Chinese state TV insulted departing American Ambassador Gary Lock by calling him a banana. Mr. Locke is an ethnic Chinese, and the epithet refers to his being yellow on the outside but white on the inside.
I find these fruit and food racial insults interesting. American blacks refer to “oreos”, and Pakistanis to “coconuts”. Then there are those non-racial “watermelons” — Green on the outside, Red on the inside.
In other Chinese news, an unspecified number of knife-wielding terrorists attacked a crowd of people in Kunming, killing 27 and wounding more than a hundred. There’s no word yet on whether cultural enrichment played a role in the attacks.
In other news, despite President Obama’s stern warning, Russia has continued its occupation of key strategic locations in the Crimea region of Ukraine. Today President Vladimir Putin asked the upper chamber of the Duma to approve the use of military troops in Ukraine (which it did), but that was a mere formality at this point.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, 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.
EU Asks Economy Ministry for Clarification on Bank of Italy
Asks explanation of revaluation of equity stakes
(ANSA) — Rome, February 28 — The EU has asked the Italian economy ministry for clarification on the operation of revaluation of equity stakes in the Bank of Italy, Italian treasury sources said Friday.
It might amount to State aid, the EU said in what it stressed was merely an inquiry.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Imposes Capital Controls, Limits Foreign Currency Withdrawals
Yesterday we reported that as part of the Ukrainian central bank’s plan to bailout the nation’s largely insolvent private banks, it would provide any needed funding but only “if they will remain under open control of the National Bank of Ukraine.” And since the new CB head Stepan Kubiv’s allegiance to Europe were already well-known, this was merely a quick and efficient way of providing Europe with all the banking details including asset holdings of the local population. Today, the annexation of the country’s banking system by a “benevolent” Europe is complete.
Itar-Tass reports that Ukraine’s national bank has imposed temporary limits to withdraw money from foreign currency deposits to sums equivalent to no more than 15,000 hryvnias (about $1,500) a day, National Bank Chief Stepan Kubiv told a press conference. Or, as the citizens of Cyprus call it — capital controls.
Why is Ukraine doing this? Because when your currency is crashing at a record pace to unseen lows, what is the best way to limit FX transactions? Simple — just minimize the amount of foreign currency that can be in circulation.
Which is also why the the central bank’s capital controls do not touch local currency: there is more than enough of that in circulation since after all Ukraine has its own currency and can print it in infinite amounts: “For hryvnia deposits you may take as much as a million or two. Banks have liquidity,” Kubiv said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
12 Years a Slave to Become Mandatory Viewing in Government Schools
For the state, racism is the best divide and rule strategy out there. Instead of coming together to defeat a common enemy — a bankster dominated plutocratic state — racial division is recycled and reinvented to keep us fighting among ourselves. From the Roman Empire onward, elites have used divide et impera to rule and dominate. Thus it comes as little surprise this age old tactic is being used to control children in government internment camps — also known as public schools — and a new generation is being prepared to embrace self destructive tribalism.
– From The Guardian today:
Students at US schools are to watch the Oscar-nominated race drama 12 Years a Slave as part of the national curriculum from September…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Fluoride Activists Pressure Austin City Council Not to Renew Contract
The City of Austin, like many cities across the nation, spends millions of dollars on contracts with companies like Mosaic to fluoridate, or pollute, the region’s water supply based on a few inconclusive studies alleging that it protects children’s teeth from cavities. Not only is fluoride unnecessary to prevent tooth decay, but it’s been known to cause fluorosis in children, a condition that changes the appearance of tooth enamel, leaving permanent white stains.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes this condition; however, the agency justifies this side effect by referring to it as a “cosmetic” effect and not an adverse health effect.
The harmful consequences of fluoride became even more prominent after a recently released study conducted by Harvard University and published in July 2012 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences journal, showed “children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQs than those who lived in low fluoride areas.”
Mosaic’s very own material safety data sheet reveals the horrendous dangers associated with flourosilicic acid, including being “[c]orrosive to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes through direct contact, inhalation or ingestion,” and it can cause “burns, which may not be immediately apparent.” Contact with the eye can instigate severe irritation, burns and permanent damage, and overexposure to fluoride can result in death.
Harvard’s recent study regarding the dangers of fluoride was so convincing that the EPA altered their recommended fluoride levels, lowering them from 1.2 to 0.7 ppm.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bosnian Youth Transform Lincoln Church Into Mosque
Melisa Sarajlic and Senada Gusic were Lincoln kindergartners when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The girls, both Bosnian immigrants, didn’t grasp the magnitude of the event at the time, but they clearly remember hostility and distrust for anyone Muslim…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Connecticut Patriot Group Fights Back Against Confiscation Order
‘We Are Armed… And Are Familiar With the Finer Points of Marksmanship’
The war on liberty is coming to a head in Connecticut, where tens of thousands of gun owners have refused to comply with their state government’s gun registration laws. Officials have literally ordered those who failed to meet the registration deadline to surrender their firearms or face arrest.
The State of Connecticut is now demanding that gun owners across the state turn in all newly-banned, unregistered firearms and magazines or face felony arrest.
The State Police Special Licensing & Firearms Unit began mailing out notices to gun owners who attempted to register their firearms and accessories with the state but did not do so in time for the Jan. 1 deadline of Connecticut’s newly enacted gun control law.
The law bans the sale of magazines holding over 10 rounds and “assault rifles” manufactured after 1994 and requires that residents who possessed either before the ban to register them with the state.
It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to understand that the enforcement of this law can only come at the barrel of a gun. Therefore, we can conclude that we may soon see SWAT-style raids on the homes of suspected law breakers. Because we’re talking about gun confiscation, you can be fully assured that the state will not be knocking nicely, and they won’t be asking residents to exist their homes.
They’re going in full force.
But Americans simply don’t take well to being told what to do, especially as it relates to their Second Amendment rights.
These unreasonable demands, which have yet to pass muster with the U.S. Supreme Court, have prompted Mike Vanderboegh of Connecticut’s Sipsey Street Irregulars to go on the offensive. Earlier this week Vanderboegh publicly posted the names, addresses, phone numbers and provided direct access to pictures of all CT legislators involved with passage of the gun confiscation bill, saying that since the government has a list it “seems obvious to me that it is thus only fair to list those anti-constitutional tyrants.”
The Daily Sheeple reports:
Sometimes you just have to fight fire with fire. And that is exactly what Mike Vanderboegh has chosen to do. The state of Connecticut wants to make a list — a list of gun owners. So, Vanderboegh has created his own list — a list of those state legislators who are insisting that certain firearms be banned or registered.
Here is the post, A Sipsey Street Public Service Announcement: The Connecticut Tyrants List:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Township to Put Cameras ‘In Every Neighborhood’
Officials in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan are working with police to put surveillance cameras in every single neighborhood.
After placing multiple cameras throughout the city’s West Willow neighborhood several years ago, township officials claim the program’s vast success, which is reportedly centered around one single case, warrants an expansive rollout to every last neighborhood.
When attempting to find public support for the program, WDIV used quick editing to create the desired answer from a surveillance weary resident…
Despite a clear attempt by WDIV to portray massive public support for the incoming cameras, a quick glance at comments from residents shows quite the opposite.
“What’s next ? In our homes? Our showers? “Our minds?” Alissa Fortin said.
Although the township claims the program will cause a major dent in criminal activity, countless studies have proven that surveillance cameras do little to deter crime.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Naked Body Scanners Deployed on US Streets
Roll out 1,000 times worse than 1984
A New Jersey airport sets up “Energy Efficient” Lights that also spy on travelers before they even get to the ticket counter.
These “energy-efficient” upgrades are popping up all over the country, helping the mass surveillance apparatus save money while stealing liberties.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Surveillance Hurting Tech Firms’ Business
It used to be that tech titans such as Cisco Systems and IBM could bank on fertile markets in Asia and Europe in their quest for worldwide financial domination. Not so much anymore.
The National Security Agency, and revelations about its extensive surveillance operations — sometimes with the cooperation of tech firms — have undermined the ability of many U.S. companies to sell products in key foreign countries, creating a fissure with the U.S. government and prompting some to scramble to create “NSA-resistant” products. The fallout could cost the tech industry billions of dollars in potential contracts, which has executives seething at the White House.
“Suspicion of U.S. vendors is running at an all-time high,” says Andrew Jaquith, chief technology officer at cloud-security firm SilverSky.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Nuclear Expert: ‘Half of the Reactors Operating Today in the US Do Not Meet NRC Regulations’
… a Third Of The Reactors In The United States Aren’t Protected Against Flooding If An Upstream Dam Were To Fail … Another 27 Reactors Are Not Protected Against Earthquake Hazards”
The risk of a nuclear meltdown in the United States is even greater than it was at Fukushima.
Yet the U.S. Nuclear regulatory Commission (NRC) has weakened safety standards for U.S. nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster.
David Lochbaum — Director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists, who worked as a nuclear engineer for nearly two decades, and has written numerous articles and reports on various aspects of nuclear safety and published two books — explained today:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ObamaCare Causing Target to Drop Coverage for Part-Time Employees
(NaturalNews) We have warned for more than a year that the Affordable Care Act will prove to be one of the most harmful, job-killing, economy-destroying pieces of legislation ever, and with each passing week we are consistently proven correct.
One of the boldest — and easiest — predictions we made regarding the ill effects of Obamacare was that the law’s employer mandate would cause a net reduction in employment. The employer mandate, you may recall, is a provision in the law that requires all employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide them with health insurance coverage.
Well, that provision alone, we knew, would cost employers lots of money — costs that would either a) be passed onto customers in the form of higher prices (which is happening); or b) be reduced by reducing the number of full-time employees (which has also been happening, hence the “part-time economy” reference that some fiscal experts have begun to utilize to describe today’s economic conditions).
That said, sometimes it is no fun being right.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ObamaCare: Now Appearing on Your Restaurant Bill
That the bulk of Americans (especially those 4+ million whose insurance policies have recently been cancelled as a result of the ACA) have to pay more for healthcare as a result of Obamacare, is now largely accepted and well-known. But did you know that the cost of Obamacare is slowly metastasizing to other places? Such as your restaurant bill.
Presenting Exhibit A…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Online Italian Culture Portal Opens in U.S.
Events organised by diplomatic network across the country
(ANSA) — Washington, February 28 — A portal illustrating Italian cultural events in the United States has opened.
The site, www.italyinus.org, run by Italy’s diplomatic network in the US, covers hundreds of events set up under the aegis of the Italian embassy in Washington, the Italian consulates and the Italian institutes of culture across the States.
Portal organisers said its bywords were “simplicity and completeness”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Police Pushing Access to Security Cameras Inside Public Schools
Police expand push for control of private and public cameras
It’s not enough the Austin Police Department has surveillance cameras mounted in nearly every corner of the city. Police are now pushing to gain access to security cameras inside Austin Independent School District public schools.
The move comes as the department announces a sprawling surveillance rollout that hopes to add a myriad of cameras to city streets. Predictably, APD purports its efforts will make Austin schools safer.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
R.I. Democrat Pushes Draconian “Assault Weapons” Ban Worse Than N.Y. & Connecticut
Gun-grabbing Democrat Representative Joseph S. Almeida introduced deceptively titled “Safe Firearms Act” (H 7583) yesterday to the Rhode Island General Assembly yesterday.
The citizen control law (PDF) is more restrictive than controversial laws in New York and Connecticut in some respects. It bans the purchase of so-defined “assault weapons” immediately upon enactment, and requires registration of all firearms that meet the definition.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Target Memphis: Another Massive Mega-Mosque Compound in Middle America
Memphis is one of those gateway cities in which the State Department dumps whole Muslim communities under the Refugee Resettlement programs. The OIC (Organizaion of Islamic Cooperation)-driven UN designates who and who isn’t a refugee…
Now that beleaguered city is getting a seven-million-dollar, 63,144-square-foot mega-mosque. Who pays for these mosquestrosities?…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) — Muslim in Ontario’s city of Mississauga have raised $250,000 to support an emergency care program in their city hospital as they held the community’s 4th annual Family Walkathon…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Speech at Canadian Parliament: Imam of the Ismaili Muslims Bemoans Rise of Extremism, Intolerance
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) — His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan pointed out the rise in religious hostility and intolerance in many countries — both between major religious groups and within them.
In an address to a joint session of the Canadian parliament at the invitation of Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims urged the West not to ignore the diversity of Islam and to communicate with both Sunni and Shia voices…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland: Man Who ‘Conspired With Jihad Jane’ Loses Second Extradition Case
Ali Charaf Damachem is wanted in the US on terrorism charges
A man facing extradition to the United States on international terrorism charges has been refused leave by the High Court, for a second time, to seek judicial review of the DPP’s decision not to prosecute him in Ireland…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italians and French Make Least Faithful Partners
‘Berlusconi, Hollande represent their countries well’ study says
(ANSA) — Paris, February 27 — Italians and the French make the most unfaithful partners in Europe, with more than one man in two and roughly one woman in three admitting to have cheated, according to a French study issued Thursday. “After all the hype surrounding (French President Francois) Hollande’s love life, and articles in foreign media about the fickle nature of the French, the data confirms the stereotypes about Latin men being particularly unfaithful,” said Francois Kraus, head of the Ifop agency behind the study. Researchers, who surveyed 4,800 people across Europe, said male promiscuity was less prominent in countries that are predominantly Protestant, such as Britain and Germany. “In the end, Hollande and (Italian ex-premier Silvio) Berlusconi represent their respective countries rather well,” added Kraus.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian FM Urges Common EU Foreign Policy for Regional Peace
‘Italy a major European country, not a poor one from the south’
(ANSAmed) — ROME — Foreign Minister Federica said Thursday that the conflicts and crises on Europe’s borders would not be resolved until the EU managed to stand united in its foreign policy. “Some progress has been made,” she noted. “But one of the main tasks will be pushing for a stronger EU role in relation to Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.” The recently sworn-in minister said that Italy should stop being seen as a “poor nation of the south. Italy is actually a large EU nation and France and Germany wait for us to do things together.” Moreover, Italy must “leave behind it” the dichotomy “between either austerity or no austerity”, she underscored.
It needs to “move forward from the season of only austerity and open up to one of growth and employment.” Mogherini added that “it is time to get out of this way of thinking about ‘yes to Europe or no to Europe’, which is very much in vogue.” “There is no ‘Brussels’ or ‘Rome’. They are capitals of the same nation. What we do in Brussels must be consistent with what we do in Rome.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Transport Minister Targeted by Corruption Probe
Sardinian prosecutor investigates alleged abuse of office
(ANSA) — Olbia, February 28 — Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi has been placed under investigation for possible abuse of office by prosecutors in Sardinia, according to a report Friday.
Olbia’s port authority chief, Fedele Sanciu, is also under investigation, and is suspected of colluding with Lupi in an alleged case of nepotism.
The probe conducted by Prosecutor Riccardo Rossi was prompted by Sanciu’s appointment of a centre-right Senator to the post of inspector.
The centre-right minister belongs to the New Centre Right (NCD), and was a high-ranking member of Silvio Berlusconi’s defunct People of Freedom Party (PdL). The prosecutor’s office is examining whether the current inspector of Olbia has the academic training and credentials necessary to fulfill the job. Investigators were alerted by a provincial councillor who requested prosecutors check the congruity of the appointment with the necessary professional credentials to fulfill the job.
A similar case cropped up several months ago, with a probe launched by the prosecutor’s office in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia.
In that case, former PdL Senator Piergiorgio Massidda was appointed to the helm of the port authority of Cagliari.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Mocked on Internet, Social Media Sites
Italy’s new premier teased for marketing prowess
(See related) (ANSA) — Rome, February 24 — As Premier Matteo Renzi delivered a major speech Monday to the Senate, urging support for his fledgling government via a confidence vote, the Internet was buzzing with jokes about Italy’s youngest-ever premier.
Comparisons were made to the energetic reformer Renzi and Pope Francis, who has been in his job for less than a year and already known for making deep reforms to the substance and style of the Catholic Church.
Others turned to the impersonations of Renzi by comedian Maurizio Crozza, who dons a big wig and bigger teeth to mock the telegenic 39-year-old premier.
Some made fun of Renzi’s emphasis on youth, including the many references to his age and the fact that his slimmed-down, 16-member cabinet includes two young women who are just 33.
On Twitter, some mocked Renzi’s pledges to pass major reforms to Italy’s dysfunctional electoral law by the end of February — only four days off.
Some compared Renzi to ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, who was elected three times, in part, due to his communication and marketing skills.
Others complained Renzi was only a “puppet” of senior established politicians.
But supporters stood up for him, calling his Senate speech “fantastic”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Calabrian Resort Town Council Dissolved for ‘Ndrangheta
Scalea to be run by commissioner
(ANSA) — Catanzaro, February 25 — The Italian government on Tuesday dissolved the town council in the Calabrian resort of Scalea because of infiltration by the local ‘Ndrangheta mafia.
It was the latest in a string of cases, not only in Calabria but also in northern Italy where the Calabrian Mob invests its vast drug profits.
Scalea will be put in the hands of a commissioner.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Prosecutor Indicted for Abuse of Office in Berlusconi Case
Allegedly slowed investigations in escorts for ex-premier
(ANSA) — Lecce, February 25 — Bari chief prosecutor Antonio Laudati was indicted Tuesday for allegedly abusing his office to try to thwart probes into alleged sex parties at the home of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Laudati had been under investigation for alleged abuse of power after he reportedly tried to hamper investigations into Bari businessman Giampaolo Tarantini, who is suspected of having supplied prostitutes to parties at the media magnate’s homes.
He is also suspected of “aiding and abetting” Berlusconi by trying to prevent investigations into the ex-premier.
The case is connected with a lengthy investigation and court case that saw the three-time former premier convicted last year of buying sex from an underage prostitute, Karima ‘Ruby’ El Mahroug, at his Arcore villa outside Milan and of abusing his powerful office to try to cover the affair up.
Berlusconi is appealing that conviction.
Tarantini is suspected of providing at least 30 women for the former premier in a bid to exchange sex for public contracts.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Gondoliers Undergo Drug Tests in Response to Deadly Accident
‘We want to clean up our image, we’re not a bunch of addicts’
(ANSA) — Venice, February 26 — A group of 23 gondoliers underwent voluntary drug testing Wednesday in an effort to improve their reputation marred by a recent display of public inebriation and a deadly accident. “We want to clean up our image. We aren’t a bunch of drug addicts,” was the slogan used marking the urine tests conducted in a site off the Grand Canal. Last August a German tourist was killed beneath the Rialto Bridge when a water bus collided with his gondola manned by a gondolier who tested positive for drugs. The month before, a video surfaced on YouTube showing a group of gondoliers hazing an aspiring assistant by forcing him to strip off his clothes and swim in a canal off St Mark’s Square.
Drugs or alcohol were suspected to have been involved.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy-to-Africa Toxic Waste Gang Busted
Four arrested, 41 cautioned
(ANSA) — Modena, February 27 — Italian police on Thursday broke up an organisation they said was sending toxic waste from all over Italy to be dumped in Africa via fake charities.
Four people were placed under house arrest and 41 cautioned.
Four warehouses where the waste was allegedly stocked for shipment were impounded near Reggio Emilia.
Police said the gang set up two not-for-profit charities to cover their activities.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Vegan Event Nixed From Church for Fear of Promoting Anorexia
Priest worries cookbook launch may spark eating disorders
(ANSA) — Treviso, February 26 — A parish priest in northern Italy has refused to allow a group of vegans to meet at a church for fear they were promoting anorexia. The group had been granted a room at the Cathedral of Castelfranco to launch a book on vegan cuisine. But according to local press, the priest later revoked their request, explaining in an e-mail he was concerned adolescents could develop eating disorders due to exposure to veganism.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ducati Hits New Record in Motorcycle Sales
Delivers 44,102 motorcycles
(ANSA) — Bologna, February 28 — Italian motorcycle maker Ducati hit a new record in vehicle sales, delivering 44,287 two-wheelers to clients in 2013. The last record was set in 2012, with 44,102 motorcycles sold.
The Bologna-based company has 817 points of sale in 88 countries, and 1,281 employees. Its biggest market is the US, followed by Italy and Germany.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Officer Injured as Anti-MUOS Activists Clash With Police
(AGI) Caltanissetta, March 1 — Tension is mounting in Niscemi, where ‘No MUOS’ activists have staged a protest against the U.S. satellite system. MUOS is a new United States military global communications integration system. Clashes broke out outside Gate 1 of the base where the riot police was deployed.
An officer was slightly injured in the face. The protest then moved towards the area where activists broke into the military base on August 9.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron Increases Pressure on Harman to Apologise Over Paedophile Group Links
Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader, was left isolated when Patricia Hewitt apologised for the NCCL’s support for PIE
David Cameron has increased the pressure on Harriet Harman to apologise over her links to a paedophile group when Downing Street suggested she had not taken the “right approach” in her response to the controversy…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Students Discover Islam Message
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) — Inviting their colleagues to know more about Islam monotheism, London Imperial College Islamic Society opened the annual “Discover Islam Week” to clear misconceptions about Islam and give skeptics true answers about the growing faith…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslims Press Council for Free Parking Near Mosque
MUSLIMS attending prayers at a city mosque say they should be able to park without having to worry about getting a ticket. Ever since the Magdalen Road North controlled parking zone (CPZ) came into force in 2012, the Madina Mosque has faced problems…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nasir Mosque in Gillingham Set for Grand Opening …
Around 500 guests will gather at Nasir Mosque today for the official opening of the revamped building. The former working men’s club, at the bottom of Richmond Road, Gillingham, has been transformed into a purpose-built place of worship…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Supporters of Moazzam Begg Turn Up as He Arrives at Court
Activists gather as former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg arrives at Court charged with Syria-related terror offences
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was remanded in custody today charged with Syria-related terror offences. Mr Begg, 45, of Boden Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, denied the charges and will appear next at the Old Bailey on March 14. He is accused of providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court alongside a woman, Gerrie Tahari, 44, of Ashway, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, who is charged with facilitating terrorism overseas. She denied the charge and was also remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on the same day as Begg. Both were arrested on Tuesday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tory MP Philip Hollobone Urges Ban of Full-Face Muslim Veils in Public
MUSLIM women should not be allowed to cover their faces in public as there is no formal requirement in their religion, a Tory MP said yesterday.
Philip Hollobone was putting forward a Bill seeking to prohibit the wearing of face coverings, in particular the Muslim veil and balaclavas. Presenting his Face Coverings (Prohibition) Bill, the Kettering MP expressed regret that his campaign had “come to this”.
Speaking during the bill’s second reading, he said: “But there’s growing concern amongst my constituents and across the country about the increasing number of people who are going about in public places covering their faces and this is causing alarm and distress to many people.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Venice Looks Set to Welcome Museum of Islamic Art
Venice looks set to welcome a new Museum of Islamic Art in the heart of the tourist getaway. The plan is in its decisive stage following a top Italian Government delegation visit to the UAE and Qatar in February during which the initiative was discussed as part of long-term investment in Italy.
The contents of the museum are yet to be revealed, and questions over whether the collection will be donated and bought are yet to be answered. However, the scale of the Islamic-themed collection will certainly be novel for Venice.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: One Killed, Two Injured in Alexandria Clashes — Medical Source
Cairo — A man was killed and two others, including a child, were injured when violent clashes flared between Muslim Brotherhood supporters, Alexandria residents and security forces on Friday. The man was shot dead in the neck, a medical source at Ibrahim Ebeid Hospital told Aswat Masriya. The hospital received two others hurt in the violence, one of whom is a child who sustained a shotgun wound in his left arm, the source stated…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Azhar Grand Imam Rejects ‘Zionist Control’ of Al-Aqsa
The grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University said Thursday that Al-Azhar, one of the world’s oldest Sunni-Muslim scholarly institutions, would not accept Israeli oversight of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. “[Al-Azhar] will not, under any circumstances, accept the Zionist occupation’s control over Al-Aqsa,” Ahmed al-Tayeb said in a statement…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Al-Qaeda Rebels in Syria Tell Christians to Pay Up or Die
Radical Islamist rebels running the northern Syrian city of Raqqa have made the Christians living in the area an offer they can’t refuse: pay for protection, convert to Islam, or “face the sword.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan: Don’t Believe Your Lying Ears!
Premier Erdogan appears to be digging a hole deeper and deeper hole in his credibility to keep his Premiership in Turkey. The latest example is the kerfuffle that was created by the release of several alleged phone calls with his son, Bilal, a person of interest in the corruption probe, mid-December 2013. The several calls with Bilal over December 17th and 18th, when the public prosecutor revelations hit the media, appear to be deliberate attempts to scatter in excess of 30 million Euros ($40 million) to relatives and favored businessmen in Turkey. Erdogan in rebuttal said it was all a fabrication by the Gulenist “deep state” out to embarrass him in the final run up to the March 30th municipal elections in Turkey. It appears he may survive the onslaught of his self inflicted political injuries, because of a divided opposition if you believe some Turkish polls. Meanwhile, the WSJ reported on the Teflon-like poll figures for Erdogan versus the opposition in the March 30th municipal elections, WSJ Swing Voters Swinging Erdogan’s Way. Our usually well informed European — based observer of developments in Turkey had these comments: As far as I have heard Erdogan is losing votes and might lose the cities of Istanbul and Ankara. People are being asked to apply as election booth controllers so that the AKP does not rig the ballot boxes. We have another month until the elections and a lot of mud will be slung by Erdogan and the opposition.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
The Three Trillion Squandered in Iraq and Afghanistan Didn’t Leave Much for Bridges and Dams
Hugh Fitzgerald
Dams, airports, bridges, roads, schools, hospitals, all need fixing. But two trillion dollars was spent in Iraq and one trillion in Afghanistan, on trying to save Muslims from their own violence, aggression, misogyny, you name it. Based on a baseless misapprehension that continues, in a domestic version (making local Muslims behave) in Western Europe. Do not try to rescue self-primitivized people from their own mind-forged permanent manacles. Just make they stay far away, or if already present, try to get them to go away.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turks Protest Against Corruption in Ankara
People have taken to the streets in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to protest against the corruption scandal that embroiled the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Some 600 people hold a demonstration in Ankara’s Kizilay square on Saturday, chanting “They are thieves” and “Government, resign!”
Some protesters handed out fake euros in a mocking protest over recent leaked recordings that put the Turkish premier at the heart of the graft probe.
The leaked phone conversations, posted on YouTube last month, allegedly revealed Erdogan asking his son Bilal to turn millions of euros in cash stashed at several houses into “zero”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Crimean Airspace Partially Closed as Reports Russia Trying to Seize Missile Base
Crimea’s newly-chosen pro-Russia prime minister, Sergiy Aksyonov, has announced he is bringing forward a referendum on independence for the region — as in Kiev, the prime minister warns Russia against “provocation”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Officers of 76th Russian Shock Troops Division Operating in Ukraine
Everyone is curious who those unmarked men in unforms that have been seen in youtube clips from the Crimea are. Courtesy of Russian blogger Lev Shlosberg who writes for the newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya, we now have an answer: according to him they are the officers of the 76th Chernihov (Pskov) Storm Troops Division and have slowly dispersed across key choke points in Ukraine.
– From his post, translated by Interpretermag.com
According to one of the participants in the operation, officers and contractors of the 76th Shock Troops Division have been re-locating to Ukrainian territory since last week. By early this week, there were already more than 100 soldiers. The last of the famous detachments was sent on Thursday, 27 February. They are fully armed, with 5,000 rounds of ammunition per person. There is one truck per 10 soldiers, and they are completely loaded with weapons including flame-throwers. Upon arrival on the territory of Ukraine, they did not report their geographical locations to people, and they were assigned local tasks. Most likely, this was Sevastopol and Simferopol. Emergency troops remain in Yysk, and did not take part in the operation. The barracks of the 76th Storm Troops Division on Margelova Street in Pskov is practically empty.
Some background on the 76th:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Asks Russia’s Senate for Permission to Send Troops to Ukraine
As Russian-backed armed forces effectively seized control of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula on Saturday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia formally requested that the Russian Senate authorize him to use military force in Ukraine.
Mr. Putin’s request, largely a formality, acknowledged publicly for the first time the Kremlin’s readiness to intervene militarily in Ukraine, and it served as a blunt response to President Obama who just hours earlier had pointedly warned Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Even as Mr. Putin submitted his request to the Senate, formally called the Federation Council, it was clear that forces allied with Moscow were largely in control of the peninsula.
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Richest Ukrainian Backs New PM
Richest Ukrainian Rinat Akhmetov supports new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek said after his talks with Akhmetov last night.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Synagogue in Crimea Spray Painted With ‘Death to the Jews’
A news website from Crimea, a Ukrainian region that is now the site of clashes between ethnic Russian residents and Ukrainians in the wake of the toppling of Ukraine’s former government, reported that a synagogue in the city of Simferopol was spray painted with anti-Semitic language…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Says Russia Has Sent in 6,000 Troops
Ukraine’s Defence Minister says Moscow has sent 6,000 troops into the country, as it was confirmed Russian soldiers are on the streets in the southeastern region of Crimea.
The country’s military are on high alert and border guard vessels are being deployed amid the deepening crisis, with reports Russian forces are trying to seize control of an anti-aircraft missile base.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
At Least 11 Pakistani Police Officers Killed in Attack on Polio Vaccination Team
At least 11 Pakistani police officers have been killed in two bombings in the northwest of the country. The police officers were escorting a team of polio vaccinators at the time of the attack.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bangkok Boating Park Becomes Focus of Thai Protests
(Reuters) — A green oasis in downtown Bangkok was slowly beginning to resemble a tent city on Saturday, a day after anti-government protesters said they would clear camps blocking key intersections and congregate in the park instead.
The protesters have blocked some streets since mid-January in their bid to push out Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and eradicate the influence of her brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen as the real power in Thailand.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bomb Attack on Pakistani Police Guarding Polio Team
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 11 officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
Two bombs, detonated minutes apart, struck tribal police assigned to guard polio workers in north-west Pakistan on Saturday, killing 11, police said. The first struck an escort vehicle in the Lashora village of Jamrud tribal region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Former British Commander: Amnesty Report Will Incite Even More Hatred (Interview)
“Instead of making a meaningful contribution to reducing violence, Amnesty has produced a report that will be exploited as a tool to incite even more hatred,” Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, told The Algemeiner in an interview on Friday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for an “Immediate” Stop to Conversions . . . Except to Hinduism
A leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an extremist Hindu organisation responsible for attacks against the country’s ethnic, religious and social minorities, made the anti-conversion statement recently. The “VHP wants to intimidate and persecute Christians by raising the bogeyman of conversions to instil Hindutva ideas in in the population,” Christian leader said.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) — “We must immediately stop conversions, or soon Hindus will be a minority in India,” said Ashok Singhal, leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a fundamentalist group that has a history of attacking the country’s ethnic, religious and social minorities.
His remarks, which he made at a rally on Saturday in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) before a crowd of faithful, have drawn criticism from government officials and representatives of other religions, who described them as “inappropriate.”
Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told AsiaNews that we must “condemn in no uncertain terms the fascism of groups like the VHP, which endanger Indian democracy and secularism”.
“Christians in India just want to enjoy their constitutional guarantees,” the Protestant leader said, “in particular Article 25 of the Charter, which enshrines freedom of worship, practice and dissemination of their faith.”
Ultimately, “Religious freedom is a basic human right,” he added, “and the VHP wants to intimidate and persecute Christians by raising the bogeyman of conversions to instil Hindutva ideas in the population.”
The VHP is inspired by Hindutva, a nationalist ideology centred on Hinduism whose aim is the establishment of a Hindu nation.
So-called anti-conversion laws have been adopted in some states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which embodies the ideas of groups like the VHP.
In theory, these measures should prohibit any conversions by force or through money. In practice, they are often used to persecute minorities. In fact, if a Christian, a Buddhist or a Muslim converts to Hinduism there is nothing to stop them.
In addition to blocking conversions, Singhal wants Hindu families to have at least “five children” to prevent Christians and Muslims from outnumbering Hindus.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Dogs are flamed-roasted whole at Tomohon Traditional market in Indonesia. Before being killed by hanging from a tree, the dogs are kept in tiny cages.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Two MQM Activists Shot Dead Outside Mosque
Two Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists were gunned down outside a mosque in Nazimabad on Friday afternoon. Mohammad Hamid, 32, and Khalid, 30, were leaving Jamia Masjid Bilal at Gol Market after offering Friday prayers when two other men also exited the mosque and fired gunshots at the MQM activists. Hamid and Khalid later expired at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China Media Hurls Racist Slur at Departing US Envoy
Beijing: A Chinese state media outlet used a racist slur to criticise departing US ambassador Gary Locke in an insulting commentary that even blamed him for Beijing’s notorious pollution.
The 64-year-old became the first ethnic Chinese in the post when he was appointed in 2011, going on to gain quasi-celebrity status for his modest style and for drawing attention to China’s unhealthy skies.
But Locke, who left his role on Saturday, received a highly undiplomatic sendoff from the China News Service in a sneering editorial, which referred to him as a “banana”, and a “guide dog” for helping a blind activist.
“He is a banana with yellow skin and a white heart,” Friday’s article opened by saying, calling Locke’s ethnicity a ploy by the US to win Chinese hearts and minds while seeking to kick up trouble in the region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Knife-Wielding Men Kill 27, Injure 109 in China Train Station
BEIJING: A group of knife-wielding men attacked a train station in southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Saturday, leaving at least 27 people dead and 109 injured, AFP reported quoting China’s official news agency Xinhua…
The origin of the attackers is not yet known or whether they hailed from northwestern Xinjiang province where China says the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an al-Qaida-linked group is stirring up a separatist movement among the ethnic Muslim Uighurs.
Several such attacks have taken place in Xinjiang in recent months as the remote province has been witnessing ethnic unrest between the native Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese from the mainland for the past few years.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Army Chief David Morrison Applauds Bipartisan Support of Troops
Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison has praised the decision of both sides of politics to get behind the military, drawing a line under the divisions of last week when a senior officer was accused by Labor of engaging in a political cover-up…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Welcome Home Parade Marks End of Australia’s Active Involvement in Afghanistan
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has paid tribute to the sacrifice of the Australian troops who served in Afghanistan in a speech delivered at a welcome home parade in Darwin.
More than 250 Australian Defence Force personnel returned from Uruzgan Province in December, but Saturday’s parade marked the official end of Australia’s active involvement in the Afghanistan war…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Kidnappers Demand N500 Million Ransom to Free President Jonathan’s Uncle
The abductors of Inengite Nitabai, the 70-year-old relative of President Goodluck Jonathan, have demanded a N500 million ransom. A security source said that the abductors threatened to kill their victim if the family failed to produce the money. The source also said the family had constituted a committee to evaluate the demand, establish negotiations with the abductors, and facilitate his release…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Somalia: Pirates Attack Luxury Cruise Liner at Sea
British passengers aboard a luxury cruise liner are recovering after the ship was attacked off the coast of Africa by pirates firing a rocket propelled grenade and machine guns. The Bahamas-registered Seabourn Spirit was 100 miles off the coast of Somalia when the attack took place.
Terrified passengers were woken by the sound of gunfire as two 25 foot rigid inflatable boats came up to the liner and started shooting as their occupants tried to get on aboard…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Accused Human Trafficker From Deadly Shipwreck on Trial
Somali man faces charges of sexual violence, torture, kidnapping
(ANSA) — Agrigento, February 28 — The trial of one Somali member of a gang blamed for overcrowding a migrant vessel that sank last October, killing 366 people, was adjourned Friday almost as quickly as it began.
Mouhamud Muhidin, 34, stands accused of being part of the criminal gang that organized the vessel that crashed on October 3 off the southern Italian coast of Lampedusa.
He faces charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to aid illegal immigration, human trafficking and sexual violence. Prosecutors are relying on testimony from seven Eritrean migrants who survived the disaster and have identified Muhidin, who was arrested in December, as one of their captors.
The survivors say they were tortured, threatened, and imprisoned by the gang that included Muhidin. All the women in the group were raped, survivors said. Authorities say Muhidin was almost lynched inside a migrants holding centre when he was recognized.
Hundreds of desperate migrants die each year trying to make the dangerous sea crossing that attracts tens of thousands annually, hoping for a new life in Europe.
Italy is usually their first point of landing as it has some of Europe’s closest shores to North Africa and the Middle East.
Survivors had previously told of being taken hostage in the desert by armed men in Sebha on the border between Chad and Libya and held prisoner in a house until family members sent 3,000 dollars to pay the hostage-takers. They were tortured during their imprisonment, and said that the women were raped.
After the ransom was paid, the prisoners were allegedly taken to Tripoli in lorries and shut up in another home. Only in exchange for another 1,600 dollars were they put onto motorboats to reach the large boat that subsequently crashed and sank.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Children of, by, And for the State: A Legal Framework
Children are one-third of our population and all of our future. Ostensibly providing for the rights of children worldwide, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is a universally agreed upon set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. Its three Optional Protocols shelter children from trafficking, prostitution, and child pornography; prohibit their recruitment in armed conflict; and allow children to file legal grievances. No fault here, right?
Think again. What our Founding Fathers affirmed as inalienable rights endowed by the Creator, the global community ascribes to government — specifically, global government. Certainly, no caring person argues for abuse or neglect of children. However, scattered throughout the U.N. Convention’s fifty-four Articles are “new” rights that, all told, exceed in length the entire U.S. Constitution!
Arguably, “the institution of marriage/family is absolutely critical to everything we have known in Western civilization.” It is, in fact, “a centerpiece of the Judeo-Christian system of values” which, unfortunately, is not universally up held. Case in point:In the words of the Communist Party Education Workers Congress, “We must remove the children from the crude influence of their families.” Hillary Clinton believes “there’s no such thing as other people’s children.” In her Brave New World, “everyone belongs to everyone else”and,to guide children aright, superfluous parents must step aside…
In advancing the faulty notion that traditional families no longer matter,[10] global bureaucrats oppose “all traditions that demean, dehumanize, and injure”; but who’s to say which traditions are injurious? In Somerset, Scotland, authorities yanked an eleven-year-old boy from the loving care of foster parents after the Christian couple refused to sign an equality agreement endorsing homosexuality. Not the child’s best interest, but special interests triumphed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Gay Movement and the CFR’s Anti-Russia Psy-Op
The Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, have become a point of friction between the anti-Christian, pro-gay, pro-New World Order U.S. and the pro-Christian, anti-gay, anti-NWO Russia. To make things even worse, Obama decided to skip the Sochi Games and instead appointed three openly gay athletes — Billie Jean King, Brian Boitano and Caitlin Cahow — to lead the U.S. delegation. This was made as an obvious insult to Putin and the Olympic hosts.
“Conservative” Republicans, who love and yearn the good old days of the Cold War, are itching for a fight at the OK Corral. Lacking any arguments to justify their newly-found love for the NWO gays, they argue that Putin should not be trusted, because he was a member of the dreaded KGB. They seem to forget, however, that their beloved George H. W. Bush was a Director of the dreaded CIA, a CFR-created and controlled organization that has done more to destroy America than the KGB.
Faced with strong criticism during a recent news conference of the World Congress of Families at Washington D.C., Alexei Komov, the WCF representative in Russia, mentioned that some “Wall Street bankers” were among the “international professional forces of evil,” that had “introduced communism” and “imposed” it on Russia. As expected, his comments were immediately refuted by some “conservative” Republicans as just another anti-Semite conspiracy theory.
Nevertheless, despite claims to the contrary, there is overwhelming evidence that communism actually was introduced to Russia by international bankers as a way to eliminate competition in the oil business:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: First Priest to Defy Church Ban on Gay Marriage for Clergy
Church of England facing stand-off with its own clergy as first priest openly defies ban on gay clerics marrying
The Church of England is facing a rebellion within its own ranks over same-sex marriage after a vicar became the first priest to publicly defy its ban on gay clergy marrying. Father Andrew Cain, vicar of two large parishes in north-west London, said he would not be “frightened” into cancelling his wedding to his long-term partner, Stephen Foreshew, by the prohibition…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Walt Disney World Drops Boy Scouts From Volunteer Program
Walt Disney World has decided to drop a Florida Boy Scouts council as a recognized charity for its employees, according to a Scouting memo posted on a gay-friendly website.
The policy change, announced months after the national scouting organization said it would accept openly gay Scouts but preserve a ban on gay adult leaders, means Walt Disney World will not recognize the volunteer hours its 60,000-plus employees give the Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
The corporate giant — whose Orlando park is a major destination for “Gay Day” events in early June — will also no longer offer the council or its units grant funding, apparently a signal that the BSA decision, by keeping the adult ban, did not go far enough.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Profitable Global Warming Enterprise and Man-Made Drought
Those promoting Science of the Green Scam are engaging in social science paraded as “consensus” science deemed “settled” by government bureaucrats, opinionated Hollywood stars.
“It doesn’t matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true.” — Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace
Another co-founder of Greenpeace, Patrick Moore, a Canadian ecologist who was a member from 1971-1986, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, “After 15 years in the top committee I had to leave as Greenpeace took a sharp turn to the political left, and began to adopt policies that I could not accept from my scientific perspective.
Climate change was not an issue when I abandoned Greenpeace, but it certainly is now.” He said that environmental groups use “faulty computer models and scare tactics in promoting claims man-made gases are heating up the planet.”
“There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years.” (Patrick Moore)
A UN report in September 2013 said that global surface temperatures have not increased for the past 15 years.
David Frame, climate modeler at Oxford University once said, “The [computer] models are convenient fictions that provide something very useful.” What do these often faulty computer models provide? They provide power, control, and a whole lot of cash, Green cash, via the fear constantly drilled in people’s minds that anthropogenic global warming and climate change are something that we humans are responsible for and, if we pay a lot of carbon taxes, engage in carbon swaps, and line the pockets of crony capitalists with grants for expensive and job-killing renewable energy projects, Mother Earth will be safe, the planet will be clean, humans will suffer, and animals will reign supreme.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Being Handed to Al Qaeda, Ukraine to the Neo Nazis
Alex presents two articles about how Al-Qaeda has basically been handed Syria and backed by an even more radical part of the terrorist organization that live tweets brutal punishments. Also Confirmation that a US-backed neo-nazi party has been handed key positions within the newly formed Ukrainian government illustrates the fact that the Euromaidan uprising was a contrived coup d’etat and has very little to do with freedom and democracy.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Servando Gonzalez has some very interesting and thoughtful posts which further cements my own outlook on how the past has been manipulated to suit a few elitists.
When the truth of what has gone before us dawns on you, it can hit like a sledgehammer!
“Banana” is a new insult to me, but I’m aware of “coconut”, as used by blacks in the UK against those deemed “white” inside.
If I like Billie Holiday or Bob Marley, am I an inverted coconut?
Possibly a liquorice allsort?