who jumped to his death from the top of a building, another of the firm’s employees has died, with 37-year-old Ryan Henry Crane becoming the 5th banker fatality in just the last few weeks alone.
Crane was an Executive Director in JPM’s Global Program Trading desk based in New York and had been with the firm for 14 years.
Few details have been released concerning the nature of his death, with reports merely stating that Crane is survived by his wife and son.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Luxury Brand CEO to the Poor “Stop Whining… or Move to China”
Ironic perhaps on the heels of President Obama’s minimum-wage-hike executive order — and our discussion of the salaries for public and private employees in America, we find the following…
The following clip from CNBC of Nicole Miller’s CEO Bud Konheim is absolutely disgusting. Then again, this simply continues the recent trend of wealthy people coming on financial outlets and telling the poor how they are supposed to feel.
Rather than me rewriting what I already wrote on this topic, I encourage you to read my very well received post from last week:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
There is “No Evidence” We Encouraged Forex Manipulation, Bank of England Says
In what has to be the most disappointing denial of central bank manipulation of a market in recent history, and probably never, the Bank of England today announced that it “has seen no evidence to back media allegations that it condoned or was aware of manipulation of reference rates in the foreign exchange market.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
$1.8 Million Mosque Rising at Islamic Center in West Modesto
MODESTO — The two minarets sit like stubs now, but will look exotic once they’re erected on top of the new building at the Islamic Center of Modesto in west Modesto. To Imam Ahmad Kayello, they are exciting symbols of the future, topping a beautiful mosque where his community can grow, worship and enjoy fellowship, and where non-Muslims can learn more about Islam, a religion often vilified in the West…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Clarence Thomas, the most conservative Supreme Court justice, says that America is too sensitive about race
He is as renowned for his reticence as his conservatism on America’s highest court, remaining respectfully silent for seven years when lawyers presented their arguments before him. But with his robes off, Clarence Thomas, the only black Supreme Court justice, has now caused controversy by lamenting that modern America is too sensitive about race.
Mr Thomas, 65, who grew up in Georgia during the tumultuous civil rights protests against racial segregation, also said that “northern liberal elites” treated him worse than whites in the segregated South of his childhood, in comments obtained by Yahoo News…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Who Oppose Keystone XL Pipeline Own Shares in Competing Companies
Democrats who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline have thousands of dollars invested in direct competitors to the company looking to build the pipeline, public records show.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Homeland Security to Activate ‘National License Plate Recognition Database’
UK version of spy system was used to target political activists
The Department of Homeland Security is set to activate a national license plate tracking system that will be shared with law enforcement, allowing DHS officers to take photos of any license plate using their smartphone and upload it to a database which will include a “hot list” of “target vehicles”.
The details are included in a PDF attachment uploaded yesterday to the Federal Business Opportunities website under a solicitation entitled “National License Plate Recognition Database.”
The system will “track vehicle license plate numbers that pass through cameras or are voluntarily entered into the system from a variety of sources (access control systems, asset recovery specialists, etc.) and uploaded to share with law enforcement” in order to help locate “criminal aliens and absconders.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Microsoft Picks Asian-Born CEO
Microsoft named Satya Nadella as its new CEO, effective immediately. Nadella, who previously was Executive Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise, becomes the tech giant’s third chief executive after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August.
A native of Hyderabad, India, Nadella, 46, is the ninth Asian CEO among Fortune 500 companies (1.8 percent) and the fourth among DiversityInc Top 50 companies (8 percent).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mob of Teens Attack Man in Downtown Cleveland
A disabled Army vet spoke out about the latest attack that happened Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Matthew Robinson told our Ed Gallek he was riding RTA’s Healthline when six to eight teenagers surrounded him on the bus, and then started following him. Then, he said they attacked, took his stuff, and videotaped what they were doing.
Robinson told 19 Action News, “What they were saying was, ‘Knock that boy out!’ ‘White boy.’ ‘Cracker.’ They were saying, ‘Knock that white boy out.’“
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Naked Ambition: TSA Wants New Generation of Body Scanners
Nextgov.com reports that Homeland Security is seeking “next-generation body imagers”, that will have the ability to scan through heavy coats and shoes, and not require agents to monitor video screens.
“Detection should occur through a minimum of 2 layers of clothing concealment where those layers are composed of cotton, cotton-polyester, wool, silk and leather materials among others,” DHS officials said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ninth Circuit Strikes California’s Restrictive Rule Against Licensed Carry of Handguns
The Court ruled that a government may specify what mode of carrying to allow (open or concealed), but a government may not make it impossible for the vast majority of Californians to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
No Relief From Snow in New York, Washington, US South
A new storm has plowed into the eastern US. The current bout of snow, wind and ice has triggered widespread road accidents and flight cancellations and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ObamaCare: IRS Demands Businesses Show “Bonafide Reasons” For Layoffs
The IRS will require employers who terminate employees to show that they did so for “bona fide business reasons” in order to be eligible for delaying the Obamacare health insurance employer mandate.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
SC Gov. Haley Says She Backs Carrying Firearms Without Permits, Training
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday that she backs a proposal that would make it legal for most South Carolinians to carry guns — concealed or in the open — without a permit or the training that the state currently requires.
Haley made her comments after she signed into law a bill that allows gun owners with licenses to carry concealed weapons into businesses that serve alcohol — restaurants and bars — as long as they do not drink alcohol and the businesses did not bar guns.
After signing the restaurant and bar bill, Haley said she backs a pending state Senate bill, called the “Constitutional Carry Act,” that would eliminate the state’s current permitting and training requirements for citizens who wish to carry firearms.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Zoning Hearing on Mosque Set Thursday in Pocatello
POCATELLO — The Islamic Society of Southeastern Idaho will ask the City of Pocatello for a conditional use permit to establish a mosque on South Five Avenue during a public hearing on Thursday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
In Sochi, Team Canada Gets All the Free Beer They Can Drink
Oh, Canada knows how to make the good times roll at the Winter Olympics with a little taste, or a sip, of home. Canadian beer company Molson had a fire-engine red beer fridge shipped in to Team Canada Olympic House in Sochi, fully stocked with free beer. But here’s the catch, you need a Canadian passport to open it.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Attacker Wanted to Humiliate Bulgaria’s Dogan
Oktay Enimehmedov, the young Bulgarian Turk, who attacked the honorary, lifetime Chairman of DPS Ahmed Dogan, did not attempt murder. The statement was made Wednesday under oath in the courtroom by the former Director of the Institute for Psychology at the Interior Ministry, Nedelcho Stoychev, and his deputy, Rosen Yordanov. The two have been the first ones to hear Enimehmedov’s story of what he did and why he did it, literally minutes after he attacked Dogan with a gas pistol…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Avoid ‘Dumping’ In Trade Deal, Warns Germany’s Gabriel
German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has warned US and EU officials negotiating a free trade deal that Germany will not accept cuts in social and environmental norms. “Blind privatization” was untenable, he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium Approves Assisted Suicide for Minors
The Belgian parliament has voted to allow children access to assisted suicide. Despite strong opposition from religious organizations and some doctors, the legislation had enjoyed widespread popular support.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Coded Rune is 900-Year-Old Viking Valentine
More than 900 years ago, Vikings used coded runes to send frivolous romantic messages to each other, a researcher at the University of Oslo has discovered, with one message, written on a piece of bone in Sweden, simply saying, “Kiss me”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
England Braces for More Rain as it Deals With Widespread Flooding
Heavy rains have been forecast to continue overnight in England as a winter storm moves northward. The country has been hit with the heaviest rainfall in 250 years, causing widespread flooding in London and other areas.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ENI Sees 2014-2017 Hydrocarbon Output Rising by 3% a Year
Company to sell 9 bn euros in assets over 2014-2017 period
(ANSA) — London, February 13 — Italian oil major Eni expects its annual hydrocarbon production rate in the 2014-2017 period to rise by 3%, according to the company’s new business plan released Thursday.
In the 2017-2023 period, the average growth rate is expected to jump further still, to an annual increase of 4%. Operational cash flow, meanwhile, in the 2016-2017 period is expected to gain to 55%.
Management said it had proposed to the board a 2014 dividend of 1.12 euros, a 1.8% increase in the payout levels from the previous years. The company also said it expects investments to drop by 5% in the next 4 years, to 54 billion euros. Eni will sell assets for a total of nine billion euros in the 2014-2017 period, of which 2.2 billion euros are related to the sale of its holdings in Arctic Russia.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Overrules Objection to Genetically Modified Corn
Italy among 12 member nations that petitioned health commission
(ANSA) — Brussels, February 13 — The European Union on Thursday turned down a request made by 12 member nations urging it to rethink rules governing genetically modified maize crops, saying that there was no new development to evaluate.
Italy is among the nations that had written to European Health Commissioner Tonio Borg asking him not to approve a particular strain of genetically modified corn for human consumption.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece on High Alert After Extremists Declare War on ‘German Capitalist Machine’
Greek authorities have stepped up security after a leftist extremist group declared war on the “German capitalist machine.” The group has claimed responsibility for attacks on a Mercedes-Benz branch and on the German ambassador’s residence in Athens.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Terror Probe Widens After Rocket Attack
Police forensic experts were on Wednesday examining a metal shard believed to be a fragment of a rocket-propelled missile recovered from the premises of German car dealer Mercedes-Benz in Varibombi, northern Athens, which a far-leftist guerrilla organization claimed to have targeted last month, against the backdrop of fears of a spike in domestic terrorism.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Perplexed at UN’s Position on Marines Case
Foreign minister says she feels ‘bitterness’ over India
(By Sandra Cordon) (ANSA) — Rome, February 13 — Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino told parliament Thursday she would meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Navi Pillay, in Geneva over the case of two Italian marines facing charges in India for allegedly shooting two fishermen during an anti-piracy million.
The government “initiated contact” with the OHCHR on Tuesday concerning the fact that servicemen Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone had still not been charged two years after the shootings, said Bonino.
She also reported that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “assured me he would subsequently take action with the Indian authorities” over the case.
Earlier, Bonino had said she felt “great bitterness and perplexity” that Ban had initially said the case of the Italian marines was strictly a “bilateral” matter. Bonino argued that the situation “is not a question of a disagreement between two UN members but of a critical mass of countries raising a matter of fundamental principle”.
Ban’s position not only sparked anger in Italy, but reignited warnings that future participation in anti-piracy missions could be jeopardized if the matter is not resolved. Indeed, earlier this week the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, warned the case of the marines has implications for all Europe and for all efforts to combat piracy.
On Thursday, Ashton said she would also raise the matter with Ban during meetings the following day. European Union countries have also agreed to put further pressure on Ban over the position concerning servicemen Latorre and Girone, who have been awaiting charges for the alleged murder of Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after the marines reportedly opened fire on their fishing trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala in February 2012.
“We now have the support of the European Union and NATO, the relationship is no longer limited to a bilateral dispute, the application of basic principles of the state of law is at stake,” Bonino told parliament.
On Monday prosecutors in India told the supreme court they intended to charge Latorre and Girone for murder under the terms of a severe anti-terrorism law but stressed they would not seek the death penalty in the event of a conviction.
Instead, the pair could face a maximum of 10 years in jail.
However, Italy insists that their prosecution under the anti-terrorism law is unacceptable and warns that its application would equate the country to a terrorist state.
“They are neither terrorists nor pirates,” Bonino said. The supreme court is expected to rule on the use of the anti-terrorism law on February 17.
The two marines have been living and working at the Italian embassy in India pending charges in the case that has stressed relations between India and Italy.
A long-awaited ruling on the charge is scheduled for Monday in New Delhi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Daughter of Convicted Palermo Boss Repudiates Mafia Roots
Giovanna Galatolo says father gave orders from jail
(ANSA) — Rome, February 13 — The daughter of a former Sicilian Cosa Nostra boss on Thursday rejected her mafia roots and decided to collaborate with the judiciary in what a member of the Senate’s anti-mafia commission described as an example to be followed. “I no longer want to be part of the Mafia, why should I? Just because my father is a Mafia boss?” said Giovanna Galatolo, daughter of the former head of Palermo’s Acquasanta mafia clan, Enzo Galatolo, who is serving a life sentence for the 1982 assassination of army General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa in Palermo.
“No, I’m not having it. I want to devote myself entirely to my daughter,” she told prosecutors in the trial of Angelo Galatolo and Franco Mineo, a former member of Sicily’s regional parliament.
Mineo faces various charges in connection with his alleged role as frontman for Galatolo in exchange for votes. Giovanna also told investigators her father ran the clan from prison.
“He used conventional signs to tell us what we had to do,” she said. Her decision to act as a police informant was hailed by Democratic Party (PD) Senator Giuseppe Lumia, a member of the Senate’s anti-mafia commission. “Mafia women follow the example of Carmela Iuculano, Giusy Vitale and now Giovanna Galatolo,” he said.
“To repudiate their mafia membership means to become free women. A mass defection by women could do unquantifiable damage to the Cosa Nostra”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Why Does This Bookstore Keep Its Books in Bathtubs?
Venice’s Libreria Acqua Alta keeps its books in bathtubs, gondolas and canoes—and not just for show
Libreria Acqua Alta, a bookstore in Venice, has come up with a solution to the city’s acquatic whims. A mix between “a flea market and a serious library,” the bookshop stores their wares (books, new and used, of nearly every genre) stacked along walls and piled in gondolas and bathtubs. The shop features a famous fire exit, which leads visitors to the back of the store and toe-to-toe with the canal. When the canal rises, the store floods with inches of water—but the books remain preserved, thanks to their special storage spaces.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Head ‘Concerned’ Over India Marines Terror Charge
‘Negative implications’ for fight against piracy
(ANSA) — Brussels, February 12 — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday he was “personally concerned” that two Italian anti-piracy marines accused of murdering two Indian fishermen two years ago are facing terrorism charges. He said the case could have “negative implications” for the fight against piracy, echoing European Union officials.
Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are facing trial allegedly for killing two fishermen they mistook as pirates.
India has invoked the international SUA Act against piracy and terrorism in the slaying of Ajesh Binki and Valentine alias Gelastine on board an Indian trawler off the Kerala coast of southern India on February 15, 2012.
Indian prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty but a maximum of 10 years.
Italy says the incident took place in international waters and has sought to have the case heard in Italy.
It appealed to the United Nations to uphold the marines’ rights but UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday it was a bilateral issue.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Ten-Year-Old Joyrider Claims to be Dwarf
A ten-year-old Norwegian boy took his toddler sister for a joyride in the family car, ending up in a snowy ditch posing as a dwarf, police and media reports said Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Red Cross Doctor in Austria Rejects Blood Donations From Muslims
A doctor working for the Red Cross in the Austrian city of Linz has caused outrage by criticizing a blood donation campaign by an Islamic charity, claiming that Muslims who come from Muslim countries have bad blood.
The IRG foundation has been campaigning for Muslims to donate blood, but the Red Cross doctor’s claim that Muslims all at very least have Hepititus B left charity worker Aysun Ozdemir shocked…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Over 400 Roma Demand Compensation for Database
Hundreds of Swedes have turned to the Security and Integrity Board (SIN) with compensation claims in the belief that their names were included in the highly controversial secret database of Roma kept by the police in Skåne. SIN, which has access to the names on the register, has now examined 60 cases where persons are present in the register, and all of these will be handed over to the Chancellor of Justice to decide on potential damages. SIN says it has over 400 cases left to work through.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Weather: Wild Wednesday Whips Up the Most Widespread Misery Yet
As the flood waters rise, hurricane winds cause power and transport disrutption, with ‘red’ severe weather warnings issued
It had been nicknamed Wild Wednesday by forecasters, but February 12 will be remembered as Black Wednesday by thousands after hurricane-force winds and yet more flooding left parts of Britain in lockdown. At one point on Wednesday evening, thousands of rail passengers were stranded as trains were ordered to pull in to the nearest station to see out the worst of the storm.
Crewe station, at the heart of the West Coast Main Line, was shut after its roof blew off and the M6 was closed by bad weather. Even the Clifton Suspension Bridge was closed as storms made the 704ft span sway…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: 1,400 Sign Petition Against Planned £17m Mosque in Cambridge’s Mill Road
More than 1,400 people have signed a petition against a planned £17.5 million Cambridge mosque in another attack by the English Defence League (EDL). The latest bid to stop the construction of the mosque in Mill Road comes after a protest group was criticised for a legal application to block it being built in which they claimed it could be “a front for terrorism”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Flood-Hit Areas Are a ‘Battlefield’ As Thousands of Soldiers Are Deployed
Army chief says that commanding officers are applying ‘battle-group’ skills an ‘unparalleled natural crisis’
Britain is in the grip of an “unparalleled natural crisis”, the Army officer in charge of the flood recovery effort declared on Wednesday. As hurricane-force winds gusting at more than 100mph lashed the country, forecasters warned that the weather will get worse this weekend as a month’s worth of rain falls in just 48 hours. The chaos now threatens to derail Britain’s economic recovery, Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England warned…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamic Preachers: The Pied Pipers of Sexual Apartheid?
British universities are the new base for a breed of hard-line doctrine intent on the segregation of young men and women
A young man called Ishmael, with a wispy black beard and a slight blemish in one eye, is telling me why women should be covered up and kept apart. “If I had two sweets — one wrapped and one unwrapped — and threw them in a bin, which one would you pick out and eat?”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Successful Test Flight for Taranis Stealth Drone
Taranis, the most advanced aircraft ever built by British engineers, surpassed all expectations during its first flight trials last year
Until now, it had been shrouded in secrecy. But defence chiefs have provided a brief glimpse of Britain’s top secret experimental stealth drone, declaring that it had “surpassed all expectations” during closely guarded test flights.
The £185 million Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder, has been billed as the most technologically advanced aircraft ever built in the UK.
Although its speed has not been disclosed, it is understood to be designed to be supersonic and capable of crossing continents. It is hoped that Taranis will lead to stealth jets and drones able to hit targets deep inside enemy territory while evading their defences.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Wave of Suspected Bombs Sent to Armed Forces Recruiting Offices
Terrorism police are investigating a total of six suspected bombs sent to Armed Forces recruiting offices this week
Terrorist police are investigating an apparent bombing campaign against Armed Forces recruiting offices after four more suspected bombs were posted to careers centres. Military bomb squad officers were called to three recruiting offices on Thursday after suspect packages were sent to careers centres in Berkshire and Kent earlier in the week. Thursday’s suspect packages were found in offices in Brighton, Slough and Oxford. Another suspect device was also sent to an office in Aldershot on Wednesday it was disclosed…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Killing Spree Terrorises Citizens
The body count in Libya is climbing. Unknown assassins settling scores, extremists out to make a point, military wings of political blocks eliminating rivals and outlaw gangs killing for profit are leaving a bloody trail from Derna to Benghazi. And citizens say the government appears unable to stop it.
The latest victim of a targeted assassination was a former policeman. On Monday (February 10th), Montasser Anwar Bennaser had just dropped off his son at school in Derna when a bomb exploded under his car…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Salafist Imam Awaits Morocco Verdict
A Casablanca court will render a verdict in the case of salafist imam Abdelhamid Abounaim on Wednesday (February 19th). An investigation into Abounaïm was opened in January after he posted a YouTube fatwa against a politician and his party.
In the December 27th video, Abounaim said that the “infidel” Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) had promoted kufr in all of its activities since the 1950s. He named current party chief Driss Lachgar and former USFP figures, such as Mehdi Ben Berka…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Deputy Minister Hails Anti-Kerry March
Nationalists near W. Bank settlement, gov’t officials expected
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 13 — Israel’s deputy defense minister praised a nationalist right-wing march taking place in the E1 zone of the West Bank on Thursday afternoon as “very important”.
“All eyes will be on us, both in Jerusalem and in Washington,” said the Likud party member, Danny Danon, on the Israeli settlers radio channel prior to taking part in the “mass march”.
The demonstration will be held next to the huge Israeli settlement Maleeh Adunim to protest US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to bring in a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A number of ministers from Benyamin Netanyahu’s government will be participating in the initiative.
“We are aware of the strong pressure that Kerry is putting on Netanyahu, but the prime minister,” he added, “should remember that he was elected” by the nation and thus should conduct the country’s affairs according to the will of the people. Danon reiterated that Israel “must be allowed to build” more homes for settlers in the E1 zone.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
PA Water Consumption the Same as the Rest of Arab World
Yuval Steinitz, who is Minister of Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs, said Thursday that European Parliament President Martin Schulz made “a serious error” in his address to the Knesset Wednesday.
Schultz quoted Palestinian incitement without even checking its veracity, Steinitz told Voice of Israel public radio.
Regarding the differences in water consumption between Israelis and Palestinian Authority (PA) residents, Steinitz said that the consumption in the PA is similar to the average in the Arab world and should not be compared to the average consumption in Israel, where the standard of living is higher…
[The EU is over fond of applying double standards to Israel; disseminating Islamofascist lies seems to be in vogue there]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Photographer Rankin Says Scarlett Johansson Submitted to ‘Powerful Jewish Zealots’
British photographer Rankin has launched a blistering attack on what he called “powerful Jewish zealots” in the United States and blamed “extreme Judaism” for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In an interview with the Independent, the portrait and fashion photographer criticised actress Scarlett Johansson for leaving her ambassadorial role with Oxfam over a row regarding Israeli West Bank settlements…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Schulz Tells Welt He Can’t Only Say Popular Things
Pro-Israel speech, bound to represent EU position, he says
(ANSAmed) — BERLIN, FEBRUARY 13 — European Parliament President Martin Schulz told German daily Die Welt in an interview published Thursday that he was bound “to represent the position of the European Parliament” in a controversial address to the Knesset the previous day. “Naturally, I can’t only say thinks that please all”, he was quoted as saying by the paper.
Schulz was referring to a speech he gave Wednesday at the Israeli parliament during which the economy minister left the assembly in protest. “I gave a speech in favor of Israel”, added Schulz, who was criticized for asking whether it was true Palestinians had no water.
Schulz said he was surprised by the strong reaction to his address, adding however that several lawmakers from different parties and government members applauded at the end of his address. “People who protested are hard-liners who react to every word of criticism in this way”, he added. “They also attacked US Secretary of State John Kerry in the same way”, he concluded.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UN Middle East Envoy Voices Concern Over Deteriorating Situation in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — Top UN envoy for the Middle East voiced deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said that, “During the past two months, we have seen more rockets being fired at Israel, border incidents, and Israeli retaliatory operations causing death or injury to civilians,” UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters here at a daily news briefing…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iran’s Press TV and David Duke Endorse “Zionism Unsettled” Report
A century ago the Presbyterian Church was among the leading Christian Zionists. These days a minority within the Presbyterian Church USA is engaged in relentless delegitimization of Israel through a decade long BDS campaign. Their affiliate the Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) released last month a 74 page guide, Zionism Unsettled (the Guide) that recently stoked the ire of the American Jewish community. A JNS.org story on the Zionism Unsettled guide cited Rabbi Noam Marans, the American Jewish Committee’s Director of Intergroup and Interreligious Relations, who called it:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait: Theft, Bribery Rife at Govt Institutions
Harried Kuwaitis, expats pay up to avoid hassles
Salem, a government employee, was surprised when a female colleague bought a new luxury car and paid in cash. Working at one of the local Citizen Service Centers, Salem soon discovered the source of his colleague’s sudden windfall. She was stealing money that people paid in traffic fines. “Instead of putting these payments in the safe, she simply put them in her bag,” he told Kuwait Times. “The lady had a system to steal the money paid by traffic offenders. She would lift the traffic fine for a short period, then add it again to the file of the vehicle owner who already paid it. She was banking on the fact that people usually throw away the receipt after paying and leaving the place, so even if they notice the same fines have reappeared, they can’t prove it as the receipts are lost,” Salem explained. When he reported the scam to his superiors, Salem was transferred to another office outside Kuwait City. “When I left, the corrupt employee was still there. I believe the boss is also involved. This was clear when a person who paid his traffic fines discovered that the same fines were registered again. He had kept his receipts, so he came complaining. I’m not sure how they handled his complaint,” said Salem…
| — Hat tip: RR | [Return to headlines] |
By Badrya Darwish
Parallel to the Hala February festivals and celebrations, TV channels do vox pops on the streets about people’s national origins, their feelings of the celebrations and their reasons to visit Kuwait. The TV stations go around asking people about their opinion of the celebrations. The funniest part was a TV segment that I watched this week. The broadcaster announced that in the downtown square, they were greeting tourists from Denmark who came to celebrate the Hala February holidays in Kuwait. My expectation was to see a tall, blonde English-speaking girl with a German accent talking about her exotic visit to the hotspot Kuwait. After all, she travelled halfway around the world for the occasion. Instead, in front of the camera I saw the 180 degree extreme — an Arab-looking and Arabic-speaking woman dressed in the traditional black abaya and black headscarf. She was speaking Arabic in a Kurdish or Iraqi accent. I couldn’t tell which one exactly. Was that a Danish tourist? Was something wrong with my eyes? Or maybe the presenter made a mistake by not saying that the interviewee was Iraqi or Kurdish. The woman who might have married and moved to Denmark was interviewed as a Danish subject. This was the most hilarious thing I have seen from the Hala February coverage. Of course the lady came to visit relatives in Kuwait. What was the funniest part of the interview with the Danish guest was when she started throwing words in broken English while answering the questions in Arabic. Since the visa issuing department was closed for the annual inventory, when it reopened, many visa requests had accumulated and thousands of people apply to bring friends and family into the country. The month of February also helps when many travel agencies manage to get visas and flights for those who book hotels through them. Another nice ad I saw for Hala February was from a travel agent advertising visits to Kuwait. The ad said that the accommodation was in a 4-star hotel with somebody accompanying you during your shopping trips. The list of visits to places included Avenues mall, 360, Marina and Hawally mall. The last on the list was Mahameed Mall. I guess these are the places we have in Kuwait that are advertised as places of interest. In addition to the Danish guest! Couldn’t the presenter find a real Western tourist to talk about Hala February? Did it have to be a Danish guest of Arab origin? There are many people from faraway destinations that come to visit. They could have been interviewed instead. Give me a break!
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Lebanon: Jackie Chamoun: Nude Photo, Video Controversy at Olympics Angers Muslims
Is Jackie Chamoun’s naked photo and video controversy being generated by Muslims who are digging up dirt on the Lebanese skier competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics? Or perhaps the Lebanese really just want to strip for Jackie…
[JP note: See also http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10622670/Winter-Olympics-Sochi-2014-Russian-women-are-notoriously-sexual.-Stop-judging-us.html ]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
IS PRESIDENT Obama creeping toward a rethinking of his Syria policy? Some words he spoke Tuesday raised our hopes. At a news conference with French President François Hollande, Mr. Obama described the Syrian conflict, which he dismissed five months ago as “someone else’s civil war,” as “one of our highest national security priorities.” He acknowledged that his diplomatic strategy is “far from achieving” its aim of a political solution, while “we still have a horrendous situation on the ground.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
New Video of Abducted Ma’aloula Nuns, Calling for the Release of “All Detainees” In Syria
The video was broadcast by Al Jazeera. This time the sisters do not speak and there is only a voiceover. The sisters are a bargaining chip: the rebels want the release of all detainees in Syria.
Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies ) — A new video showing the religious sisters kidnapped from the Christian town of Ma’aloula 55 km north of Damascus, was released yesterday afternoon by Qatar based Al Jazeera television.
The nuns were abducted December 2 from the Greek — orthodox monastery of St. Thecla , and so far all that was known was that they had been transported to Yabroud, in the north, by a group of rebels.
In the video, the sisters do not speak, but a voiceover says: “They say they are in good health, have not been abused and are waiting to be released to return to their convent”. Nothing is said about where they are being held but they are described as having been “kidnapped” and that the sisters are both “Syrian and Lebanese”.
In a video also released by the Qatari television on December 6, the sisters said they had not been kidnapped, but carried from Maaloula to escape the bombing in order to ensure their safety and that they would return in a couple of days.
At the time Syrian media had accused the rebels of using the nuns as human shields, and now it is evident that instead they will use them as a bargaining chip.
In the last sequence of yesterday’s video the voiceover says that “the sisters would like to thank everyone who trying to obtain their release and demand the release of all detainees”.
Their abduction was claimed by the Islamist brigades of al- Ahrar Qalamoun who demanded the release of “a thousand women detained in Syrian prisons of the Syrian regime” in exchange for the release of the sisters.
Pope Francis and Orthodox bishops have appealed for the nuns’ release. Lebanese authorities and the Emir of Qatar has also tried in vain to secure their liberation.
Maaloula, Christian majority town, is famous for being one of the few remaining places where locals still speak the ancient Aramaic, the language of Jesus’ time. However in the past few months it has been the scene of a long battle between the army and rebels. The city was invaded several times by Islamist insurgents who have desecrated churches and monasteries, and killed several Christians.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Killing Accelerates as Peace Talks Falter
(Reuters) — More Syrians have been killed in the three weeks since peace talks began than at any other time in the civil war, activists said on Wednesday, as troops pounded rebel towns on the Lebanese border and negotiations faltered in Geneva…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey World’s Biggest Jail for Journalists Says RWB
Ranks 154th out of 180 countries in key year for civil liberties
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, FEBRUARY 12 — Turkey under Islamist Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan ranked 154th out of 180 countries in the annual Reporters Without Borders (RWB) report on press freedom around the world.
The RWB conclusions echoed findings by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which reported Turkey is among the countries with the most journalists in jail. It ranked 40th out of 221 nations worldwide, preceding Iran (35) and China (32).
“Turkey is the world’s biggest jail for journalists, especially those critical of the authorities on the Kurdish question”, according to RWB.
“This year could be a decisive one for civil liberties in Turkey” ahead of administrative elections in March and presidential ones in August, the watchdog NGO said.
An Erdogan victory could well increase the authoritarian and Islamist tendencies of the powers that be, analysts said.
Telephone wiretaps of Erdogan issuing instructions to TV and newspaper editors, including the removal of certain news items or modifying content, and leaked on the Internet have sparked an uproar in the past few days.
A recent Internet law giving the government license to shut down websites within four hours has also sparked an outcry. The law was rushed through parliament, where Erdogan forces hold an absolute majority.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
India Proposes Joint Maintenance of Aircraft Carrier With Russia
MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) — India has proposed servicing a Russian-built aircraft carrier delivered to the country last month together with Russia’s Sevmash shipyard over the next 40 years, the shipbuilder said Thursday. Sevmash said the current servicing contract is for 20 years, but that Indian naval officials have proposed to extend that timeframe…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Shani Davis, No Matter Where He Finishes, Remains an Unfortunate Exception at Winter Games
SOCHI, Russia — COLUMN | Don’t listen to your friends back home saying the Winter Olympics are just for white people who like the cold and vacation in Aspen. This is the most inclusive Winter Games ever. Why, there are Caucasians here from almost 88 different nations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Orchestrated Protests Are Destabilizing Ukraine
The protests in the western Ukraine are organized by the CIA, the US State Department, and by Washington- and EU-financed Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that work in conjunction with the CIA and State Department. The purpose of the protests is to overturn the decision by the independent government of Ukraine not to join the EU.
The US and EU were initially cooperating in the effort to destroy the independence of Ukraine and make it a subservient entity to the EU government in Brussels. For the EUgovernment, the goal is to expand the EU. For Washington the purposes are to makeUkraine available for looting by US banks and corporations and to bring Ukraine into NATO so that Washington can gain more military bases on Russia’s frontier. There are three countries in the world that are in the way of Washington’s hegemony over the world — Russia, China, and Iran. Each of these countries is targeted by Washington for overthrow or for their sovereignty to be degraded by propaganda and US military bases that leave the countries vulnerable to attack, thus coercing them into accepting Washington’s will.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bomb Attack in Pakistan Kills at Least 11 Policemen
Bus carrying more than 50 police officers struck by a targeted explosion in Karachi, leaving at least 11 policemen dead and more than 30 injured, a number of whom remain critical
An explosion targeting a bus full of Pakistani policemen killed 11 and injured 33 near the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, officials said, in the latest incident of violence while the government and the Taliban are engaged in peace talks…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Islamist Raid in Southern Thailand: Five Dead and Six Wounded
A Buddhist monk, the target of the attack, and a nine year old boy among victims. Last night a 29 year old woman was killed and her body burned. Assault sparked by murder of three little brothers, all Muslim, last week. Rebels announce new attacks. The political crisis in Bangkok has blocked peace talks between the government and Islamists.
Bangkok ( AsiaNews / Agencies) — Five people were killed, including a Buddhist monk and a child of nine years of age, and at least six injured in two separate attacks that took place in the south of Thailand. The region has long been the scene of a separatist Islamist insurgency. Police sources report that both attacks were motivated by the violent murder last week of three young Muslim brothers.
Local witnesses report that this morning four armed men on board motorcycles, opened fire against a monk as he was collecting offers. The attack took place in the district of Mae Lan , in the southern province of Pattani. The bullets struck and killed the priest and three other people present at the scene, including a child. The wounded include a law enforcement officer, who was escorting the monk.
In the second incident, yesterday evening in the district of Yaring , again in Pattani , a Buddhist woman of 29 years of age was killed. The woman was on board of her motorbike on her way home when she was hit by a barrage of bullets, after killing her, the assailants set fire to her corpse. They also left a note on the crime scene addressed “to the head of the army”, in which they explain that “this is not the last body to [ avenge ] the three brothers”.
The three Muslim brothers ( three , five and nine years of age) from the neighboring province of Narathiwat, were shot last week in front of their home, as they returned from evening prayers at the mosque. Their father and mother (who is pregnant) were also involved in the assault, but survived.
In recent days, the Islamist faction had carried out a first act of retaliation for the death of children: On 10 February, the wife of a policeman was killed and then set on fire, in an episode very similar to what happened last night, in the main market of the town in front of a terrified crowd.
A decade-long separatist struggle by Islamic extremists has engulfed southern Thailand on the border Malaysia, which has so far claimed over 5,900 casualties, most of them civilians. The Islamists want autonomy from Thailand, who annexed the region more than a century ago, and accuse the Thai and Buddhist authorities of human rights violations and of not respecting the local culture. Almost every day there are bombings and shootings; peace talks between the government and rebels are in an impasse , exacerbated by the political clash — between Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the opposition led by the Democrat Party — which has been crippling the institutional life in Bangkok and throughout Thailand for months.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Islamabad: An Innocent 24-Year-Old Christian Man Tortured to Death by Police
According to the police, the victim hanged himself. Autopsy results indicate however that he died from “serious internal injuries” sustained during interrogation. Arrested on charges of theft, the young man was subjected to brutal treatment to extract a confession. The incident occurred at a police station considered as a “model” facility.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) — For police, Sabir Masih committed suicide by hanging himself. Medical reports show instead that he died from “severe internal injuries” caused by “torture and abuse.”
The 24-year old Pakistani Christian man died from the brutal treatment he received under police interrogation after he was arrested on unfounded charges of theft.
In order to extract a confession, the agents did not hesitate from using force, causing injuries that proved fatal.
The Catholic Church and members of civil society want justice, exemplary punishment for the perpetrators and an end to the violent deaths of ordinary citizens, innocent victims of so-called law enforcement officials.
A father of two, Sabir Masih was arrested on Tuesday on charges of theft. Police brought him to the Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad, considered a “model” facility after undergoing a major retrofit to improve its efficiency and humane treatment of prisoners.
Held overnight, the young man was interrogated at length. As soon as they found out that Sabir had been arrested, his family rushed to the police station to say that he was not involved in the theft since he had been at work for the whole day and had returned home after that.
“He did not commit any crime,” they shouted in a loud voice, in vain.
In order to get a confession, police used force — a common practice in Pakistan. This in turn caused severe internal injuries that led to Sabir’s death overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
After his death, officers tried to explain the signs of violence by claiming that the young man had committed suicide by hanging himself in cell.
In an attempt to cover up the matter, top police officials also ordered the family to bury him today. The latter however refused, demanding instead an autopsy.
Preliminary results confirm in fact that Sabir Masih died from internal injuries caused by abuse. Nothing indicates that he hanged himself.
An investigation has been launched into the case, but no action has yet been taken against those responsible.
Yesterday, the Catholic Church of Pakistan and civil society groups staged a protest in front of the Press Club of Islamabad, vociferously slamming police brutality.
For protesters, the incident clearly shows that reforms to make the police more democratic and law-abiding have failed.
The Church did not get involved because “Sabir Masih is a Christian,” Catholic sources in the capital said, but because anyone, “Muslim or any other religion,” could have been in his place. At the heart of the matter is police brutality, which should be stopped regardless of religion.
However, if a Christian is detained, he “usually is treated worse by police or when he is in prison,” a Catholic said.
With a population of more than 180 million people (97 per cent Muslim), Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, the second largest Muslim nation after Indonesia.
About 80 per cent of Muslims are Sunni, whilst Shias are 20 per cent. Hindus are 1.85 per cent, followed by Christians (1.6 per cent) and Sikhs (0.04 per cent).
Violence against ethnic and religious minorities is commonplace across the country, with Shia Muslims and Christians as the main target, with things getting worse.
Scores of violent incidents have occurred in recent years, against both individuals — like Asia Bibi, Eimsha Masih or Robert Fanish Masih, a young man who died in prison — or entire communities, like in Gojra in 2009 or Joseph Colony in Lahore in March 2013, often perpetrated under the pretext of the country’s blasphemy laws.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Two US Troops Killed in Apparent Insider Attack in Afghanistan
Gunmen wearing Afghan security uniforms kill two and injure four US troops before being killed themselves in an ensuing gun battle
Two U.S. soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack Wednesday by gunmen wearing Afghan security force uniforms in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. defence officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the attack, which is the latest in a string of incidents in which Afghan troops turned their weapons on their supposed allies…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
How Your Boss Can Keep You on a Leash
Hitachi, the big electronics company based in Japan, is manufacturing and selling to corporations a device intended to increase efficiency in the workplace. It has a rather bland and generic-sounding name: the Hitachi Business Microscope.
But what it is capable of doing … well, just imagine being followed around the office or the factory all day by the snoopiest boss in the world. Even into the restroom. And, the thing is, once you hear about it, you just know that, from a management point of view, it is an innovation of absolute genius.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Australia: Boy Dead, Police Shoot Father in Tyabb
Luke Batty, the 11-old victim of a fatal bashing which culminated in his father being shot by police, had just finished training with his cricket team on Wednesday night when the attack began.
Tributes to the slain boy are mounting on social media as police call for witnesses to come forward after the boy’s father was shot by police on Wednesday night. Luke Batty was bashed to death and his father died in hospital after police shot the 54-year-old in the chest at the sports oval on the Mornington Peninsula…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Father Shot and Killed by Police After Beating Son to Death at Cricket Training in Australia
Father killed his 11-year-old son at a cricket training session before being shot dead by police in front of bystanders, including children
A father in Australia used a cricket bat to smash his 11-year-old son to death following a cricket training session in an alarming case that has shocked the nation.
Moments before his death, Luke Batty asked his mother for some extra time to practice with Greg Batty, his father, whom the boy apparently loved but rarely saw. At a suburban oval in Melbourne, Greg Batty, 54, who was mentally ill, bowled several deliveries to his son and then used a cricket bat to kill his only child before being shot dead by police…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Former Wollongong Cabbie ‘No Danger to Public’
A Wollongong man who allegedly threatened to blow himself up outside NSW parliament last year is a danger to himself, but not the public, a Sydney court has heard. Abdula Ganiji, 58, sparked a dramatic two-hour stand-off with riot police last December after parking outside state parliament with containers of petrol in his car and allegedly making a series of threats…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: 39 Killed, 2,000 Houses Destroyed as Boko Haram Invades Borno
Maiduguri — Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has said that members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect were better motivated to carry out attacks on innocent people more than the Nigerian security agents who were fighting them. Shettima spoke in an interview with newsmen shortly after inspecting the magnitude of the destruction carried out by Boko Haram insurgents at Konduga, Tuesday evening…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
32 Injured in Clash Between Police, Protesters in Brazil
BRASILIA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — At least 30 police officers and two protesters were injured during a protest here on Wednesday, local media reported. The clash began when the police used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesting members of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) who gathered outside main government buildings…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Three Killed After Marches in Venezuela
Caracas — Venezuela’s government and the opposition traded accusations after at least three people were shot dead in the worst unrest since protests last year that followed President Nicolas Maduro’s narrow election victory…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Amnesty: Is This Still America, Or Did I Move?
by Ann Coulter
Americans are under no moral obligation to admit huge numbers of people who have no particular right to be here just because the Democrats need 30 million new voters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Still Wants You, Minister Tells Axed Investor Migrants
Immigration chief tells applicants in Hong Kong and on mainland not to give up after scrapping of the hugely popular investor visa programme
Canada’s immigration minister has invited tens of thousands of Chinese millionaires to find other ways of getting into the country. The appeal comes after the scrapping of a controversial investor visa scheme that resulted in their applications being dumped.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Minister Rules Out ‘Swiss’ Migrant Vote
Norwegian Justice Minister Anders Anundsen on Wednesday ruled out holding a referendum on immigration, rejecting a request by a fellow member of his populist party to follow in the footsteps of Switzerland.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Teen Allowed to Stay in Sweden
The deportation of a teenage girl from Pakistan back to her homeland has been blocked at the 11th hour by the Swedish Migration Board after the threat of genital mutilation and arranged marriage was factored into her case.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: “Society Has Failed Boys”
Boys left behind in the classroom
Girls continue to outperform boys at school and teachers continue to do little to reverse the trend in Swedish classrooms, according to a new government study “Man and Equality” which was presented today. “It is a failure on the part of the school, not least illustrated by this results performance gap between boys and girls which has been around for a very long time,” says the government’s special investigator Svend Dahl.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Threatens Businesses With Sex Quotas as Women Snubbed
Sweden may consider forcing corporate boards to appoint more women after finding voluntary programs failed to bring about greater gender equality.
Companies must “much more carefully take a look at recruitments to boards this spring and at the annual general meetings and we must then see that improvements are being made,” Finance Minister Anders Borg said yesterday in Stockholm. “If we see another year of things moving sideways” Sweden will “gradually move towards being forced to launch quota legislation,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Girl Guides Offers Concession to Christians in Row Over Dropping God From Pledge
Christian members of the Girl Guides will be allowed to mention God before they take the organisation’s new pledge in a compromise backed by the Church of England’s Synod
The Girl Guide movement last night offered an olive-branch to Christians over the decision to drop references to God from its traditional pledge after pressure from the Church of England over the issue. Members of the movement will be now be able to add a line to the start of the new promise specifically mentioning God.
The announcement came as the Church of England’s General Synod voted overwhelmingly to endorse the approach. Christians voiced dismay last year when the organisation announced that, following a major consultation exercise with its members, it was dropping references to God from the traditional pledge…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists See Traces of European Colonialism, Mongol Empire in Human Genes
Using a technique called “chromosome painting,” the researchers were also able to illustrate the genetic flow caused by other historical events, such as the Arab slave trade that introduced African DNA to populations around the Mediterranean, the Arab Peninsula and what is now Iran and Pakistan from A.D. 800-1000.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |