In the wake of yesterday’s referendum in the Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree making the peninsula a republic within the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the United States applied sanctions to Russia as the latter moved in to control the financial, energy, and governmental infrastructure within the Crimea.
In other news, the latest theory about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines MH370 is that the jetliner was diverted to Pakistan for later use in a terror attack.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, Steen, 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.
British Think Tank Predicts Financial Catastrophe for United States
Entitled “The Government Debt Iceberg,” the latest report from The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in London was meant primarily for British eyes, but there’s enough in there to concern Americans worried about how the United States will make good on its promises. Researched and written by Jagadeesh Gokhale, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, the report claims that the problem facing both the U.K. and the United States is the same: making promises without making provisions to fulfill them.
If a private business made a promise to a customer to be fulfilled over time, it would book that promise as a liability and make present plans to fulfill it. Not so the government. Gokhale says that governments use “backward-looking” financials — measuring only what has already been spent in the past — with little if any regard for, and certainly no strategy to pay for, promises made to be fulfilled in the future.
At present the U.S. government owes debtors, both private and public, foreign and domestic, more than $17 trillion, an amount about equal to the entire output of the American economy in one year. Put another way, it owes more than four times the total revenues taken in by that government in one year.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Do Unemployed Moms Have Healthier Babies?
Imagine you lived in Barcelona and lost your job, like thousands of Spaniards did each year of the most recent recession. And also, imagine you were pregnant. Would you sit around the house, anxiously sending out job applications and stress-snacking on churros? Or would you take long walks in the Mediterranean sun and stop at farmers’ markets along the way?
Spanish moms, it seems, often choose the latter.
Libertad González, an associate professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, recently examined the health of registered newborns in Spain from 1981 to 2010, and she cross-referenced the data with the unemployment rate in each of the country’s provinces at the time. With each 10 percent increase in unemployment, she found, the neonatal death rate dropped by 7 percent, and the percent of babies with low birth weights decreased by 3 percent…
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Greece: Athens, Troika Unable to Agree on Few Points
Representatives of lenders extend stay to complete talks
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — Despite the Greek coalition government’s optimism in securing a deal with the troika by Sunday evening, the two sides decided to meet again today at noon, after a 14-hour marathon session at the Ministry of Finances, which also saw the Ministers of Labor Yannis Vroutsis, Growth Kostis Hatzidakis and Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis participate.
According to an unnamed high-ranking Finance Ministry officer — as daily To Vima online reports — there are about “four or five issues” that still remain unresolved, but even if negotiations are not completed today, they will over “the next few days”. At present the two sides are unable to agree on collective redundancies in the private sector, public sector dismissals for 2015, implementing the Oecd’s recommendations and the primary surplus (exact amount and distribution).
Regarding employment matters, the government is refusing to agree on the deregulation of collective redundancies, although it appears to have come to an agreement for the reduction of insurance contributions. Similarly a deal for incentives for the long-term unemployed is being developed. As for the Ministry of Administrative Reform, the government insists that it will not carry out any across the board wage cuts, but it will “rationalize” (ie, reduce) the various bonuses and benefits in the public sector. Finally, little progress was made with matters related to the Ministry of Growth, with no agreement in sight for the deregulation of the sale of milk and non-prescription medication, among others. The troika however has accepted the Greek proposal on commercial leases, which was recently voted in Parliament.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece ‘Needs a Matteo Renzi’ For the Post-Crisis Period
Italian model ‘a wager for all of southern Europe’
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — Greece is preparing to get back onto international markets after troika-imposed austerity.
In the meantime it is also keeping a close eye on what is changing in other southern European countries, especially Italy under Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Local media and political analysts are eyeing the latest developments in Italian politics, and anxiously awaited the first meeting between the Italian premier and French president Francois Hollande, and his one with German chancellor Merkel. The agreements signed between the Greek government and the country’s international creditors will expire in a few months, and troika officials Matthias Mors (EU), Claus Mazuch (ECB) and Paul Tomsen (IMF), tasked with assessing Greece’s economic recovery program, have completed their work and will be departing in a few days as the last, six-month round of talks has ended. From now on, the Greek economy and the government’s work will be the task of Brussels officials. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has said that Greece — which has made significant progress towards economic recovery, despite mistakes made by the representatives of its international creditors — will soon be returning to international markets. Local political observers are dubious, though, on the basis of the troika’s behavior during the last round of talks — and especially that of the IMF representative, which even irritated Greek PM Antonis Samaras. They believe it may be a tactic to impose another Memorandum on Greece, enabling the IMF to extend its presence in Europe. The same observers say, however, that a shift is perceptible in southern Europe and that it is linked to the arrival of Italian premier Renzi in office. An Athens broadsheet headlined two days ago that the ‘Italian center-left ends austerity and throws down the gauntlet at Merkel” and carried an op-ed entitled ‘Italy wagers a bet for the entire south’. “The economic policies of the young prime minister Matteo Renzi,” Ta Nea wrote,” which basically put an end to three years of austerity and shift from the direction taken by Brussels and Berlin, has become a wager for the entire (European) south. This is the first time that a eurozone country experiencing difficulties announces policies that stray from austerity recommendations. From this point of view, the outcome of the Italian plan, whether it proves successful or not, will catalyze Memorandum countries. In order to calm down the market,” (in reference to Italy’s international commitments), “the Italian premier has said that his country will abide by the commitments made concerning its economic indexes. This is, of course, where the fate of the ‘Italian model’ will be decided — which seems to give a glimmer of hope for all countries in southern Europe.” The daily Kathimerini, under the headline ‘Matteo Renzi and Greece’ wrote that “Renzi took office in Italy pledging to bring in a series of reforms that will lead to a ‘constructive earthquake’ and will pull the country out of its economic crisis. In the meantime, Greece in 2014, which — as polls show — has an urgent need of a Greek Matteo Renzi, is for the time being forced to suffer its two-party system.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Renzi Says Italy Might Trim 3-Bn Euros, Including From F-35
Other defence spending on chopping block amid spending review
(ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Italy is reviewing its defence spending, including three billion euros in potential savings that could be realized if, among other things, the government decides to trim its budget for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, says Premier Matteo Renzi.
His government is aiming to slash billions from its annual budget, in order to free up cash for higher priority items, and that could include selling military barracks as well as high-cost items including the F-35 jets, Renzi told an Italian TV program Sunday night.
With a budget of about 11.8 billion euros over 45 years beginning in 2015, the F-35 project could be a big part of that, said Renzi.
“We will continue with our international programs, we will continue with a strong air force, but that program will be revised,” Renzi said in an interview with TG5.
Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said that as many as 385 military barracks could be sold.
The F-35 fighter jet program has been cut before.
Amid the economic crisis, in 2012 the Italian government announced plans to cut its order to 90 from the 131 originally agreed in 2002, saving the country some five billion euros.
But last July, the Italian government rejected another call to cancel the purchase altogether of the 90 F-35 fighter jets which, at an estimated $200 million per unit, are among the costliest fighter jets in the world.
Nine countries are involved in developing the F-35: Italy, Canada, the United States, Britain, Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Turkey. With radar-evading technology, the F-35 has been championed for its advanced design but also heavily criticized for allegedly not meeting the criteria of modern warfare, marked more by guerilla insurgencies than airborne dogfights.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Video has emerged of the moment a Playboy was hit in the buttocks with a golf club be a radio host at a 2012 golf outing sponsored by the magazine.
Elizabeth Dickson, 28, is suing Playboy Enterprises and radio host Kevin Klein for $500,000 plus punitive damages after he whacked her in the behind with a golf club while trying to hit a ball off a tee placed between the cheeks of her buttocks during an amateur golf tournament in California.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ATF Raids Gun Parts Store and Seizes Customer Data
Federal judge reverses restraining order that prevented raid
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided a gun parts manufacturer over the weekend after a federal judge overturned a restraining order preventing the raid.
ATF agents equipped with M4s and plate armor conducted the raid on Ares Armor in National City, Cali. in order to seize the manufacturer’s customer data with the help of a local locksmith who cracked the safe inside the store.
The company’s owner, Dimitrios Karras, said that the ATF targeted his company under the false claim that Ares Armor was making AR-15 lower receivers, which are classified as a firearm, and then reverting them back to unfinished receivers not classified as firearms according to the law.
Even though the ATF was informed of their mistake, according to Karras, the agency proceeded with the raid anyway in order to gain access to private customer information as well as seize the company’s inventory of unfinished receivers, known as 80% receivers.
“They said either give us these 5,000 names or we’re coming in and we’re pretty much taking everything, which is a huge, huge privacy concern and something we are not willing to do,” he added…
“We have to wonder if this raid wasn’t as much an attempt to send a message to 80% lower customers as it was a raid for user data,” Bob Owens, the editor of BearingArms.com, wrote. “Perhaps they’re attempting to scare people away from buying from these companies, so that they go out of business.”
That’s a reasonable conclusion, considering that the ATF proceeded with the raid even though the agency was in the wrong.
And it isn’t the first time a government agency has acted against a firearm accessory supplier during the Obama Administration.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bloomberg Says He Can Out-Spend the NRA
In a bid to push more draconian anti-gun legislation, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg claims he can out-spend the NRA.
Among those of us who love the second amendment, Mr. Bloomberg’s crimes against constitutional freedom are already outrageous, so this latest statement comes as no surprise. However, it is a prime example of the arrogance of overconfident politicians who have no remorse at trampling on the standards set by our founding fathers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Government Computers Running Windows XP Will be Vulnerable to Hackers After April 8
The deadline for installing secure operating systems on federal government computers will pass next month with the job incomplete, leaving hundreds of thousands of machines running outdated software and unusually vulnerable to hackers.
Federal officials have known for more than six years that Microsoft will withdraw its free support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Despite a recent rush to complete upgrades, an estimated 10 percent of government computers — out of several million — will still be running the operating system on that date, company officials said.
That includes thousands of computers on classified military and diplomatic networks, U.S. officials said. Such networks have stronger defenses generally but hold more sensitive material, raising the stakes for breaches if they occur.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
IRS Probe Reveals Obama Administration’s Aggressiveness Against Tea Party Members
As a result of Lerner’s refusal to testify, the Oversight Committee released its report which, while not containing her testimony, does include emails, remarks she’s made to reporters, and her relationships with IRS agents involved in extraordinarily unusual scrutinizing of tax-exempt status applications submitted by conservative groups that use the words “Tea Party” or “Patriots” within the names of their organizations.
The 141-page report alleges that Lerner purposely setup stonewalls to prevent conservative or libertarian groups from garnering the “501(c)(4)” tax-exempt approval.
The released report states, Lerner believed the Executive Branch needed to take steps to undermine the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. A senior advisor to Lerner e-mailed her an article about allegations that unknown conservative donors were influencing U.S. Senate races. The article explained how outside money was making it increasingly difficult for Democrats to remain in the majority in the Senate. Lerner replied: “Perhaps the FEC will save the day.”
According to Issa’s statement in the report.
“In the wake of Ms. Lerner’s refusal to testify and answer questions, this report offers detailed evidence about steps she took to crack down on organizations that exercised their constitutional rights to free political speech
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Is Alien Life Out There? Vatican Observatory Co-Hosts Science Conference in Arizona
Are we alone in the universe? The ultimate question of life beyond Earth and the solar system takes center stage in a science conference led by the Vatican Observatory and a University of Arizona this week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Latinos Become California’s Largest Demographic Though Political Clout Lags
It is a demographic milestone signalling the changing face of America: this month, Latinos will overtake whites to become California’s largest racial/ethnic group.
They will officially make up 39% of the country’s most populous state, edging past the 38.8% who are white non-Hispanic, and dwarfing the Asian American and African American communities.
Demographic ascendance is producing a fast growing ethnic voting bloc nationwide. The Latino electorate, which cast ballots in record numbers in the 2012 presidential election, is expected to double within a generation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear,” right? Here’s how that works in reality. (via Reason)
On Jan. 5, 2012, Paul Valin called the police to report he’d found a backpack containing what he believed to be meth-making equipment. That simple act of good citizenship landed his and wife Cindy’s house on the National Clandestine Laboratory Register [NCLR], the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s list of meth labs.
Valin spotted a backpack in a river while kayaking. He took it home and opened it up looking for some identification that might point to its owner. Instead, he found tubing and chemicals. Being a good citizen (with nothing to hide), he called local law enforcement who came and removed the backpack… and then put him on a federal list that put his house in the same category as property where drugs had been seized (you know, as opposed to voluntarily and proactively given to police officers).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mick Jagger’s Girlfriend L’Wren Scott Found Dead
Fashion designer L’Wren Scott, and girlfriend of Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger, has been found dead in her New York apartment. Law enforcement officials are investigating possible suicide.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mosque Cemetery to be Challenged in Court
MURFREESBORO — Plaintiffs opposed to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro graveyard approval seek a court order “to halt the construction and improvement of the cemetery.” The plaintiffs will take their case about the ICM cemetery before Chancellor Robert Corlew III at 1 p.m March 24 at the Rutherford County Judicial Building…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Demanding Their Own Sharia Patrols in Michigan
This quote provides the most ominous statement for America and other Western countries in the 21st century as they continue mass immigration from cultures and religions all over the Third World.
“Immigrants devoted to their own cultures and religions are not influenced by the secular politically correct fasade that dominates academia, news-media, entertainment, education, religious and political thinking today,” said James Walsh, former Associate General Counsel of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. “They claim the right not to assimilate, and the day is coming when the question will be how can the United States regulate the defiantly unassimilated cultures, religions and mores of foreign lands? Such immigrants say their traditions trump the U.S. legal system. Balkanization of the United States has begun.”
Walsh made that statement 20 years ago. He saw it coming. No one responded. Only 100,000 Muslims inhabited America in 1990. Today, over 7,000,000 (million) Muslims in America continue their onslaught to change our country into their country.
Last year, a 22 year old American college student walking in the Muslim “no go” zone of London suffered a beating by a “Sharia compliant goon squad” so horrible that he required reconstruction of his face. His crime: carrying a bottle of beer.
Letter from a Norwegian where free speech is no longer tolerated because of Muslim immigrants:…
[Comment: Read the letter.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Mosque, School Planned for Delanco
DELANCO — The Burlington County Muslim Association is proposing to build a house of worship, elementary school and day care center on Creek Road. The 22,745-square-foot building at 1100-1200 Creek Road, near the township border with Edgewater Park, also will include a library and a parking lot…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Obama: ‘I Don’t Care About the Public’s Welfare’
Preface by Washington’s Blog: We agree with most what Eric Zuesse writes. For example, we believe that Obama is serving big money interests, and not the American people.
Obama has played nearly 160 rounds of golf while president.
But we also believe that the “left-versus-right” dichotomy is no longer relevant.
The two mainstream parties are virtually identical in terms of issues of war, liberty, crony capitalism, bailouts, big oil and nuclear energy, genetically modified foods, and other core issues which affect our basic health, freedom and prosperity. And see this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this.
Indeed, we believe that — as strange as it might sound at first — true liberals are more similar to true conservatives than (1) liberals are to neoliberals like Obama or (2) conservatives are toneoconservatives.
Obama: ‘I Don’t Care About the Public’s Welfare’, By Eric Zuesse:…
No, he didn’t say it; no politician does; instead, he proves it, by both what he does and what he says (as will be shown here).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Professor Calls for Climate Change ‘Deniers’ To be Imprisoned
Wants to criminalize questioning of the science on global warming
A professor with Rochester Institute of Technology has called for the incarceration of any American who actively disagrees that climate change is solely caused by human activity.
Lawrence Torcello, a philosophy professor with a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo, published the comments as part of an essay submitted to the academic website The Conversation.
Torcello argues that malignant individuals, who he does not identify, are collectively organising a “campaign funding misinformation” about climate change. Torcello goes on to suggest that such activity “ought to be considered criminally negligent.”
Adding that “science misinformation” surrounding climate change should be considered a crime, Torcello asks readers to “Consider cases in which science communication is intentionally undermined for political and financial gain.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Rescue From an Abduction to Saudi Arabia: Interview With Floridian Yasmeen A. Davis
We recently interviewed Professor Margaret McClain a retired faculty member of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas. McClain told us her story of the loss of her daughter in an illegal abduction by her Saudi ex-Husband in violation of state, federal and international laws against parental abduction. Professor McClain and other American women, a father and some children testified about the trauma of loss of American children kidnapped and removed to Saudi Arabia during a 2002 hearings before the US House Representatives Government Reform Committee chaired by former Indiana Republican Dan Burton.
One mother and a daughter from Miami, Florida, Mrs. Miriam Hernandez -Davis and her then 16 year old daughter Dria Hernandez Davis told the Congressional committee about the unusual circumstances of her abduction by her father and mother’s ex-husband. The family resorted to using their own resources to rescue Dria after the US government did little to assist in that effort. Professor McClain, who was part of that 2002 House Government Reform panel of hearing witnesses, contacted the daughter’s mother. Through that contact we were able to interview a beautiful and poised young woman, who now goes by the name of Yasmeen Alexandria Davis. She is now in her late twenties, pursuing a graduate degree in social work while employed at a nonprofit agency in South Florida. She still suffers PTSD effects from the experience. The most troubling aspect is the continued harassment by her Saudi father, who employs US lawyers and ex-FBI agents, to check in with her and ask if she would testify against him in case he returned to the US> cause trouble if her Saudi father if he brought his children, by a subsequent marriage, to visit Disneyland. There is an outstanding warrant for his arrest if he were to step foot in the US. Among the areas of inquiry in our interview with Ms. Davis are:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
SOPA: Dead in Congress, Alive in Trans-Pacific Partnership
Lobbyists who once unsuccessfully pushed for federal control over the Internet are now finding new hope in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
President Obama recently named Robert Holleyman deputy U.S. trade representative. Although he has worked until recently as a “chief executive of BSA/the Software Alliance, a trade organization for software companies that counts Apple, IBM, Microsoft and other top computer firms among its members,” a couple of years ago, Holleyman worked as a professional promoter of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill introduced in 2011 by Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas).
The official purpose of SOPA was to “expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods.” In reality, though, the measure would have surrendered control of the Internet to federal agencies.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. To Relinquish Remaining Control Over the Internet
U.S. officials announced plans Friday to relinquish federal government control over the administration of the Internet, a move that pleased international critics but alarmed some business leaders and others who rely on the smooth functioning of the Web.
Pressure to let go of the final vestiges of U.S. authority over the system of Web addresses and domain names that organize the Internet has been building for more than a decade and was supercharged by the backlash last year to revelations about National Security Agency surveillance.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Russian Officials
The United States, working in coordination with Europe, imposed new sanctions on prominent Russian officials on Monday as the showdown over Ukraine reached a new stage of confrontation between East and West.
President Obama signed an executive order freezing the assets and banning visas for a number of Russians deemed to be responsible for the seizing of Crimea or otherwise interfering with Ukrainian sovereignty. Among those targeted were several officials in President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle, and the White House threatened to go after more if Russia did not back down.
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Virginia State Legislature Commends Mosque With Jihad Terror Links
The Virginia State Legislature this month passed a joint resolution Commending the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center on the 30th anniversary of its founding. This is the mosque that the Treasury Department’s Enforcement Communications System (TECS) says is “operating as a front for Hamas operatives in U.S.” and “is associated with Islamic extremists.”
It adds that Dar Al-Hijrah has been investigated numerous times for “financing and proving aid and comfort” to jihad organizations and has been “linked to numerous individuals linked to terrorism financing.” Has the Virginia State Legislature gone mad?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Wi-Fi-Allergic Americans Flock to West Virginia Town Where Wi-Fi is Banned
(NaturalNews) Scores of people who believe that continual exposure to wireless signals have made them ill have begun streaming to a small town in West Virginia where Wi-Fi has been banned.
According to Britain’s Daily Mail, these “Wi-Fi refugees” are making the move to Green Bank, a tiny place located inside the U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone, established by the FCC in November 1958 to “minimize possible harmful interference to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory” located there, according to the observatory’s website.
Many of those trekking to Green Bank complain of painful symptoms when they are near cell phones or any device with Wi-Fi, two creations that define modern technology. Burning skin, chest pains and acute headaches are among the most common complaints.
Those suffering symptoms, which scientists have labeled “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” (EHS), say that the move to Green Bank has led to a dramatic easing of their condition.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Christians: Muslims Unite at Vatican to Fight Modern Slavery
Global Freedom Network aims to rid supply chains of forced labor
(ANSA) — Vatican City, March 17 — Muslims and Christians joined forces at the Vatican Monday in an effort to help fight human trafficking and end modern-day slavery. Representatives of Pope Francis met with those of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar university in Cairo, the world’s foremost seat of Sunni learning, to launch the Global Freedom Network.
The initiative aims to eliminate slavery by urging governments, businesses, educational and religious institutions to rid eradicate slave labor from their supply chains.
The network was founded by billionaire Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who was in Vatican City to sign the agreement launching the project Monday. The network will have its base at the Vatican, with a CEO in charge of a business plan for the next five years, which includes convincing 50 top corporations to commit to slavery-proofing their supply chains; persuading the G-20 to condemn slavery in its modern form; and getting 160 governments to back a $100-million fundraising effort over the next seven years to launch anti-slavery programs around the world.
Francis, who hosted a Vatican conference last November on modern-day slavery, has repeatedly denounced human trafficking as a “crime against humanity”. Getting Vatican officials at the table with al-Azhar Monday was noteworthy in light of deteriorating relations between the two during the papacy of Francis’ predecessor Benedict XVI. popefrancisnewsapp.com
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Candidate Retracts Comparison of Geert Wilders, Hitler
Wilders, who heads the pro-Israel Party for Freedom, at a campaign event last week called for The Hague to be “a city with fewer problems and, if possible, fewer Moroccans,” according to the Het Parool daily.
Fouad Sidali, a senior member of the Dutch Labor Party running for the Hague City Council, responded on Thursday by tweeting, “Hitler is among us. In the figure of Geert Wilders. Hitler also thought that there should be fewer Jews. We will never forget that.”
The next day, however, Sidali was quoted by Het Parool as saying the comparison was inappropriate and that he should not have made it, but added, “One needs to understand what emotions Wilders’ statement evokes.”
Wilders tweeted Friday, “Sidali … retracted his statement. Wise. Leaving for Morocco would be even wiser.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Fails to Convince U. S. To Export Gas to Europe
(AGI) Brussels, March 14 — After two days of talks, the EU has failed to convince Washington to start exporting gas to Europe.
Tensions in Ukraine are spurring the EU to intensify its efforts to end a decade of reliance on Russian gas. One solution could be to provide greater access to America’s abundant gas reserves, but the U.S. is concerned that this would push up gas prices at home.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU Warns Italy Has One of Slowest Judicial Systems in Europe
‘Justice scorecard’ says figures show improvement in some areas
(ANSA) — Brussels, March 17 — Italy is one of the slowest countries in the European Union in terms of the number of outstanding civil and commercial court cases waiting for their day in court, although improvement in some areas have been made, the EU justice commissioner said in a report Monday.
Based on 2012 figures, 5.5 cases were pending per hundred Italians, down from 2010 figures of six outstanding cases per hundred inhabitants, according to the EU assessment. The average length of wait for judicial action on a case in 2012 was about 600 days — up from about 500 days in 2010, the report said.
According to the report, only Croatia and Greece showed worse results, although authors of the report said that data was incomplete from several countries, including Cyprus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands and Great Britain.
The EC said the report is designed “to promote the quality, independence and efficiency of justice systems in the European Union”. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” said Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner.
“The EU Justice Scoreboard is a key tool within the EU’s economic strategy, enabling more effective justice for citizens and businesses.
“A properly functioning, independent justice system is essential to gaining the trust of citizens and investors, and indispensable for mutual trust in the European area of justice”.
In terms of perceived judicial independence, Italy ranked 20th of 28 states, but was sixth from the top on measurements of ongoing training for workers in the justice system.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France: Free Public Transport Costs Paris €4m a Day
The bill to cover the costs of Paris’s “dangerously” high pollution levels is at €16 million ($22.3 million) and counting with city chiefs admitting on Monday that the decision to make public transport free is costing authorities €4 million a day.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Thousands Fined During Paris Driving Ban
Thousands of motorists have been fined after taking to streets of Paris during a day-long driving ban. France ruled that all vehicles with even licence plate numbers had to stay home to tackle high levels of pollution.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Horror as Train Arrives With Body Stuck on Front
Passengers at a French railway station were left horrified when a high-speed TGV train arrived at a platform with the dead body of a cyclist stuck to the front of the train.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: ‘New Insect Menu Cost Me My Michelin Star’
The defiant chef at a well-known restaurant on the French Riviera has blamed the recent loss of his prized Michelin star on his very un-Gallic, “alternative” menu, based around insects and worms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Petitions UN to Help Free Marines in India
‘We are willing to try them at home’ says interior minister
(ANSA) — New York, March 17 — The Italian interior minister on Monday appealed to the United Nations to help free two Italian marines from India as they await charges for allegedly killing two fisherman on an anti-piracy mission two years ago. “Italy is willing to try the marines at home, but in the meantime we ask for their freedom,” said Angelino Alfano shortly before a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. Lately Italy has been trying to rally international support among the EU, the US and NATO to bring home Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who have been held in India without charges since February 2012, after they allegedly opened fire on a fishing trawler they mistook for a pirate vessel. The ongoing case has seriously strained Indian-Italian relations, especially before prosecutors ruled out the death penalty as a possible sentence earlier this year. They now face up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors say. Italy argues that the case sets dangerous and wide-ranging precedents for any country involved in anti-piracy missions overseas. The incident occurred while the marines while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala in February 2012.
The two marines have been living and working at the Italian embassy in India amid a long series of delays in the case.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Canadian Student Stopped After Stealing Rock From Colosseum
15-year-old said he wanted souvenir of Rome, caught on video
(ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Police stopped a 15-year-old Canadian tourist who was caught on video stealing a piece of Rome’s iconic Colosseum and tucking it into his backpack.
The boy, who was on a school trip, reportedly wanted a souvenir of the 1,900-year-old Flavian Amphitheatre, which has frequently been the victim of souvenir-hunters who all want a piece of history.
Police said that in the youth’s backpack, they also found a piece of ceramic which appeared to be quite old.
German tourists have twice made the news when they have been caught with pieces of rock — in one case, a 9-kg chunk — from Ancient Rome monuments.
And an American couple once returned a piece of rock they had hacked off the Colosseum 25 years earlier because they felt guilty about the damage souvenir-hunters can inflict.
“Over the years, I started thinking that if all the visitors to that beautiful monument took a piece of it away with them nothing would be left standing,” said one.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Vodafone Buys Spain’s Ono for 7.2 Billion Euros
Transaction includes debt, operation to generate 2 bln
(ANSAmed) — ROME — Vodafone concluded an agreement to buy Spanish operator Grupo Corporativo ONO for 7.2 billion euros including debt. Vodafone announced the deal saying that it will generate savings of about two billion euros, and is expected to increase turnover by one billion euros. The British telecommunications group thus reinforced its expansion process which last year saw the acquisition of Germany’s Kabel, for which Vodafone put up more than 10 billion dollars. In a statement sent to the National Securities Exchange Commission on Monday, Vodafone said that the acquisition of Ono would result in 240 million euros in synergies per year for the next four, for a net total of 2 billion euros.
“The combination of Vodafone and Ono creates a leading integrated communications provider in Spain and represents an attractive value creation opportunity for Vodafone,” Vittorio Colao, Vodafone chief executive, told the media.
He added that “demand for unified communications products and services has increased significantly over the past few years in Spain, and this transaction, together with our fibre-to-the-home build programme, will accelerate our ability to offer best-in-class propositions in the Spanish market”. With the acquisition of Ono, Vodafone has ensured its access to 7.2 million users in Spain. Ono has its own HFC infrastructure, technology that enables it to offer 100 and 200-megabyte speeds and compete with the speeds that Telefonica offers its clients through its fibre-optics network
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Cheered by Econ Reforms, Worried by Defence Cuts
‘Waiting to see concrete provisions’
(see related) (ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Silvio Berlusconi, three-time premier and head of the center-right opposition Forza Italia (FI) party, said Monday he approved of a package of economic reforms launched by the government, but said his party was “worried” about cuts to defence. “We are paying close attention to the package of measures put in place by the government and we will watch to see if they turn into concrete provisions,” said Berlusconi. “The announced public-spending reform is also welcomed, but we are worried about cuts to security”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Man Robbed Five Banks With a Biro Pen
Armed with a Bic biro pen, a man managed to rob five banks in Rome. He was snared only when savvy staff at his sixth target realised the harmless ‘weapon’ was not a knife.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
London Judge Turns Down Fugitive Mobster Extradition Request
Rejection on grounds that ‘Italian prisons are inhumane’
(ANSA) — London, March 18 — A Westminster Magistrates Court judge on Monday turned down extradition proceedings against a fugitive Italian mobster because he might be subjected to what the judge called inhumane and degrading treatment in Italy’s chronically overcrowded prisons.
Domenico Rancadore, 65, was convicted in absentia in 1999 of mafia association in Italy, where he faces seven years in prison.
The mobster fled to London with his wife in 1994. British and Italian police worked together to nab him in August 2013. Judge Howard Riddle said prison conditions in Italy would likely breach the human rights of Rancadore, who suffers from angina, after a similar case involving Somali citizen Hayle Abdi Badre, whose extradition was denied on the same grounds.
The judge set Rancadore free on £20,000 bail on the condition he sign in at Uxbridge police station daily, obey a strict curfew, and wear an electronic ankle bracelet.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Welcomes New Italian Prime Minister Renzi
Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed Italy’s new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on his first official visit to Berlin. Both were joined by ministers for the talks, which included a discussion on Italian debt.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Iranian Agents Kidnap, Torture
by Shadi Paveh
For the first time in the Netherlands, an Iranian — an Arab poet — was kidnapped and tortured by Iranian government agents there.
According to a report by Karim Dahimi that was widely reported in Farsi, on March 6, 2014, an Ahwazi Arab-Iranian poet and human rights activist living in the Netherlands, Mr. Saeed Mousa Mosavi, was kidnapped and beaten by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran after he returned to his home in the evening. Mosavi stated that during his ordeal, he was stripped naked, videotaped and tortured with electric shocks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Form of GMO Sneaking Into Food Supply This Year
A Switzerland based company called Evolva has developed a synthetic vanilla that is set to be released in 2014. The vanilla is created using a process of genetic engineering called synthetic biology.
Synthetic biology, according to a 2005 European Commission paper is “…the engineering of biology… the synthesis of complex, biologically based (or inspired) systems which display functions that do not exist in nature.” Unlike the older science of splicing genes from different species together, synthetic biology is seeking to create whole new organisms that do not exist on earth.
Evolva’s synthetic vanilla is created by inserting computer coded DNA into yeast. This new method of genetic engineering is called “natural” by Evolva…
Foods that have been genetically modified in the “traditional” method have been linked to sterility in hamsters.[url] The dramatic rise in food allergies has also been speculated to be linked to GMO foods. What health impacts will emerge after eating foods with synthetic DNA that our environment and our bodies have never before encountered?
[Comment: What’s next? Soylent green?]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Swede’s Terror Memorial ‘Rape of the Landscape’
A Swedish artist’s design for a memorial near Norway’s Utøya island would be “impossible” to build, and faces opposition from locals who want to block a plan they says risks “scarring” the landscape in a tribute to the dead.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: ‘Rock Too Soft for Utøya Memorial’: Geologist
The planned memorial to those who died on Utøya will be impossible to build — or would at least look nothing like the images that have spread around the world, a local geologist has declared, arguing the rocks are too soft and porous.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
PM Renzi Says Italy Can Lead Europe for Twenty Years
(AGI) Rome, Mar 16 — Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said it is “simply a matter of showing [Angela] Merkel what kind of reforms Italy has in mind, which is something that no one has yet done in Europe”. During an interview to a Canale 5 news programme, the Prime Minister said that if Italy complies with its duties,”you’ll see that we can lead Europe, instead of being in the last carriage. We don’t want to lead Europe for the next six months, but for the next twenty years. And we will make it. Our children deserve a different Europe.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Prices of French Wines Soar After Poor Harvest
The prices of some French wines have shot up more than 30 percent since the summer due to a historically weak grape harvest in 2013, that has left the good stuff in short supply, according to data released on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Renzi to Visit Merkel in Berlin, Italy ‘Not a Dunce’
Premier reportedly seeking green light for budget leeway
(ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Premier Matteo Renzi flies to Berlin Monday for a bilateral summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of efforts to reassure European partners Italy is not going off the rails with budget discipline while at the same time winning the green light for some fiscal leeway.
The premier, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), has made several calls for Europe to focus more on growth and employment and less on German-mandated austerity that was the European Union’s main response to the eurozone debt crisis.
Renzi, who became Italy’s youngest premier at 39 after unseating his PD colleague Enrico Letta last month, also met French President François Hollande in Paris on Saturday ahead of a summit of European Union leaders later this week. Renzi announced an array of measures on Wednesday to revive the economy, which remains weak after emerging from its longest postwar recession last year, with unemployment at record levels of close to 13%.
He presented plans to cut income taxes by 10 billion euros, invest 1.74 billion euros in social housing programs, spend 3.5 billion euros on schools and repay 68 billion euros in outstanding bills, among other things.
He said that he had found ways to finance the measures without raising other taxes and promised Italy will not breach the 3% deficit-to-GDP ratio threshold that the EU allows.
But Renzi, who will lead a delegation of six ministers Monday, reportedly wants Italy to be allowed to post a deficit higher than the 2.6% of GDP that it had been forecast for this year.
A German government spokesman called Renzi’s economic-reform agenda “ambitious” on Friday. In an interview broadcast Sunday, Renzi said that Italy had made big strides forward in putting its public finances in order in recent years and “is not a dunce who should be made to stand behind the blackboard”. The European Commission recently said the 2014 budget passed by Renzi’s predecessor Letta did not do enough to bring down Italy’s massive public debt of over two trillion euros, around 133% of GDP.
As a result it put Italy under “specific monitoring” over its “excessive macroeconomic imbalances”, which include high debt and poor competitiveness, as part of an in-depth review.
In its monthly bulletin, the European Central Bank complained Thursday that Italy has not made “tangible progress” on hitting budget and debt targets set by the Commission.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Man Arrested Under Terrorism Act in North Lanarkshire
A man has been arrested in North Lanarkshire and detained by police under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Police Scotland said the 38-year-old man was held during an “intelligence-led, pre-planned operation” in the Newarthill area on Friday. The force said he was “presently detained in police custody under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000”. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal. The man is expected to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Monday.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A man sneezing into his trombone during a church orchestra performance is racking up views on YouTube. What do you do when you need to sneeze in awkward places, asks Tom Heyden.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Madrid Train Bombings Middleman Deported
Spain on Sunday deported a Moroccan man after he completed a 10-year jail sentence for obtaining the explosives used in the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, the government said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Dem Teacher Let Go After Student Revolt
An English-language school has heeded the concerns of its pupils, after a student uprising against a new teacher at the multinational school who is also active in the anti-immigration Sweden Democrat party.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
The Jews Who Fought for Hitler: ‘We Did Not Help the Germans. We Had a Common Enemy’
They fought alongside them, healed them, and often befriended them. But how do Finland’s Jews feel today about their uneasy — and little mentioned — alliance with the Nazis?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: First Clitheroe Mosque Open After Big Revamp
CLITHEROE’S first mosque is open for prayer and worship after work to refurbish the ground floor was completed. The town’s small Islamic community is now able to worship in their home town for the first time since the community arrived there 40 years ago…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamists and Ex-BNP Group Clash on London Streets
A group of Islamist agitators clashed on Saturday with members of a British National Party (BNP) splinter group ‘Britain First’ in East London, with police intervening to calm the tensions
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamists Rally for Sharia Britain
Convicted terrorists, extremist preachers and dozens of other Islamist activists rallied in East London on Saturday, in a sure sign that the newly founded ‘Need4Khilafah’ group is becoming increasingly emboldened in its anti-Western agitation efforts in the UK…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Maidenhead Mosque Open Day
Building bridges and establishing strong community links was the message as Maidenhead Mosque opened its doors to non-Muslims yesterday. The mosque, in Holmanleaze, was holding an open day as part of Islam Awareness Week to encourage better understanding and dialogue between different faiths…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Terrorist Tamer: Meet the 7/7 Survivor Dedicating Her Life to Fighting Extremism
Sajda Mughal survived the 7/7 bombing at King’s Cross — but discovering the atrocity was carried out by fellow Muslims changed her attitude to her faith and her career in an unexpected way. She tells Rosamund Urwin about dedicating her life to persuading extremists to swear off violence
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP Banned From Speaking at Student’s Union Because of ‘Extremist’ Views
UKIP has been banned from speaking to students ahead of the European elections because it’s members hold “extremist views”.
In a remarkable move, Derby University Student’s Union has failed to lift the veto despite a poll showing it was on course to win the largest share of the vote. Nigel Farage’s party has been outlawed because “students had a right to feel safe while studying on campus”, the governing body said. The union, which represents 21,000 students, acted after receiving a handful of complaints about the party’s policies on immigration…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Venetians ‘No Longer Want to be Part of Italy’
Italians in Venice and its surrounding region are voting this week on whether to break away from rest of the country and form their own country, organizers said on Monday.
“We no longer want to be part of a country that has gone to the wall. Nothing works anymore,” Nicola Gardin from the party said. “Italy is weighed down by an enormous level of public debt, thousands of businesses have closed, we have lost count of the number of people who have committed suicide in Veneto,” he said.
The region pays around €71 billion in taxes to Rome, €21 billion more than it receives in investment and services. The latest polls show that — of the 3.8 million people eligible to vote in the region — around 60 percent is in favour of independence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: At Least 10 Killed in Attack on Benghazi Military Base
Local media say 23 have been injured
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 17 — At least ten people were killed and 23 injured in a car bomb attack on Monday near a Benghazi barracks in eastern Libya, CNN quotes local media as saying. Three years after the beginning of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi is still suffering attacks and targeted assassinations against security officials. The government considers Islamist extremists operating in the oil-rich eastern region of Cyrenaica to be behind the attacks.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: US Navy Seals Retake Seized Oil Tanker
US special forces seize a tanker that fled with a cargo of oil from a Libyan port, halting an attempt by rebels to sell petroleum on the global market
A team of Navy SEALs has taken control of a stateless oil tanker seized earlier in the month by Libyan rebels, the Pentagon said Monday. The SEALs boarded the tanker Morning Glory late Sunday in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea near Cyprus. Rear Adm. John Kirby said no one was injured in the operation, which was approved by President Barack Obama.
The vessel, whose ownership remains a mystery, was carrying stolen Libyan crude oil from the port of Al-Sidra. Libyan officials had ordered the tanker confiscated, but it managed to escape…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisian Security Forces Kill Three Suspected Jihadists
(AGI) Tunis, March 17 — Tunisian security forces killed three suspected jihadists in an anti-terrorism operation in the northwest of the country, an Interior Ministry spokesman reported. The suspects were surrounded in a house in the Jendouba region, near the Algerian border on Monday. Islamist militants shot dead four people in the same area last month.
Three policemen were also injured in a shooting at a checkpoint in Sidi Bouzid on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
US Navy Seals Regain Control of North Korean Tanker That Escaped Libyan Authorities
Forces from the US Navy special operations unit, known as the SEALs, have boarded and taken control of a North Korea-flagged tanker. Armed men had recently seized the vessel holding oil owned by the Libyan government.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Minister Vehement Against Barghouti’s Release
‘An arch-terrorist who should rot in jail’
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 17 — Israeli Transportation Minister and Likud hardliner Yisrael Katz has said that a possible release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti as part of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks should not even be taken into consideration. If Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas demands “the release of Barghouti and other terrorists in exchange for continuing the talks, Israel needs to respond in just one word: no,” Katz declared in a post on his Facebook page. “Barghouti is a cowardly mass murderer who sent ‘shaheeds’ (‘martyrs’ in Arabic ,Ed.) to blow themselves up among innocent civilians during the Second Intifada. He should rot in jail until he dies.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel’s Defence Minister: ‘There’ll be No Peace Agreement in My Lifetime’
Moshe Ya’alon, the hardline Israeli defence minister, says there will be no peace agreement with the Palestinians in his lifetime
A senior Israeli minister has predicted there will be no peace agreement with the Palestinians in his lifetime as Mahmoud Abbas flies to Washington to meet Barack Obama. Moshe Ya’alon, the hardline Israeli defence minister, said Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president was not “a partner for a permanent agreement” in a wide-ranging television interview…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Peres Says Mahmoud Abbas is a True Partner for Peace
President, ‘a man of principle who opposes violence and terror’
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, MARCH 17 — Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is a “true partner for peace”, said Israeli President Shimon Peres on the eve of the meeting between the leader of the Palestinian Authority and U.S. President Barack Obama tonight in Washington D.C.
“A man of principle who opposes violence and terror,” Peres added, cited by Israeli media.
“We are currently at a very critical stage of negotiations and we must do everything within our power to assure that they continue. There is a clear majority and agreement on the two-State Solution,” continued Peres speaking at a meeting with rights activist organizations. Peres’s endorsement for Mahmoud Abbas occurred when the president said he was content it was the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) who is negotiating with Israel on behalf of the Palestinians, the media said. Then Peres observed that disagreements were a “natural part” of negotiations.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Viral Social Media Pushback Against Anti-Israel Boycott Movement
There is a reason why the big, bad “global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel” still only has 19,000 supporters on Facebook after being there for almost four years, while the sites supporting Scarlett Johansson and Neil Young against BDS have almost 40,000 in less than two months…
| [Return to headlines] |
Four Killed in Suicide Car Bombing in Eastern Lebanon
BEIRUT, March 16 (Xinhua) — At least four people were killed and seven others wounded when a suicide bomber exploded his car on Sunday night in the Nabi Othman town in the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Nuclear Negotiator Cancels Dinner With EU’s Ashton Over Meeting With Opposition in Tehran
Iranian media are reporting that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has cancelled a dinner meeting planned with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton over meetings she had with opposition activists during her visit to Iran earlier this month.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Missing Jet, Iranian Threats, Prompt Israel to Tighten Air Security
Top Israeli defense officials have hurriedly put in place a confidential list of secret security measures in light of the baffling disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jumbo jet that experts fear could become a weapon of mass destruction if in the wrong hands.
With no trace of Beijing-bound flight MH370 after nine days, one of several theories that has emerged is that the plane was hijacked to Iran, where it could be turned into a massive and devastating weapon. Two Iranian passengers are known to have been aboard, travelling on false passports. While Israeli officials did not confirm any suspicions regarding Iran, experts said it is not a stretch to point the finger at Israel’s middle east nemesis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia Bans 50 ‘Blasphemous’ Baby Names — Like Benjamin
Saudi Arabia religious authorities have banned 50 names for babies born in the kingdom, calling them blasphemous, inappropriate and a contradiction to the culture.
Making the list: Benjamin, the first name of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and anything that reeks of royalty, like Amir, Malek and Malika, which translate into Arabic as — in order — prince, king and queen. Also banned were names popular in the West, like Linda, Alice, Sandy and Lauren. On the list, too: Malask, which translates to angel, Taline, Randa, Nardeen, Nabi, Abdul Naser, Abdul Musieh, Iman, Bassel, Yara, Naris and Barrah, The Blaze reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia Bans Hundreds of Books at Riyadh Book Fair
Including ones by ‘icon’ Darwish and Qatar-based Palestinian
(ANSAmed) — DUBAI — Despite being one of the icons of Arab literature studied in schools throughout the region, collections by Mahmoud Darwish were removed by Saudi authorities from the recently-ended Riyadh Book Fair. Many other books by well-known authors received the same fate in a move observers and critics called “unprecedented”. Saudi daily Okaz quoted the organizers of the event — which hosted 900 publishers from 21 countries, including 400 from Saudi Arabia itself — as saying that 420 books (10,000 copies total) had been removed from the fair. The kingdom’s Committee for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue said that passages in the books had been found to be “blasphemous”, “against the teachings of Islam”, or “threats to security”. The religious police found verses by the most famous Iraq Badr Shaker Al Sayyab, his fellow countryman Abdul Wahab Al Bayati, and the Palestinian Muin Bseiso to be dangerous, as they did books by Azmi Bihara, a Palestinian-Israeli former Knesset (Israeli parliament) MP now living in Qatar. Diplomatic relations between the two oil-rich monarchies nosedived in recent weeks after the Saudi ambassador in Doha was recalled to protest “interference” by the emirate in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. An entire stand of the Arab Network for Research and Publishing, which focuses on books about Saudi Arabia and political Islam under its director, Nawaf Al-Qudaimi, was destroyed and all its books confiscated for “security reasons”. Works on the emergence of potential harbingers of women’s independence were also removed, including Abdulla Al-Alami’s “When Will Women Drive?”, which describes the slow, ever-tripped-up but continuing revolution by the women in the kingdom determined to be recognized the right to drive cars. “Feminism in Islam” and “History of the Hejab”, the all-covering cloak worn by women over their normal clothes, were also deemed inappropriate for Saudis. Some activists say that the move had a diametrically opposite effect from what had been intended by the religious police, as it led to hundreds of prohibited books being downloaded from the internet and various digital platforms.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Rebels and Hezbollah Exchange Rocket Fire in Lebanon
Tension rising after fall of Yabroud
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, MARCH 17 — Tension is rising along Lebanon’s border with Syria after the fall of the Syrian city of Yabroud, a key rebel supply town, to regime forces on Sunday.
An exchange of rockets occurred on Monday in the Sunni-majority Lebanese town of Arsal, where the population has sided with Syrian rebels, and that of Al-Labweh, a stronghold of the Shia movement Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria alongside the regime troops. The Lebanese news agency NNA reports that three rockets were shot from the hills around Arsal at Al-Labweh, while the television station LBCI said that three others had targeted Arsal suburbs. Hundreds of Syrian rebels fled across the border into Lebanon on Sunday towards Arsal after the fall of Yabroud, taken by government forces and Hezbollah fighters. On Sunday evening a suicide attacker detonated a car loaded with explosives in the Shia town of Al-Nabi Othman, killing two Hezbollah members. On Monday morning the Lebanese army found another car loaded with explosives near Ras Baalbek and proceeded to detonate it with a rocket.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tension in Turkey Neither Tolerable Nor Sustainable, Says BDP
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will either have to change its polarizing attitude on March 31 — the day after local elections — in taking a lesson from the polls results or will have to call for early elections due to the tension that it has ratcheted up in society, according to the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Terror Suspect Released Without Charge
A 24-year-old man arrested last week on suspicion of terrorist crimes has been released without charge. The man was arrested in Cowley, Oxford, early on Tuesday last week as part of an investigation into those supporting fighting in Syria…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
After Secession Vote, Crimea Moves in on Energy Companies, Banking, Land
Following an overwhelming vote to secede, the disputed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea formally applied to join Russia Monday, and moved quickly to nationalize state property and two major energy companies, and set up a new central bank with millions of Russian dollars.
A statement on Crimea’s parliament website Monday said it proposed “to the Russian Federation to admit the Republic of Crimea as a new subject with the status of a republic,’’ Reuters reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ankara and Moscow Sign New Action Agreement
Two-year deal to boost already-high numbers of Russian visitors
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, MARCH 17 — Turkey has signed a new tourism agreement with Russia which will see the two countries run joint projects over the next two years, as Anadolu Agency reports. Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism signed a joint action plan with the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism on Sunday to encourage cooperation between 2014 and 2016.
Meeting on the sidelines of the “Intourmarket 2014 Moscow: International Trade Fair for Travel & Tourism”, Undersecretary at the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry Ozgur Ozaslan and Chairman of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) Aleksandr Rodkov announced the deal. The joint action plan aims to: encourage and boost tourist traffic between Turkey and Russia; set up a joint working group; increase travel safety and comfort; and further develop cooperation in international organizations. As part of the new plan, a forum will be hosted in Turkey later this year to gather investors from both countries. Ozaslan described it as a “real success story” that Turkey has preserved and even improved its place in Russian tourism market.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Observer: Crimean Referendum in Line With International Law
The Crimean referendum was fully in line with international standards, its results should be recognised both in Ukraine and western countries, Austrian member of the European Parliament Johann Stadler said at the final press-conference of international observers on Sunday.
A referendum on the status of the republic was held in the Crimea on Sunday. According to exit poll results obtained by the Crimean Republican Institute of Political and Sociological Studies, about 95,5 percent of those who came to polling stations voted for the Crimea to join Russia.
Earlier on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that the referendum in the Crimea fully complied with the UN Charter and its results will become a departing point in determining the future of the peninsula.
Stadler confirmed that the referendum met all international standards and stressed that while he watched the voting he did not see any irregularities, such as putting pressure on voters, for example. As the ballot boxes were transparent, international observers could see that there were no manipulations, Stadler said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Crimean Parliament Formally Asks to Join Russia
Crimea’s parliament formally applied to join the Russian Federation on Monday morning and declared its independence from Ukraine. It follows Sunday’s controversial referendum vote in favour of leaving Ukraine.
The parliament also announced that Ukrainian laws no longer applied and that state property belongs to Crimea. The region will also take on the Russian currency, the rouble, and will change the clocks to Moscow time (two hours ahead) by the end of March.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Signs Decree Recognizing Crimea Has a Sovereign State
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognizing Crimea as a sovereign state. It comes after Western leaders rejected a referendum in which 97 percent of Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia’s Rosneft to Take Up Stake in Pirelli
Oil producer to invest 500 million euros in tyre-maker
(ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Russian oil giant Rosneft is set to buy a stake in Italian tyre-maker Pirelli after reaching a deal with shareholders, it was announced Monday. Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo said Russia’s biggest oil producer will buy 50% of a new company that is to acquire the stake of over 20% currently owned by holding company Camfin.
Rosneft is reportedly investing 500 million euros in Pirelli in a deal that values Pirelli shares at 12 euros each and sees current private-equity partner Clessidra exiting. The remaining 50% of the new company will belong to a another company 80% owned by current Pirelli indirect shareholder Nuove Partecipazioni. Intesa and another bank, UniCredit, will each own 10%.
Marco Tronchetti Provera will keep his stake in Pirelli and stay on as chairman, even though Rosneft are set to become the largest single investor in the holding that controls the tyremaker.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Eyes Crimea’s Oil and Gas Reserves
According to Reuters , Crimea may nationalize oil and gas assets within its borders belonging to Ukraine, and sell them off to Russia. Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister hinted at the possibility that it would take control of Chornomorneftegaz, a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise, and then “privatize” it by selling it to Gazprom. “After nationalisation of the company we would openly take a decision — if a large investor, like Gazprom or others emerges — to carry out (privatisation),” Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev said.
Crimea’s Russian-backed government has decided to hold a referendum on March 16 to secede from Ukraine. At the time of this writing, Russia’s heavy involvement in the drive for Crimean secession makes it hard to believe that Sunday’s result will be anything other than an overwhelming result in favor of breaking ties with Kiev (either greater autonomy or annexation by Russia). The next steps are much less clear, however. Secretary of State John Kerry is hoping Russia will hold off on fully annexing Crimea, leaving open the possibility of some diplomatic way of resolving the crisis.
The ongoing political standoff in Crimea has already halted Ukraine’s oil and gas ambitions. Ukraine came close to inking a deal with a consortium of international oil companies that would have led to an initial $735 million investment to drill two offshore wells. The consortium led by ExxonMobil — with stakes held by Shell, Romania’s OMV Petrom, and Ukraine’s Nadra Ukrainy — had been particularly interested in the Skifska field in the Black Sea, which holds an estimated 200 to 250 billion cubic meters of natural gas. If it can get the field up and running, Exxon hopes to eventually produce 5 billion cubic meters per year. Exxon’s consortium outbid Russian oil company Lukoil for the rights to the block…
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The EU’s Stunning Hypocrisy on Crimea
The European Union’s characterization of the Crimean vote to join Russia as “undemocratic” is laced with stunning hypocrisy given that the EU ignored its own citizens when they rejected the European Constitution on numerous occasions.
Following yesterday’s referendum in which people in the black sea peninsula voted 97% in favor of becoming part of the Russian federation, the EU responded by slapping sanctions on 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, declaring the referendum to be “illegal”.
That’s standard operating procedure for the European Union, which habitually denigrates the will of its own people by ignoring popular votes and referendums if it doesn’t like the result.
When voters in both France and the Netherlands rejected the EU Constitution in 2005, instead of accepting the outcome, the European Union simply re-named the Constitution and re-introduced it as the Lisbon Treaty, forcing Europeans to vote once again.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U. S. Applies Sanctions to Russian Weapons Industry
(AGI) Washington, March 17 — The White House has specified that sanctions decided by President Barack Obama will be applied to all companies or businesses and individuals active in the Russians weapons industry, in addition to the 11 Russian and Ukrainian personalities mentioned. Assets linked to representatives of Russia’s leadership will be frozen.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Prepares for War After Crimea Vote
40,000 Ukrainian troops mobilized, reservists called up
Coup leaders in Kyiv have rejected the Crimea referendum, refuse to pull troops off the peninsula following a March 17 vote to secede, and are preparing for war.
“Crimea was, is, and will be our territory,” Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh declared in a statement delivered at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. “Ukrainian forces will stay [in Crimea] until all their tasks have been completed.”
U.S. State Department favorite Vitali Klitschko, who was passed over for central banker Arseniy Yatsenyuk to lead the coup government, said Ukrainian troops will stay in Crimea.
Klitscho cited a March 16 peace treaty agreement allowing Ukrainian soldiers to move freely in Crimea. According to Tenyukh, the Russians thus far have respected the agreement. Ukraine has used it to resupply troops on the peninsula.
The Russians, however, expect Ukraine to honor the deadline of the treaty, set for March 21, and leave Crimea.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
US and EU: Making Europeans Suffer is a “Price Worth Paying” To Punish Russia Over Ukraine
The people of Crimea rejected the coup government in Kyiv and voted to split from Ukraine and join Russia. In response to the referendum held Sunday, the United States and the European Union will announce “tough diplomatic and economic sanctions against Moscow as early as today,” according to ABC News. The U.S. and the EU consider the vote illegal and unconstitutional.
Obama called Vladimir Putin and told him the will of the people of Crimea will “never be recognized by the United States and the international community.” He said the U.S. and its partners in the EU and the United Nations are “prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions.”…
Russia responded to the threat of economic sanctions last week by moving more than $100 billion in Treasury bonds out of New York. “We hold a decent amount of Treasury bonds — more than $200 billion — and if the United States dares to freeze accounts of Russian businesses and citizens, we can no longer view America as a reliable partner,” Sergei Glazyev, an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Baron’s.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Boeing Source: Missing Plane in Pakistan
The Malaysian government reportedly is investigating the possibility that missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 avoided radar detection and landed in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border inside Taliban-controlled territory, according to the UK Independent . . . investigators confiscated a homemade flight simulator from the pilot’s home to see if it reveals any useful information . . . the Malaysian foreign minister told reporters that Malaysia asked several Asian countries for assistance in its investigation, including Pakistan . . . Pakistan dismissed the idea that a Boeing 777 could land undetected inside the country but promised to work with the Malaysian government in its search for the missing plane . . . a LIGNET analyst received information from a source at Boeing that the company believes the plane did land in Pakistan…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Hunt for MH370 Continues in Two Huge Search Corridors
The search for missing flight MH370 is now focusing on two vast corridors where the plane could possibly have flown. Twenty-six nations have now joined the search, which is in its tenth day.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Lawmaker: Missing Airliner May Have Landed in Southeast Asia, For Use as ‘Weapon’
The theory that the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked and diverted — possibly to Indonesia — to be used as a “weapon” in a future attack gained traction Monday from the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Search for Malaysia Airlines Jet Spans Hemispheres as China Again Urges Better Coordination
Malaysia appealed for help from countries with radar and satellite data yesterday as the unprecedented search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet expanded, with Australia, China, Indonesia and Kazakhstan deploying military and civilian resources.
The search spanned the northern and southern hemispheres as Australia scoured the southern Indian Ocean and Kazakhstan — more than 10,000 kilometers to the northwest — started search operations.
Twenty-six countries were scouring sea and land for the Boeing 777 aircraft that disappeared 10 days ago with 239 people, 154 of them Chinese, on board.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China to Spend More Than $162 Billion on Shantytowns
China said it will invest more than 1 trillion yuan ($162 billion) redeveloping shantytowns this year as the government detailed how it will boost its urban population to support growth.
More than 4.75 million households will be involved, state broadcaster China Central Television reported yesterday, citing the housing ministry. China will build more transportation links, ease some residence-registration rules and let local governments directly issue bonds, according to the urbanization plan for 2014 to 2020, issued by the ruling Communist Party and State Council.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Backs North Korea on Human Rights
China has dismissed a UN report that compared human rights abuses in North Korea to those in Nazi Germany. A Chinese diplomat said the report lacked credibility, adding to fears that Beijing will block further action. He said some of the recommendations were divorced from reality.
North Korea called the report — which details murder, torture and starvation — a fabrication by hostile forces. It was drawn up by UN-appointed jurists to document abuses in North Korea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UN Commission Chief Calls for Action Against North Korean Atrocities
The head of a UN inquiry into human rights violations in North Korea has called on the United Nations to take action. The plea is based on a report of execution, slavery and mass imprisonment in the communist country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Will ‘Stick With’ Union Jack on Flag
Boris Johnson held talks with Australia’s foreign minister today as she said her country would “stick with” its national flag. Julie Bishop, who is visiting the UK, said there was “no great demand” to change the current flag, which includes the Union Jack.
It comes just a day after New Zealand announced a referendum on whether to ditch its own Union Jack and Southern Cross star constellation flag. It is unusual for a visiting foreign minister to meet the Mayor of London but Mr Johnson has strong ties with Australia and was named an honorary citizen in January…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: Police Tracking Radical Youth Who Attacked Imam
POLICE are yet to make any arrest in connection with the attack on a Muslim cleric by radical Muslim youth on Thursday morning. Sheikh Ali Bahero, the imam at Masjid Rahma in Bakarani, Kisauni constituency, was attacked near the controversial Masjid Musa in Majengo, which was recently renamed Majid Shuhadaa…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Malawi: Muslims Ask Politicians to Outline Their Manifestos
Muslims in Malawi have asked political leaders in the country to bring forth their party manifestos if they seriously want people to vote people basing on policies. Chairperson of Muslim Taskforce for Democracy (MTD) Sheik Abdul Ajasie has observed that people want to vote for leaders who have clear policies to develop the country hence the need for making public manifestos…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sudan: 10,000 Flee Militia Attacks on Darfur’s East Jebel Marra
Tawila — About 10,000 people, displaced from East Jebel Marra arrived at the area of Tawila town in North Darfur on Saturday. They had fled from attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
A Tawila camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that about 10,000 newly displaced arrived on Saturday evening, coming from the areas of Tarny, Khartoum Belleil, and Konjara in East Jebel Marra.
The escapees told the Tawila camp leaders that the “Rapid Support militias, led by Hemeti” had launched an attack on their areas on Saturday morning. “The Janjaweed set their villages on fire, and stole their money, belongings, and their livestock.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Air Canada Suspends Its Venezuela Flights, Saying it Can’t Assure Safety Due to Civil Unrest
Air Canada says it has suspended its flights to and from Venezuela due to civil unrest. In a statement posted on its website Monday, the airline says it can no longer ensure the safety of its operation in Venezuela, which has been roiled by daily street protests over crime and a deteriorating economy for more than a month.
President Nicolas Maduro said Friday any airline that reduced or suspended flights in and out of Venezuela would face severe measures. He said any airline that leaves won’t be allowed back while he is in power.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Amnesty Condemns ‘Shameful’ Cyprus Treatment of Migrants
Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned what it termed the “shameful” treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers in Cyprus, saying they were being detained in prison-like conditions for extended periods awaiting deportation.
Refugees from the conflict in Syria and women separated from young children figure among those detained in the EU member state, it said in a report.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Immigrants Cost Britain £3,000 a Year Each, Says Report
Immigrants have cost the taxpayer more than £22 million a day since the mid-1990s, totting up a bill of more than £140 billion, according to a new report.
MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns against mass immigration, added that in 2011 the costs were equivalent to £3,000 for each of the eight million foreign-born people living in Britain.
It compiled the figures in response to a study published by University College London (UCL) last year which claimed immigrants made a “substantial” contribution to public finances.
The pressure group’s new report said UCL’s conclusions — which were given prominent coverage by the BBC — were “simply wrong”.
In fact, immigration between 1995 and 2011 cost the taxpayer more than £140 billion, or £22 million a day, after balancing what immigrants pay in tax with what they take out of Britain’s coffers by claiming benefits and tax credits, it said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
L.A. Unified’s Decision to Move Students Sparks Furor
The two schools are a two-minute drive apart in similarly low-income, largely immigrant neighborhoods. But to hear students tell it, the two places might as well be different planets.
Lincoln High School in Lincoln Heights, located on the edge of Chinatown in a hilly area of Victorian dwellings and low-rent apartments, is home to 29,000 residents, mostly Latino and Asian.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
MP Chaouki (PD) Expects New Citizenship Law by Year-End
Moderate ‘Jus soli’ proposed
(ANSAmed)- ROME, MARCH 17 — The center-left (PD) member of parliament and coordinator of the parliamentary group on immigration Khalid Chaouki expressed optimism on Monday that a new Italian citizenship law would be approved by the end of 2014. On the sidelines of a meeting at the Chamber of Deputies on children born to immigrants, Chaouki said in an interview with ANSAmed that the priority of his group was “a new law on citizenship, a moderate ‘jus soli’. The proposal is a reasonable one and we have already submitted it to Parliament. We want to guarantee that a million children and young people born in Italy can become Italians.” The MP said that it was not only within the majority that there was agreement on the need for change within the present law, as “large sections of this Parliament have submitted draft laws that would change the current ‘ius sanguinis’ basis of citizenship. The idea is to bind citizenship to roots in the country, through schooling. We are willing to discuss this, so long as too drastic of a change is not demanded.” For example, “it would be unacceptable to tie citizenship for those born in Italy to the entire length of compulsory schooling — the most we could accept would be tying citizenship to their parents’ stay in Italy or school enrollment. Making citizenship for those born in Italy dependent on learning the language or only on completion of schooling is unfair and not in line with the facts on the ground: these children and young people speak Italian better than some MPs.” This legislature could mark a turning point, Chaouki said, and the fast-approaching Italian six-month EU presidency is a valuable opportunity. “There is the need to focus on southern Europe and North Africa, and cooperation and the education of Maghreb youth. We now have, on the other side of the Mediterranean, new leaders with whom to interact. On the issue of refugees, Europe needs to agree on a common plan, since Mediterranean countries cannot do it alone.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Blocher Threatens New Immigration Initiative
Leading Swiss People’s Party (SVP) politician Christoph Blocher says he is ready to launch a new initiative to ensure that Switzerland applies immigration quotas.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Activists at U-M Trying to Force Engineering Students to Study Race and Ethnicity
To become a good engineer of business major, a student must first study the all-important subjects of race and ethnicity — at least according to student government leaders at the University of Michigan, who are working to extend the liberal arts college’s race requirements to all colleges of the university.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium to Ban Sexist Comments
A new Belgian law expected to come into effect in early April will make sexual harassment a criminal offence punishable by fines of up to $1500 or a prison sentence of up to one year. The law will not only cover harassment on the streets, but also in the workplace and on social media. The legislation was announced on March 13 by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Interior and Equal Opportunities, Joelle Milquet…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Common Core Math Education Intentionally Designed to Make America’s Children Mentally Ill
(NaturalNews) If you look around America today, mathematical mental illness is found everywhere. It’s found in the federal budget, where numbers only mean what we are told they mean, not what they really mean. Mental illness is also found in medicine, where mentally ill victims of mercury in vaccines viciously attack parents who seek to protect their children from those very same vaccines. It’s also found in the new “Common Core” curriculum, spearheaded by the federal government, which seems intentionally designed to make children mentally ill and as confused as possible.
Case in point: See this homework assignment from an elementary school in New York. The “mathematics” exercise instructs children to “Draw the cubes you colored in the number bond” and then “Show the hidden partners on your fingers to an adult.”
The final instruction asks students to “Color the fingers you showed.”
I do PhD-level work in analytical chemistry and code complex relational databases, yes despite my best efforts to grasp this Common Core exercise, I have no idea what on Earth this lesson is attempting to teach.
Here’s the homework assignment. See if you can figure it out:…
Examining these lessons, I feel a genuine sense of alarm for the future of America. If even the people writing mathematics lessons can’t communicate clearly, then we are rapidly descending into Idiocracy. The real aim seems to be about making schoolchildren mentally ill so that they cannot possibly understand the federal budget deficit, national debt, or the coming collapse of the U.S. dollar (which will destroy their paychecks and life savings when it ultimately happens).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Congress Wants Answers on USAFA Religious Liberty Incident
The Air Force’s top two leaders spent nearly as much time answering questions about religious issues at the Air Force Academy as they did about proposed cuts during a Friday hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.
At issue is a dry-erase board outside an academy dorm. On Monday, a Bible scripture was written on it and removed hours later at the behest of commanders. Both actions are under scrutiny. Air Force bosses say it’s a big reaction to a tiny incident…
Academy leaders say the recent issue was handled within hours. A cadet complained to a sergeant that the overt religious display made him “uncomfortable,” Johnson said.
The sergeant and other leaders met with the cadet who posted the scripture and he agreed to take it down, said Brig. Gen. Gregory Lengyel, the academy’s commandant of cadets. No orders were given regarding the posting, which academy bosses say falls into a gray area of Air Force rules.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
As parents find themselves busier than ever with work and distractions, schools are increasingly becoming the default teachers of values, but not all values being taught in today’s schools are moral. Do you trust the public school system to teach your children about family values, or is it a parent’s responsibility? You might be surprised to learn what children are being taught in school today. It is often more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic, and as schools usurp parental roles much of what they are feeding to children as education actually attacks the traditional family and destroys the basis for a moral society.
By way of example, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario recently encouraged its members to begin teaching alternatives to Mother’s and Father’s Day opting instead to acknowledge what it termed ‘alternative’ names such as Love Day or GAMES Day in recognition of Grandmothers, Aunts, Moms, Even Sisters. The organization encourages its teachers to connect messages about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender lifestyles to the curriculum so that “all students feel validated and engaged” (The Toronto Sun, September 25, 2013, “Union Playing Games”). It encourages the use of LGBT books, media, and pictures as part of the everyday curriculum and including the “terms gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender when describing various families” (ibid.). The organization claims on its Web site that it is doing this as part of a social responsibility to produce a welcoming atmosphere for LGBT families as the “fastest growing type of family structure in Canada.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ghanaian Pastor Seeks to ‘Re-Christianize’ Germany
A reverend from Ghana has turned a former supermarket in Germany into a church. He hopes to fill it with one of Germany’s fastest growing faith groups: evangelicals. But his good-news-only style isn’t quite catching on.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Isn’t the St. Patrick’s Day Parade a Celebration of Irish Heritage?
Yesterday the Mayor of Boston refused to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Today in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio did the same. Sponsors like Guiness and Sam Adams bowed out. Why? Because LBTG groups weren’t invited to participate. Which is ridiculous, because the parades are a celebration of Irish heritage, not lifestyle choices or people’s sexual proclivities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The investigation of what happened to Flight 370 has now turned to captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a “fervent supporter” of Malaysian government opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who was thrown in jail for the “crime” of homosexuality just hours before Flight 370 disappeared.
Yes, being gay is a crime in Malaysia. The mainstream media has largely glossed over this issue, preferring to describe the captain as an “anti-government” person, but it increasingly appears that he might actually be a supporter of strong government reforms in a country where sexual orientation discrimination is the law of the land.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Intellectual Snobbery of Conspicuous Atheism
Atheism is intellectually fashionable. In the past month, The New York Times has run several stories about lack of faith in its series on religion. The New Yorker ran an article on the history of non-belief in reaction to two new books on the subject that were released within a week of each other in February. The veteran writer, Adam Gopnik, concludes this:
What the noes, whatever their numbers, really have now … is a monopoly on legitimate forms of knowledge about the natural world. They have this monopoly for the same reason that computer manufacturers have an edge over crystal-ball makers: The advantages of having an actual explanation of things and processes are self-evident.
This is a perfect summary of the intellectual claim of those who set out to prove that God is dead and religion is false: Atheists have legitimate knowledge, and those who believe do not. This is the epistemological assumption looming in the so-called “culture war” between the caricatures of godless liberals and Bible-thumping conservatives in America: One group wields rational argumentation and intellectual history as an indictment of God, while the other looks to tradition and text as defenses against modernity’s encroachment on religiouslife.
The problem is, the “culture war” is a false construct created by politicians and public intellectuals, left and right. The state of faith in the world is much grayer, much humbler, and much less divided than atheist academics and preaching politicians claim. Especially in the U.S., social conservatives are often called out in the media for reifying and inflaming this cultural divide: The rhetoric of once and future White House hopefuls like Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, and Bobby Jindal reinforces an “us” and “them” distinction between those with faith and those without. Knowing God helps them live and legislate in the “right” way, they say.
But vocal atheists reinforce this binary of Godly vs. godless, too—the argument is just not as obvious. Theirs is a subtle assertion: Believers aren’t educated or thoughtful enough to debunk God, and if they only knew more, rational evidence would surely offset faith…
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U.S. Military Becoming Global Joke
Yet another outcome-predetermined “study” — like those Obama used to homosexualize the military a few years back — designed to grease the skids for more radical social engineering in the ranks of the armed forces.
How’d that turn out? Since that time the military has seen a rapid 33 percent spike in military sexual assault, with a majority being male-on-male homosexual assaults.
As FRC’s Tony Perkins noted last year, “President Obama is finally admitting that sexual assault is a serious problem in the military — but what he hasn’t conceded is that his policy on homosexuality helped create it. According to a new Pentagon survey, most of the victims were not female (12,000 incidents), but male (14,000) — highlighting a growing trend of same-sex assault in our ranks.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Are UFO Experts Being Murdered? New Book to Investigate ‘Pattern’ of Deaths
A crop circle researcher found floating off the coast of Portsmouth and the rapid decline of a UFO expert who believed he had found an alien skull, are the latest in what some UFO researchers claim is a ‘pattern’ of suspicious deaths of researchers into extraterrestrial sightings, stretching back to as early as 1947.
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Astronomers Discover Echoes of Expansion After Big Bang
Waves of gravity that yield clues about the early life of the universe have been detected by US scientists. Discovery of the galactic ripples, already hailed as a major find, could yield a Nobel Prize.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
As someone interested in history, I was aware of the works of the famous historian Arnold Toynbee, who was an acknowledged member of Cecil Rhodes’ Association of Helpers. Therefore, I showed Jim a speech Toynbee had delivered in Copenhagen in June 1931 (40 years after Rhodes formed his secret society “to take the government of the whole world”) to the Institute for the Study of International Affairs, in which he revealed: “We are at present working discreetly with all our might to wrest this mysterious force called sovereignty out of the clutches of the local nation states of the world. All the time we are denying with our lips what we are doing with our hands, because to impugn the sovereignty of the local nation states of the world is still a heresy for which a statesman or publicist can perhaps not quite be burned at the stake but certainly be ostracized or discredited.”
Still skeptical, though, Jim downplayed my discovery by saying, “But Arnold Toynbee is dead, and so are J.P. Morgan and all those other bankers back then. Besides, we’re in a global economy today. You’ll have to find something linking Morgan to international bankers today if your theory is going to have any credibility.”
I knew that Morgan was largely responsible for the establishment of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) under the Hague Agreement of 1930. The BIS became the central bank for all the world’s central banks. And Bill Clinton’s Georgetown University mentor, Prof. Carroll Quigley, had written in TRAGEDY AND HOPE (1966) that its aim was “to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. The system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cosmic Inflation: ‘Spectacular’ Discovery Hailed
Scientists say they have extraordinary new evidence to support a Big Bang Theory for the origin of the Universe.
Researchers believe they have found the signal left in the sky by the super-rapid expansion of space that must have occurred just fractions of a second after everything came into being. It takes the form of a distinctive twist in the oldest light detectable with telescopes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
First Glimpse of Big Bang Ripples From Universe’s Birth
Waves in the very fabric of the cosmos are allowing us to peer further back in time than anyone thought possible, showing us what was happening in the first slivers of a second after the big bang. If confirmed, the discovery of these primordial waves will have rippling effects throughout science. It backs up key predictions for how the universe began and operates, and offers a glimmer of hope for tying together two foundational theories of modern physics. It might even net the discoverers a Nobel prize.
The waves in question are called gravitational waves and are produced when a massive object accelerates through the fabric of space-time, causing ripples. They appear in Einstein’s highly successful theory of general relativity, although they have never been directly detected.
Today, scientists working with the BICEP2 collaboration at the south pole announced the first clear sign of gravitational waves, found in maps of the earliest light emitted after the big bang.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gravity Waves From Big Bang Detected
A curved signature in the cosmic microwave background light provides proof of inflation and spacetime ripples
Physicists have found a long-predicted twist in light from the Big Bang that represents the first image of ripples in the universe called gravitational waves, researchers announced today. The finding is direct proof of the theory of inflation, the idea that the universe expanded extremely quickly in the first fraction of a second after it was born.
What’s more, the signal is coming through much more strongly than expected, ruling out a large class of inflation models and potentially pointing the way toward new theories of physics, experts say.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Major Discovery: ‘Smoking Gun’ For Universe’s Incredible Big Bang Expansion Found
Astronomers have found the first direct evidence of cosmic inflation, the theorized dramatic expansion of the universe that put the “bang” in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, new research suggests.
If it holds up, the landmark discovery — which also confirms the existence of hypothesized ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves — would give researchers a much better understanding of the Big Bang and its immediate aftermath.
“If it is confirmed, then it would be the most important discovery since the discovery, I think, that the expansion of the universe is accelerating,” Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who is not a member of the study team, told Space.com, comparing the finding to a 1998 observation that opened the window on mysterious dark energy and won three researchers the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NASA Technology Views Birth of the Universe
Astronomers are announcing today that they have acquired the first direct evidence that gravitational waves rippled through our infant universe during an explosive period of growth called inflation. This is the strongest confirmation yet of cosmic inflation theories, which say the universe expanded by 100 trillion trillion times, in less than the blink of an eye.
The findings were made with the help of NASA-developed detector technology on the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists Find Cosmic Ripples From Birth of Universe
Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the first direct evidence of the astonishing expansion of the universe in the instant following the Big Bang — the scientific explanation for the birth of the universe some 13.8 billion years ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why GMO Trees Will Destroy Forest Biodiversity & Life on Earth
If you have wondered what GMO forests will do to the planet, and if they have anything in common with GMO food crops, you are likely to be flummoxed by the plans of the plutocracy to take all of the ‘natural’ out of nature.
Our forests provide an extremely high level of biodiversity, and the destruction of the Amazon forests in recent years has eradicated estimated thousands of life-giving plants and herbs, not to mention diverse animal species. Over 90% of Amazonian plants, for example, have not yet been studied by western science, but have been used by natives for thousands of years to teat a multitude of ailments…
If International Paper Co. and MeadWestvaco Corp. get their way, the entire Southeastern United States will be transformed into one big GMO tree plantation. Just as Monsanto and GMO food crop companies marketed millions of suicide seeds before truly understanding their long-term effects on health, which are all but completely deleterious, lumber companies will attempt to plant GMO trees in order to control the forests and ensure dominance in an increasingly competitive market.
This is similar to the plans for GMO corn to provide ethanol for fuel, but without any consideration for the fact that the GMO varieties can easily cross-pollinate food crops and destroy a viable food source for the world. It also means that trees will now be owned as a patented product which only lumber and energy companies will hold the right to own, and therefore, plant. All seeds we purchase in the future to maintain forests must then be purchased by those who have ruined the natural ecosystems of this planet.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Arnold Toynbee was the father of the Marxist journalist Polly Toynbee who has been responsible for much of the PC/MC ideology being force fed to UK citizens today.