The National Front made extensive gains in French municipal elections. Dissatisfaction with President François Hollande and the Socialists and anger at the rampant cultural enrichment of France have prompted French voters to mark their ballot for the “extreme right”.
In other Islamophobic news, Geert Wilders and the PVV have dropped from the top position in Dutch polls in the wake of Mr. Wilders’ role in leading the controversial “Fewer Moroccans” chant.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, LS, 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.
Italy: Renzi Affirms Commitments to EU at Summit, Plugs Reforms
Vows crackdown on tax dodgers, not to cut pensions broadly
(ANSA) — Rome, March 21 — Premier Matteo Renzi said at his first EU summit Friday that Italy’s stance regarding commitments to Europe “has not changed,” vowing to implement economic reforms without exceeding EU budget rules.
Speaking after his first summit in Brussels, Renzi is hoping to shore up support for his government’s plans to cut over 12 billion euros in income and business taxes without exceeding EU budget limits.
Sworn in as premier last month, Renzi said that Italy will continue to honor the fiscal compact, an EU treaty that imposes budget discipline on EU members if their deficits become too high. It will respect the pact “just like all (EU) rules,” Renzi added. He then pointed out that Italy’s economy is recovering, albeit “modestly”. Strong exports have been important to the recovery but confidence is also a condition for economic development, he added.
Renzi believes a key to boosting recovery further is a series of economic reforms he aims to pass through parliament. That topic, as well as time lines for their implementation, “were the most important ones discussed” at the summit, he said, as Italy’s six-month EU duty presidency approaches in July. “Italy can get there with a lot to do and say, only if first we’re able to put in place this gigantic work on reforms”.
Unemployment, climate change and enhancing innovation will all be important issues on Italy’s plate when it assumes the duty presidency, Renzi said. He added that it would be wrong to think the EU deals only with abstract issues.
He also stressed the importance of taking care of other domestic issues before the rotating presidency is upon Italy. For instance, in addition to cutting taxes, he aims to rein in “those who have never paid” in a plan to crack down on tax dodgers using “digital innovations” to monitor financial data. The effort, he said, aims “to pay back citizens who have paid for the crisis due to nearsighted politicians who are far from the needs of the people”. He also promised not to cut pension spending across the board, despite recommendations by the spending review commissioner. Carlo Cottarelli’s work is “a good starting point on some things” but suggestions of broad pension reductions are not acceptable, said Renzi.
He went on to comment on Italy’s relationship with Europe, which he said “does not seem to bear any conflict,” and stressed that Italy has no reason to go to Europe with “cap in hand”. “We have great faith in European institutions and a great desire to invest in Europe, which represents not our past but our future,” he said. He added that EU-imposed austerity measures since the start of the economic crisis and other penalties did not mean Italy should feel ashamed. “We are Italy. I have never and never will have this downtrodden and subordinate attitude of coming to Europe with cap in hand,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Schulz Rallies Behind Renzi’s Drive for Growth
‘No growth in Italy means no growth in Europe’ says EP president
(see related) (ANSA) — Turin, March 21 — European Parliament President Martin Schulz rallied behind Italian Premier Matteo Renzi’s drive for growth on a visit to Italy on Friday. “Without growth in Italy, there can be no growth in Europe, and vice versa. I agree with Matteo Renzi. We need a philosophy and a strategy for growth,” said Schulz, speaking in Turin where he will attend a gathering focused on racism in Europe and Italy.
Schulz is the leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, which is affiliated with Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD). Renzi is currently at an EU summit in Brussels, where he aims to win the support of European leaders for a series of economic reforms.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Govt Announces Sale of 6-Year BTPs From April 14-17
Brings expected total Italy debt sales in 2014 to 450 bln euros
(ANSA) — Rome, March 21 — Italy announced plans to sell a fresh round of government debt next month, including a new six-year bond.
The inflation-linked BTPs are to be offered to retail investors from April 14 to 16, and then to institutional buyers on April 17. This offering will bring the estimated total bond sales by the euro zone’s third-largest economy in 2014 to some 450 billion euros, according to Maria Cannata, director-general of Public Debt of the Italian Finance Ministry.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy to Remain on Low Side of Investment Grade, Moody’s +RP
‘High side for speculative investments’ says ratings agency
(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — Moody’s on Tuesday said Italy was likely to remain “on the lowest side of the investment-grade rating in the foreseeable future”. However the ratings agency said the eurozone’s third-largest economy would likely be on the high side as far as speculative investments are concerned. On Friday, rival ratings agency Fitch warned that Italy’s economic growth will be “modest” through 2015, with 0.6% growth in 2014 and 1% in 2015.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: U.S. Fund Blackrock Owns 5.748% of Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena
Holdings boosted when MPS foundation sold 12% of bank
(ANSA) — Milan, March 21 — United States fund Blackrock has a 5.748% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank operating bank, stock market watchdog Consob said Friday.
The fund raised its holdings last Tuesday in the troubled Tuscan lender to more than 5%, the threshold over which Consob makes investments public. That same day, the Siena-based banking foundation that is Monte dei Paschi’s largest shareholder sold a 12% stake in the troubled bank.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Risk of Social Deprivation for 1 in 3 Italians
(AGI) Cernobbio, March 22 — The risk of social deprivation involves thirty percent of the Italian population, Economy Minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, said at the Forum organised by trade association Confcommercio on Saturday. The risk involved 25.3 percent of the population in 2008 and the the current average in Europe is less than 25 percent. Even with improvements in the second quarter of 2013 “the economic situation is still vulnerable and exposed to many risks. GDP has dropped by 9 percentage points,” Mr Padoan said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Carter Criticizes Drone Use, Domestic Spying Under Obama
Former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday criticized the Obama administration’s surveillance efforts, saying the country’s uses of drones has been “abused” and that he communicates by mail with foreign leaders for fear his electronic correspondences are being watched.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton: ‘Thinking About All Kinds of Decisions, ‘ But Still Undecided About White House Run
Hillary Clinton has no doubt given strong indications about running for president in 2016. But this weekend she stuck to the standard political playbook by saying she’s still undecided, with Election Day more than two years away.
Clinton said Saturday that she was “obviously thinking about all kinds of decisions,” when asked about the issue during a Clinton Global Initiative University forum in Arizona.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Just as Congress was rushed to pass the Patriot Act without reading it and Nancy Pelosi urged lawmakers (and all of us Americans) to pass The Affordable Care Act “so we could find out what was in it,” now states were urged to compete in Race to the Top, submitting to Common Core Curriculum before having any cognizance of what it really is.
Critics like Berit Kjos and Orlean Koehle present significant documentation that math standards and the teaching of classical literature and even cursive writing are being decimated or even discontinued. James Milgram, professor emeritus, Stanford University, and a member of the Validation Committee for Common Core national math standards, has explained that by the end of the seventh grade, Common Core math is about two years behind the math of other high-achieving countries.[1]
Emmit McGrourty speaks out about another shocking change; traditionally, the teaching ratio was 80% classical literature, 20% informational text. Common Core will modify it to 50% classical literature, 50% informational text, like reading computer instructional manuals.
[…]
In the introduction to her essay, A “Common Core” for a Global Community, Berit Kjos states:
While preparing this booklet I came across a headline that illustrates the corrupt values and shameless propaganda behind UNESCO’s Common Core indoctrination. Ponder this assignment: “Students Asked to Argue ‘That Jews Are Evil’ and Prove Nazi Loyalty in Assignment Linked to Common Core.”[3]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
GMOs Could Cause ‘Irreversible Termination of Life’ On Earth, Risk Expert Warns
When discussing the issues surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — that is, organisms bearing the genetic traits of other species or bacteria — the focus is typically on how safe (or unsafe) these novel, food-like products are for humans. But distinguished risk engineer and two-time best-selling author Nassim Taleb thinks an even bigger problem with GMOs is their threat to the planet, and the statistical likelihood that they will eventually lead to the collapse of life on Earth.
In a new study, which is still in draft form, this professor of risk engineering from New York University uses statistical analysis to make the case that GMOs, by their very nature, will disrupt the ecosystems of this planet in ways that mankind is only just beginning to comprehend. Because they represent a systemic risk rather than a localized one — GM traits are known to spread unconstrained throughout the environment — GMOs will eventually breach the so-called “ecocide barrier,” leading to catastrophic ecosystem failure.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Idaho Gov. Signs Emergency Legislation to Nullify Federal Gun Laws
On the heels of the illegal ATF raid on Ares Armor, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed into law S1332, a bill which will effectively nullify federal gun laws. The nullification legislation will prohibit state enforcement of any future federal act that relates to firearms, accessories or ammunition.
S1332, or as it is commonly referred to as the Idaho Federal Firearm, Magazine and Register Ban Enforcement Act, passed both the house (68-0) and senate (34-0) unanimously.
According to the legislation, it will:
“Protect Idaho law enforcement officers from being directed, through federal executive orders, agency orders, statutes, laws, rules, or regulations enacted or promulgated on or after the effective date of this act, to violate their oath of office and Idaho citizens’ rights under Section 11, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho.”…
It also criminalizes any action by employees of the state that violate the legislation:
“Any official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision thereof who knowingly and willfully orders an official, agent or employee of the state of Idaho or a political subdivision of the state to enforce any executive order, agency order, law, rule or regulation of the United States government as provided in subsection (2) of this section upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition shall, on a first violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) which shall be paid into the general fund of the state…”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Oil Spills Into Texas’ Galveston Bay
Cleanup is underway in Texas’ Galveston Bay after a barge carrying up to a million gallons of marine oil fuel collided with another ship, spilling approximately 168,000 gallons of oil into the Houston ship Channel, one of the busiest waterways in the U.S.. Officials said Sunday that changing currents, winds and weather conditions have forced officials to extend their cleanup efforts into the Gulf of Mexico and south along Galveston Island.
A team of 24 response vessels were skimming oil out of the water and containment booms were brought in to protect environmentally sensitive areas of the Houston ship channel, the Coast Guard said. By Sunday night, they had removed all the remaining oil from the leaking tank and into another storage compartment on another barge.
The cleanup efforts led to the closure of the ship channel between Galveston island and Bolivar Peninsula, according to the U.S. Coast Guard…
| [Return to headlines] |
Romney: Obama ‘Naive, ‘ Lacked Judgment Regarding Ukraine, Putin
Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Sunday accused President Obama of being “naïve” about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agenda and said he lacks the foresight to have prevented Putin from taking over a Ukraine peninsula.
“There’s no question (about) the president’s naiveté with regards to Russia,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And his faulty judgment about Russia’s intentions and objectives has led to a number of foreign policy challenges that we face.”
During Romney’s 2012 presidential race against Obama, the president criticized him for saying Russia — not Al Qaeda — was America’s “number one geopolitical foe.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The False Myth of the 80% Conservative
The Republican establishment needs to deal with reality: The grassroots feels betrayed and doesn’t trust GOP leaders
The danger is this: In the USA’s upcoming 2014 elections, Republican elites assume that everyone all now agrees that conservatives ‘must’ support non-conservative candidates to win more elections. The GOP is operating on the belief that everyone is on board, simply because insiders have officially decreed it to be so.
However, the grassroots in the USA remains unconvinced. Worse, the Republican establishment has no plan for truly healing the actual wounds. Elites want to avoid change more fervently than they do want to win elections. Elites violated trust by advancing liberal policies in the U.S. Congress, but they won’t apologize or reform. The GOP will do anything to win elections — except change.
It simply doesn’t matter what you or I think. Activists are going to sit on their hands whether you like it or not, whether I like it or not, unless the GOP fields conservative nominees. Elites can denounce such thinking all day long, but that changes nothing. So the Republican Party is heading into the 2014 elections with the establishment deceiving itself into thinking that grassroots volunteers agree with Party plans.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Navy’s Plan to Beam Down Energy From Orbiting Solar Panels
For decades, the Pentagon has been the world’s largest oil consumer, and as global petroleum prices continue to rise, the military has been searching for feasible energy alternatives. Now they’re looking in space.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is building technology that will allow the military to capture solar power in orbit and project it back down to Earth. Not only would space solar potentially save the Pentagon buckets of cash, but it could simplify military deployments.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Which Way, USA? America at a Crossroads With Economic and Energy Policy
As if our own problems aren’t a sufficient reason to bolster the U.S. energy industry, the world is now upended by a Russia that appears intent on re-creating another Soviet Union while simultaneously forming an energy axis with China. If America could supply more of the world’s natural gas and oil supplies, it would mean more wealth flowing in to the U.S., more American employment, and greater stabilization for the Western world, even at a time when the NATO nations appear to be in a leadership vacuum without steady leadership from the U.S.
Instead, eco-warriors on the left are poring big money in to political advertisements bashing congressional Republicans who support the Keystone pipeline project with Canada, and some are even threatening to abandon the Democrat party if President Obama doesn’t abandon the pipeline project altogether.
The real needs of human beings — needs for employment, expanding opportunity, and a stable economy — take a backseat to the “one true religion” of green energy. Yet as the American left continues to worship at the same altar and the American president tries not to offend them, other nations of the free and industrialized world are actually trying to improve their economies and get out of debt.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why Government Does Not Function
Do you have the feeling that we no longer have government from the federal to the local level that is able to function because of vast volumes of laws and regulations that have made it impossible to do anything from build a bridge to run a nursing home?
If so, you’re right. The nation is falling behind others who do a better job by permitting elected and appointed officials to actually make decisions. We are living in a nation where lawsuits follow every decision to accomplish anything.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Border Buddies: A Merger Between the United States and Canada?
If Diane Francis had her way, the U.S. would share a lot more with its northern neighbor than the Great Lakes, maple syrup and Justin Bieber.
The editor-at-large for Toronto’s National Post argues that a complete merger of Canada and the United States would create a global colossus, add 13 stars to the American flag, eliminate the border and require just a few amendments to the Constitution. But, Ms. Francis acknowledged on a visit to Washington last week, not everyone up north is thrilled with the idea.
“I wanted to attack the Canadian establishment and say, ‘Wake up, there is (a merger) underway, let’s manage it to our benefit,’ and to attack American ignorance about Canada,” she said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Grizzly Bears Face Expanded Hunt
As the Canadian province of British Columbia prepares to open its annual grizzly-bear hunting season, conservation scientists are protesting the provincial government’s decision to expand the number of animals that can be killed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Tracking 80 Muslims Who Have Returned After Waging Jihad Abroad
Intelligence officials are aware of about 80 Canadians who have returned home after going overseas for “terrorist purposes,” according to speaking notes prepared for the director of the nation’s spy agency.
The so-called “foreign fighter” phenomenon has become a growing concern for the intelligence community, stoking fears that individuals could return to Canada more radicalized than when they left.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Parents Outraged After School Officials Vaccinate Their Children Without Consent
(NaturalNews) Controversy has erupted in western Canada after public school nurses reportedly vaccinated a 14-year-old student without her parents’ consent. CBC.ca reports that the Bootsma family of British Columbia is furious and demanding answers after their ninth-grader was pulled out of class one day and coerced into getting the combination DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine without a parental consent form or even parental notification.
Dean Bootsma says his daughter became a target of the state after school officials learned that she had not been jabbed like most of the other children in her class, a conscious and deliberate decision that he and his wife made after their other daughter died following routine vaccinations…
In defense of the school’s decision, the Fraser Health Authority, which governs the health services provided to the public where the Bootsmas live, cited the so-called B.C. Infants Act, which apparently allows children 14 years of age or older who are deemed to be “mature” to decide on their own whether or not to get vaccinated.
According to CBC.ca, as long as a doctor or nurse believes a child to be mature enough to fully understand the risks and benefits associated with a particular vaccine, that child can decide to accept it without first consulting with the mother or father, an outrageous provision that allows the state to essentially override parental authority in matters of medical treatment for minors.
“The fact that they did this without our knowledge or consent sickens me,” stated Dean Bootsma to reporters. “I’ve never felt so violated.”…
Obviously unashamed of their horrendous and predatory behavior in the matter, both the state and the school admitted that, when vaccination compliance rates get “too low,” public health nurses specifically target unvaccinated children using the B.C. Infants Act as legal cover.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Lawmakers Get Golden Pensions Due to Longer Life Expectation
Life expectancy rises with income, Austrian uni study shows
(ANSA) — Bolzano, March 17 — Regional council members from Italy’s northern autonomous region of Trentino Alto Adige could receive pensions that are 13.6% higher than those of average citizens, a study released by the Green Party said Monday.
Pension payments are based partly on estimated life expectancy and the study by Innsbruck’s Austrian University Professor Gottfried Tappeiner found that high-income, university-educated people were projected to live as much as seven years longer than the rest of the population.
When that expectation is applied to Trentino’s 130 council members, this means they could receive 13.6% more than the rate used for regular citizens, or a potential difference of 90 million euros, the professor found.
In Italy, MPs and autonomous region representatives receive monthly pension payments ranging from 2,400 euros to 7,200 euros once they turn 65, whether or not they retire.
That means lawmakers who don’t retire at 65 may receive both a wage and a pension.
A sparsely populated region bordering on Austria and Switzerland, Trentino Alto Adige is among the most developed and wealthiest regions in Italy and the EU.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s Justice System Should be the Same for All
Extending sharia threatens to create a parallel legal system
Britain has generally been welcoming to those who come to this country to share in the benefits of our tolerant, democratic way of life and to make a useful contribution to society. The Islamic community has, for half a century, typified that mutual accommodation. Only recently has it become embarrassed by a tiny minority of radical extremists who are an even more immediate problem for their fellow Muslims than for the wider community…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Firms in Greece to Launch Own Chamber
The Chinese companies active in Greece, whose numbers are on the rise, are creating a new, exclusively Chinese chamber of enterprises.
Their aim is the common protection and promotion of their interests and to establish themselves as a group on the Greek business scene. The sectors they are mainly interested in are transport, shipping, telecommunications, energy, tourism, commerce and real estate.
Chinese banks are also preparing to establish a presence in Greece in activities beyond shipping, where they have already obtained a significant share.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Confcommercio Revises 2014 Growth Forecast Up to 0.5%
‘Could be higher if Renzi follows through on tax cuts’
(ANSA) — Cernobbio, March 21 — Retailers’ association Confcommercio revised its 2014 GDP growth forecast for Italy up from 0.3% to 0.5% on Friday, citing the possibility for further growth that could bump up GDP by 0.8% on the year if Premier Matteo Renzi follows through on cutting taxes for households and businesses.
Confcommercio said that if the government fulfills plans to cut income taxes by 10 billion euros and business taxes by 2.4 billion euros, gross domestic product could grow by another 0.3%, bringing its estimate for the year to 0.8%. Consumption for 2014 is forecast to remain stagnant, up from a drop of 0.2%.
But Renzi’s cuts could raise them too, up to 1%, according to a Confcommercio study. Otherwise consumption won’t increase until 2015 by 0.7%, it said. Meanwhile the retailers’ group forecast next year’s GDP growth at 0.9%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Mapping the Spread of HIV in Greenland
Researchers show how one man was responsible for over 75 percent of all cases
In the case of the source of 72 of the 89 new cases, the researchers were able to pinpoint it to a small village, to which they established a Greenlandic man, who had contracted the virus through homosexual sex in Denmark, moved in the middle of the 1980s.
The virus, which was soon transmitted heterosexually, spread to other villages and then cities, where it mainly infected the poor and homeless — a similar trend to ones identified in the US, Europe and southern Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Wilders Loses Top Poll Position After Anti-Moroccan Chant
(Reuters) — Dutch right-wing populist Geert Wilders has lost his top position in opinion polls after making anti-Moroccan comments that unleashed a public backlash and prompted several high-profile resignations from his party.
Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) would win five fewer seats in the Dutch parliament if elections were held today compared to last week, according to the latest figures by pollster Maurice de Hond…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Expelled Sweden Democrats Stand for Nazi Party
Since the Sweden Democrats announced a zero-tolerance policy against racism they have expelled 66 members. The party won 20 members in the Swedish parliament in the 2010 but is still seen as extremist by the other parliamentary parties.
Stig-Erik Werner was elected to be a substitute councillor for the Sweden Democrats in western Sweden’s Tidaholm, but has now gone over to the neo-Nazi “party of Swedes” (SvP). He says his current party is what the Sweden Democrats should have been, and he is disappointed in the Sweden Democrats.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Far Right Front National Makes Big Gains in French Local Elections
France’s far-right Front National party looks set to make major gains in the first round of the country’s local elections, according to early poll results.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Right Front National Makes Historic Gains in French Municipal Elections
Marine Le Pen’s FN expected to make the second round run-off in up to 200 towns while ruling Socialists likely to clinch all-female duel in Paris and the opposition centre-Right to keep Marseille.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Far Right Makes Local Gains; Voters Punish Hollande
France’s anti-immigrant National Front (FN) scored gains in first-round town hall elections on Sunday and took control of a former Socialist bastion as voters punished President Francois Hollande and his left-wing allies.
The elections in thousands of constituencies across France were the first nationwide voter test for Hollande, who came to power in May 2012 and has seen his popularity slump to record lows for failing to rein in unemployment.
A second round of voting is due next Sunday but FN leader Marine Le Pen, who has softened the party’s image since taking over from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011, said advances made in the first round already marked a major breakthrough.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Axe-Wielding Thieves Steal €600,000 From Luxury Paris Shop
Two armed men robbed high-end store Colette in Paris on Saturday morning, making off with 600,000 euros (roughly 828,000 US dollars) of goods, according to a source close to the police investigation currently underway.
This is the latest in a spate of armed robberies targeting luxury shops at Place Vendôme.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘French Jihadist’ Fears Remain Two Years on From Merah
Exactly two years ago, a young Frenchman jumped out of his apartment window in the southern French city of Toulouse firing his gun amid a hail of bullets from security officials. The “Toulouse gunman” — as Mohamed Merah came to be known — was dead after a 32-hour siege, ending one of France’s most dramatic cases of a homegrown jihadist blowback.
Accurate estimates of the number of foreign jihadists in Syria are hard to arrive at, but by all accounts, the figures have been increasing over the past few months.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Parents Alone Against Syria Jihad Recruiters
“It’s crazy,” said Bons, a retired military secretary who has set up a support group for parents of children who have been radicalized. “In jail they will be reinforced in their desire to go back to Syria… It seems like they (the government) are doing whatever they can to ensure that this continues.”
The population of French prisons is estimated to be up to 70 percent Muslim.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Socialists Face Local Vote Amid Record Unpopularity
France is voting Sunday in a first round of local elections with the ruling Socialists battling record low approval and the main opposition UMP hit by scandal, setting the stage for a possible strong showing for the far-right National Front.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germans Reportedly Seize Cocaine Addressed to Vatican
The drug haul was unremarkable, but the destination raised eyebrows. German customs officials intercepted a shipment of cocaine destined for the Vatican in January, weekly Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday.
Officers at Leipzig airport found 12 ounces of the drug packed into 14 condoms inside a shipment of cushions coming from South America, the paper, reported citing a German customs report.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
by Daniel Pipes
In its frenzied loathing of the Netherlands’ most important politician, Geert Wilders, the Dutch press will do almost anything to attack him.
He’s now in hot water for calling on a reduction in the number of m Moroccans in the Netherlands. Tom-Jan Meeus of the leading newspaper NRC Handelsblad asked my opinion on this development. I wrote a response that both endorsed and criticized Wilders.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Industrial Turnover, Orders Shoot Up in January
‘Foreign markets driving growth’ says Istat
(ANSA) — Rome, March 21 — Industrial turnover in Italy was up 3% in January, marking the strongest growth since December 2011, the national statistics agency said Friday.
Driving the growth were sales abroad, Istat added. Turnover was also positive in December, up 1.2%. Italian industrial orders also shot up in January, by 2.6% on the year, Istat said. Compared to December, orders were up 4.8%, marking the sharpest increase since December 2010. Once again, foreign markets drove the spike, Istat said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Premier’s Name ‘Should be Added to Party Logo’
(AGI) Rome, March 21 — The name of Italy’s Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, should be incorporated into the logo of his party for the European elections, said Matteo Ricci, deputy head of the centre-left Democatic Party. He said on the Raitre TV channel this would confer added value and he was going to suggest it.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Wasteful Regional Spending 82.3 Bn Say Retailers
Sicily top, then Lazio and Campania
(ANSA) — Cernobbio, March 21 — Retailers’ association Confcommercio on Friday said Italy’s regions were wasting 82.3 billion euros of taxpayers’ money each year.
Sicily was top with 13.8 billion followed by Lazio with 11.1 billion and Campania with 10.7 billion.
The regions that wasted the least were Lombardy, which reportedly spent all its funds well, and Val D’Aosta, which wasted just 0.7 billion.
Regional spending is one of the many targets for spending cuts being lined up by Matteo Renzi’s government.
The government’s spending czar, Carlo Cottarelli, has identified five billion euros he says can be cut from the public sector in the next eight months including thousands of jobs.
But Renzi has said that is not the final figure, and the government will pick and choose from Cottarelli’s list that includes savings on top pensions, bloat in the healthcare sector, unnecessary military outlays and red tape in general.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Public-Sector Manager Pay to be Cut Says Renzi
Move will drive top civil servants out claims rail chief
(ANSA) — Rome, March 21 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Friday confirmed plans to cap salaries of public-sector managers at or below the quarter of a million euros Italian President Giorgio Napolitano gets.
Some of the fattest cats in Italy’s bloated public sector earn three or four times what the head of State is paid.
Giovanni Giorgio Tempini, CEO of government saving and loan trust Cassa Depositi e Prestiti takes home 1.035 million euros every year, compared to Napolitano’s annual stipend of 248,000 euros. Italian railways chief Mauro Moretti gets 873,666 euros a year. “I confirm the spending review on public-sector managers,” Renzi said at an EU summit.
Moretti said lower pay for the highest-flying civil servants would force them into the private sector, prompting critics of his stewardship of Italy’s railway system to say “good riddance, let’s see what he gets”.
But the Ferrovie dello Stato CEO added that he was counting on Renzi’s promise to carry out the pay review “reasonably”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Snam Presents 6-Bn Investment Plan, Has Deal for Tag Stake
Italian company wants ‘interconnection of European networks’
(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Italian gas-transportation company Snam announced Wednesday that it will invest six billion euros in its grid between now and 2017 and said it had a deal to buy a stake in the TAG gas-pipeline system.
“The plan is aimed at further developing the gas infrastructure system in Italy, with a view to promoting the true interconnection of the European networks, increasing diversification of supply and flexibility of the system,” read a company statement presenting its 2014-2017 business plan.
It said 1.3 billion euros of the six billion will be spent in 2014. Snam said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Italian State lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to buy its 89% stake in TAG, which carries Russian gas into Italy. The CDP acquired the pipeline system in 2011 for around 710 million euros.
“Snam’s development strategy in Europe is progressed a step further by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which defines the negotiation process for the purchase by Snam of CDP’s stake in TAG GmbH, the company holding transport rights in the pipeline connecting the Slovakian-Austrian border with the entry-point of Tarvisio in Italy,” the statement said.
“The system is made up of three pipelines, each 380 km long (for an overall length of 1,140 km) and five compression stations, wit h a transport capacity of around 48 billion cubic meters of gas”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: There is No Conflict With EU, Says Renzi
(AGI) Rome, March 21 — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi denied media reports of conflicting views between the government and the EU. At the press conference which followed the EU Council meeting, he said: “We have great faith in the European institutions and a huge desire to invest in Europe.
Though it’s true that Italy is, objectively, currently paying some past debts, it’s also true that our government’s job is to start investing in the future.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Venice Votes for Independence in Unofficial Poll
Rome — A self-organised “referendum” over the independence of one of Italy’s wealthiest regions has resulted in an overwhelming victory for the separatist camp, but authorities in Rome have largely ignored the result, amid scepticism over the regularity of the informal, non-binding poll.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Unrepentant Wilders Refuses to Apologise for Anti-Moroccan Chant
Geert Wilders, head of the anti-immigration party PVV, on Saturday refused to apologise for leading supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant in the wake of Wednesday’s local elections.
Two MPs, one MEP and a handful of local and provincial councillors have broken ties with the PVV since Wilders asked his supporters in The Hague ‘and do you want more or fewer Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?’ To which the crowd chanted ‘fewer, fewer, fewer’.
‘We’ll arrange that,’ Wilders said when the chanting died down.
Wilders told a news conference on Saturday afternoon he had nothing to apologise for. ‘I spoke the truth. I said nothing wrong, I am not sorry and I am not going to apologise for anything,’ Wilders said.
Hitler
‘The media are full of comparisons with the past. I have not said I want to chuck every Moroccan out of the country. I will not apologise for something I have not said,’ he said.
The PVV wants to deport criminal Moroccans, limit immigration and facilitate emigration and this has been party policy for 10 years, he said.
European elections
Nos television pointed out earlier on Saturday that Wilders now has a problem putting together his list of candidates for the European elections in May. The list has to be finalised by April 8.
MP Joram van Klaveren and European parliamentarian Laurence Stassens, both of whom left the party because of the anti-Moroccan chanting, were in the committee charged with finalising the list.
Wilders is hoping to form an alliance with other anti-European parties within the European parliament after the May 22 vote.
Finances
Meanwhile, the NRC reports that one of Wilders’ financial backers in the US has criticised the anti-Moroccan chant.
Anti-Islam campaigner Daniel Pipes, who is thought to have paid $100,000 into Wilders’ legal fund when he faced inciting hatred charges in 2009, told the NRC he supported Wilders’ aims but not his tactics.
‘I would rather Mr Wilders had expressed himself about this subject somewhat more carefully,’ Pipes told the paper.
Dutch Jewish groups have also condemned the chants. Wilders is also thought to receive considerable funding from Israel.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Norwegian Ex-PM to be Next NATO Chief
Jens Stoltenberg, Norway’s former Prime Minister, will become NATO’s next Secretary General. He will most likely be appointed when the organization’s foreign ministers meet in Brussels on April 1-2.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Wild Boar Attack in Stockholm Suburb
A young woman was left shaken after being chased by a pack of wild boar in a Stockholm suburb. Stocholm county police write on their website that the woman was out walking in the evening when she met more than a dozen wild boars.
When the surprised woman turned tail and fled the boars gave chase. She luckily met a group of young people who were able to scare away the pack of pursuing porkers.
The woman was probably chased by a group of sows protecting their young. According to the Swedish Farming Association (LRF) all wild boars apart from mature males live in groups that can be described as a matriarchy led by an older female.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Cleared Serial Killer to Claim Damages
Sture Bergwall, who was freed this week after over 20 years locked up as Sweden’s most prolific serial killer, said on Friday that his lawyer was preparing a claim for damages.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Rape is a Weapon Against Gang Girls’, Says Report
Girls ensnared by gangs lead “desperate” lives where “rape is used as a weapon and carrying drugs and guns is normal”, according to a think tank.
The researchers also found that young women in rival gangs are regarded as targets. In some cases, they are forced to take part in a “line up” and made to perform sexual acts on several men in a row.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
FA Cup matches are also on the list of recommended events, with ‘martyrdom bombers’ advised to detonate explosives at the final whistle.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A state school at the centre of a row over an alleged plot to remove non-Muslim staff is under investigation after it was alleged it claimed £70,000 to pay for loudspeakers to call pupils to Islamic prayer.
A whistleblower claimed Park View School, a secular academy with mostly Muslim pupils in Alum Rock, Birmingham, claimed the sum even though the cost of the equipment was far less.
An investigation into the school has now been launched by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), an arm of the Department for Education (DfE), over misuse of funds, it was reported.
A source familiar with the enquiry told the Sunday Times: ‘The EFA has been provided with evidence to show that although £70,000 was claimed for the speakers, they actually cost much less than half that price.
‘What’s especially strange is why the speakers, which were going to be used to call kids to prayer, were needed at a non-faith school. ‘
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BBC Probe Into Savile ‘Won’t Find Truth’ Says Child Abuse Expert Who Gave Evidence to Inquiry
A child protection expert has warned that the BBC’s multi-million pound inquiry into the Jimmy Savile scandal is ‘too narrow’ to uncover the truth about the DJ.
Mark Williams-Thomas gave several hours of evidence to the Dame Janet Smith Review last week and is the first of its more than 140 witnesses to speak publicly about the experience.
He said Dame Janet ‘will never get to the bottom of what is really known’ about Savile because her inquiry’s remit does not extend far enough.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Girls in Gangs Leading Desperate Lives, Says Report
Girls in gangs are leading “desperate lives” in which “rape is used as a weapon and carrying drugs and guns is seen as normal”, a think tank has said. The Centre for Social Justice said the “daily suffering” of thousands of women and girls “goes largely unnoticed”.
Girls as young as eight are being used to carry drugs, it added. The CSJ called for youth workers to be embedded in hospital trauma units to identify victims, and for more support to be given to help girls leave gangs.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Government Intervenes at School ‘Taken Over’ By Muslim Radicals
by Andrew Gilligan
Secondary to be placed in special measures by Ofsted as parents and staff detail campaign of ‘Islamisation’ in city
The Birmingham school at the centre of an alleged campaign of “Islamisation” by Muslim radicals is to be placed in “special measures” by the Government’s education watchdog in a move that could see its head teacher and governors removed.
Park View, previously rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, will be downgraded to “inadequate”, the lowest possible score, in the category of leadership and management, senior education sources said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Langley Green Mosque Warned About Future Conduct After Failure to File Three Years’ of Accounts
THE group running Langley Green Mosque has been warned about its future conduct after failing to submit three years’ worth of accounts on time.
An investigation was launched by the Charity Commission into Crawley Islamic Centre and Mosque (CICM), which runs the mosque in Martyrs Avenue, last November because it had not filed annual accounts between 2010 and 2012…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
On 13 March 2014 the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, issued a practice note with details of how to draft “Sharia compliant” wills. Practice notes are best guidance for solicitors on specific areas of law.
The practice note includes the following:
“The male heirs in most cases receive double the amount inherited by a female heir of the same class. Non-Muslims may not inherit at all, and only Muslim marriages are recognised.”
“…illegitimate and adopted children are not Sharia heirs.”
We are concerned that by issuing this practice note the Law Society is legitimising (or being seen to legitimise) the distribution of assets in accordance with provisions that discriminate against women, non-Muslims, and ‘illegitimate’ and adopted children…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Risk Factors for Violent Radicalization: Youth, Wealth and Education
New research from Queen Mary University of London has found youth, wealth, and being in full-time education to be risk factors associated with violent radicalisation. Contrary to popular views — religious practice, health and social inequalities, discrimination, and political engagement showed no links.
The pioneering research assessed population prevalence of sympathies for terrorist acts — a key marker of vulnerability to violent radicalisation — and their relationship with commonly assumed causes of radicalisation. The community study surveyed over 600 men and women of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Muslim heritage in London and Bradford, aged 18-45.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sharia Law is Well and Truly Operating in the UK — Thanks to the Law Society
Sadikur Rahman, of the Lawyers Secular Society, fears a practice note issued by the Law Society could compromise the Code of Conduct for solicitors and increase the application of Sharia law in the UK.
It was with incredulity that I saw this practice note issued by the Law Society last week. Lawyers will know that practice notes issued by the Law Society are guidance on best practice for specific topics or areas of law.
This practice note provides guidance to lawyers specialising in areas such as wills, succession and inheritance, and in particular how to accommodate the wishes of clients who want to ensure their assets are distributed according to ‘sharia law principles’ on their death…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Secular School ‘Used £70,000 Speakers to Call Pupils to Islamic Prayers’
The Government is investigating “serious allegations” against Park View School, including a claim that £70,000 was spent on speakers used to call Muslim pupils to prayer
A non-religious state school at the centre of a plot to install Muslim staff is under investigation for allegedly spending £70,000 on loudspeakers to summon pupils to Islamic prayers, it has emerged. Park View School in Birmingham is facing an inquiry by the Government’s Education Funding Agency amid fears it misused taxpayers’ money…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sharia Law in UK: Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry
Calls for an inquiry into scale of Sharia law in the UK as Law Society insists it was responding to demand with its guidance
Calls for a Parliamentary inquiry into the scale of Islamic law in the UK are mounting after the body representing solicitors in England Wales issued formal guidance on making “Sharia compliant” wills. The Law Society was accused of giving its stamp of approval to discriminatory practices after it published advice on writing wills which deny women an equal share and exclude “illegitimate” children or unbelievers.
The society denied promoting Sharia and insisted that it was simply responding to demand. But MPs said the publication would be a “wake-up call” for those who support women’s equality.
Barry Sheerman, the Labour MP for Huddersfield, cautioned against legislation on the issue but called for a joint investigation by the Commons Justice and Home Affairs Committees into how widespread the use of Sharia law now is in Britain…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Sharia Law for Wills — and Then What?
by Sadikur Rahman
The Law Society’s decision to issue a practice note to solicitors who may be interested in drafting “Sharia-compliant” wills for their Muslim clients is shocking…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: TV Comic ‘Groomed’ Tragic Overdose Teenager
18-year-old’s mystery death after star ‘showered him with gifts then made sexual advances’
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A TV comedian ‘groomed’ a teenage boy for sex just months before the troubled youth killed himself, an inquest has heard.
The gay comic, referred to only as ‘Mr X’ at the hearing, is said to have showered tragic Ben Cowburn with gifts then took him to drink and drug-fuelled parties.
Within weeks the fashion student felt ‘dirty and used’ as he had become immersed in ‘a hedonistic lifestyle which he found distasteful’.
At one party he was persuaded to strip in front of a group of men who began to fondle him until one guest intervened and told them to stop.
After another late night of drink and drugs, the TV star crept into bed with Ben for sex.
In a statement to the inquest, his twin sister Sophia said: ‘We had concerns about him being groomed by Mr X.’
Ben was due to work as the comedian’s stylist but they fell out and the teenager made several apparent suicide attempts and was admitted to a mental health hospital. There he took a serious drug overdose, and four days later he was found dead, a plastic bag at his side.
In the weeks before he took his life, the 18-year-old suggested to family, friends and doctors that the famous comedian had taken advantage of him. He told one nurse: ‘I felt dirty, used, belittled and humiliated.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
WPA2 Wireless Security Cracked
There are various ways to protect a wireless network. Some are generally considered to be more secure than others. Some, such as WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), were broken several years ago and are not recommended as a way to keep intruders away from private networks. Now, a new study published in the International Journal of Information and Computer Security, reveals that one of the previously strongest wireless security systems, Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2) can also be easily broken into on wireless local area networks (WLANs).
Achilleas Tsitroulis of Brunel University, UK, Dimitris Lampoudis of the University of Macedonia, Greece and Emmanuel Tsekleves of Lancaster University, UK, have investigated the vulnerabilities in WPA2 and present its weakness. They say that this wireless security system might now be breached with relative ease by a malicious attack on a network. They suggest that it is now a matter of urgency that security experts and programmers work together to remove the vulnerabilities in WPA2 in order to bolster its security or to develop alternative protocols to keep our wireless networks safe from hackers and malware.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: British Holidaymaker ‘Is Raped by Security Guard in Her Hotel Room at Red Sea Resort’
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A businesswoman in her 40s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has allegedly been raped by a security guard at a five-star hotel in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Libya Kidnap Victim Named as Gianluca Salviato
(AGI) Udine, March 23 — The Italian engineer kidnapped in Libya’s Cirenaica region has been named as Gianluca Salviato, 48, from Trebaseleghe. He appears to have left Italy because of a shortage of work. Investigators say he was probably kidnapped for blackmail purposes. The Enrico Ravanelli company in Venzone for whom he had worked has not yet commented, and a call to the mobile phone of one of the senior members of the company elicited no comment. Salviato is diabetic and needs regular doses of insulin.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Abbas Calls for the Release of Marwan Barghouti and Other Prisoners
60% of Palestinians would vote Barghouti as president. For Israel, he is a “terrorist” for his fellow countrymen he is the ‘Mandela of Palestine’. The peace talks are likely to run aground for the continued expansion of settlements in the Occupied Territories and the failure to release prisoners.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that Israel free some high profile prisoners, including the leader Marwan Barghouti.
Meeting with Barack Obama a few days ago, he argued that it is impossible to continue the peace talks if Israel does not release many more prisoners than projected.
After being pushed to resume peace talks last July, Israel has agreed to release 104 prisoners. But so far it has feed only 78.
But while taking part in dialogue, Israel is continuing to build and expand settlements in the Occupied Territories, where the freezing of all building is a condition laid down by the Palestinians.
This is why Abbas has decided not to continue the dialogue later than 29 April if Israel does not release all prisoners and promised even more.
There are 5 thousand Palestinians in Israeli prisons, many of them only for security reasons. At least 150 of them are held without charge or trial; another 150 are minors.
Abbas — says Issa Qaraq, Palestinian minister for prisoners — aims above all for the release of Ahmad Saadat of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Fuad Shubaki of the PLO and Marwan Barghouti, leader of the intifada in 2000.
Israel classifies Barghouti as a “terrorist”. Not only is he one of the architects of Al Aqsa Intifada in the West Bank, but he has also been accused of complicity in the deaths of four Israelis and a Greek monk. Arrested in 2002 in Ramallah, he was sentenced to several life terms in prison. At his trial, Barghouti forwent any defense because he considered the trial illegal and illegitimate. This attitude has led his countrymen to declare him the ‘Mandela of Palestine’. They see Barghouti as a politician and claim he was not involved directly with the killings.
Marwan Barghouti, 54, was a rising star of the Fatah party and for many is still the real future successor to Abbas to lead the country, capable of uniting and motivating the Palestinian world. According to a survey conducted in mid-2012, at least 60 % of Palestinians want him as their president.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Chechnya President Inaugurates New $10 Million Mosque in Arab Village in Israel
The president of Russia’s republic of Chechnya has inaugurated a new, $10 million mosque in an Arab village in Israel. Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that it was an honor to visit “this good and holy land” during a stop in the village of Abu Ghosh.
Isa Jabar, the village’s mayor, says Chechnya donated $6 million for the mosque. He says some villagers trace their ancestry to 16th century Chechnya and the Caucus region.
The mosque was built in the Ottoman Turkish style, the favored architectural style in Chechnya. It features four minarets, making it the only mosque of its kind in Israel.
Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem, enjoys good ties with its Jewish neighbors and is a popular culinary destination for Israelis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
66 Killed in Attacks Across Iraq
BAGHDAD, March 23 (Xinhua) — A total of 66 people were killed in violent attacks and battles between insurgents and Iraqi security forces in the provinces of Anbar and Diyala, security sources said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Chechen Commander for Al Nusrah Front Reported Killed in Fighting Against Syrian Forces
By Bill Roggio
A Chechen leader of a unit that joined the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, has been killed during recent fighting against the Syrian military, according to reports.
The military commander, who is known as Muhammad al Shishani (the Chechen) or Muhammad al Khurasani, was killed while fighting in the town of Lermon on March 19, Kavkaz Center, a propaganda arm of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate reported.
Muhammad was killed during a joint assault with the Army of Emigrants and Supporters against Syrian forces in Lermon. The two groups attacked a Syrian military “complex of concrete, high-rises on the outskirts” of the town and eventually “stormed” the buildings. The two Chechen-led groups then linked up other forces from the Al Nusrah Front to continue operations.
At the time of his death, Muhammad led a faction from the Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar (Army of Emigrants and Supporters, or Muhajireen Army) that had joined the Al Nusrah Front last year after Omar al Shishani joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS)…
| — Hat tip: LS | [Return to headlines] |
Gunfight in Beirut as Syrian Conflict Spreads to Lebanon
Violence has erupted in the Lebanese capital Beirut as those on both sides of the Syrian conflict exchanged gunfire. The clashes come a week after 25 people were killed in fighting in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters of the Syrian rebels and those that back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The people caught in the crossfire want nothing to do with the carnage.
The war in Syria, which shows no sign of ending, is exacerbating tensions in Lebanon and other neighbouring countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How “Progressive” is Jordan Now? New Court Ruling on Veiled Women May Suggest Otherwise….
The Jordanian Women’s Union, along with lawyers across the Hashemite Kingdom, expressed shock last week after a ruling discriminating against women who do not wear the Islamic hijab was issued by the Amman Sharia Court of Appeal, according to Al Medanah News.
The court announced late last week that it agreed with one lawyer’s statement — based on a fatwa — that says a woman who does not cover up or wear a hijab is considered a “slut” and shouldn’t be allowed to testify in court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
One Dead in Beirut Gunfight Between Assad Supporters and Opponents
One person was killed and 10 people were wounded in clashes in south Beirut on Sunday between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, security sources said.
The conflict in Syria has spilled over into sectarian violence in its smaller neighbor between Sunnis who mostly back the Syrian rebels and Shi’ites who support Assad.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
President Gul Believes Turkey’s Attempted Twitter Ban ‘Will be Over Soon’
Turkey’s president has said he expects the government’s attempts to block the Twitter website to soon stop. The ban has been more successful in courting criticism than in curtailing Turkish Twitter traffic.
Roughly 12 million Turkish citizens use Twitter, and many have continued to do so since the ban was imposed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Religious Police Found in Nearly One-in-Ten Countries Worldwide
As of 2012, at least 17 nations (9% worldwide) have police that enforce religious norms, according to a new Pew Research analysis of 2012 data. These actions are particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa, where roughly one-third of countries (35%) have police enforcing religious norms.
For example, in Saudi Arabia, where President Obama will meet with King Abdullah later this month, the Muttawa religious police (formally known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) impose a government-approved moral code on residents of the country. The Muttawa enforce strict segregation of the sexes, prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol, a ban on women driving and other social restrictions based on the government’s interpretation of Islam.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Plane it Says Violated Air Space
Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian plane on Sunday that Ankara said had crossed into its air space in an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for control of a border crossing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Shoots Down Syria Warplane
Turkish forces have shot down a Syrian fighter jet, saying it encroached into Turkish airspace. Syria disputed the plane’s position, saying it was over Syrian territory when it was hit.
It’s not the first time Turkey has shot down a Syrian military aircraft — a helicopter was shot down in September 2013.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Finance Minister Simsek Defends Twitter Ban
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has defended his government’s ban on Twitter, accusing the website of failing to comply with court orders. Mr Simsek told the BBC that no company should see itself as above the law.
The government banned the website on Friday, after users shared information about allegations of corruption against high-level officials. Analysts say web users have found many ways of circumventing the ban, which was widely criticised.
Twitter has so far made no public comment on the ban, but the company on Friday posted a message in both English and Turkish telling users how to send tweets via text messages. There are estimated to be about 10 million Twitter users in Turkey.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Prime Minister Says Jets Shoot Down Syrian Warplane
Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian warplane after it violated Turkey’s airspace Sunday, Turkey’s prime minister said, in a move likely to ramp up tensions between the two countries already deeply at odds over Syria’s civil war.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Disquiet in Baltics Over Sympathies of Russian Speakers
(Reuters) — In the former Soviet republics of Latvia and Estonia, there is unease over events in Crimea, which was formally annexed by Moscow last week on the pretext of safeguarding its Russian minorities.
Russian news reports carried in Crimea had said Ukraine was being overrun by gangs of anti-Russian fascist thugs and that hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking refugees had fled a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Ukraine, a claim for which no evidence has been found.
In the Latvian town of Daugavpils, where a Russian Tzarist-era fortress and barracks meet grey Soviet-era apartment blocks, you are more likely to be greeted in Russian than Latvian, with 51 percent of the city’s residents Russians.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Foreign Minister Steinmeier Warns on Crimean Fallout
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that the crisis in Crimea could escalate. He threatened Russia with further sanctions if it tried to claim more Ukrainian territory for itself.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NATO Commander Warns of Russian Threat to Separatist Moldova Region
NATO’s top military commander said on Sunday Russia had built up a “very sizeable” force on its border with Ukraine and Moscow may have a region in another ex-Soviet republic, Moldova, in its sights after annexing Crimea.
Russia was acting more like an adversary than a partner, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said, and the 28-nation alliance should rethink the positioning and readiness of its forces in eastern Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Of Pre- And Postmodern Poseurs
To pull his aggression off, he [Putin] has adopted most of the repertoire of the proverbial dictator. Threats of a preventative war are leveled, mostly to “protect” Russian-speaking minorities in former Soviet republics. Plebiscites follow, with the usual 90%-plus results. Thugs and goons are sent in to remind the population that the Russian army may follow.
Then Munich-like, compromise is offered to appease the “international community” — before the finale of carving out and annexing territory outright, with the trailer promise of having no more territorial demands in Europe. Putin has given speeches almost identical to Hitler’s 1938 Berlin address promising no more thefts in Europe and a new Germany without the shame of 1918.
Note the bullying nature of Putin. He prefers scanning westward to slice off parts of Georgia, Ukraine, and perhaps next the Baltic states rather than eastward to pick a border fight with, say, his neighbor China. He bets big-time that affluent and leisured Americans in the post-Iraq and -Afghanistan Age [1] fear tough diplomacy as much as they do war, and thus skip the former in fear it might lead to the latter.
Putin provides the necessary premodern optics to match his muscle flexing. He is our modern Mussolini [2], with the bare chest, the hunting and fishing poses, the judo posturing, and all sorts of various helmets perched in planes and tanks. Putin believes his people would rather feel proud about increased international swagger than have access to universal health care or Head Start — in the manner that a cow-horned, long-ship raider kept power by reminding his otherwise impoverished Vikings that, beside greater stashes of loot, more people feared and honored them than ever before.
Putin, as the entire administration keeps reminding us [3], is premodern. He should be, but is not, shamed when John Kerry, Joe Biden, Susan Rice, and Barack Obama variously proclaim that he is a 19th century dinosaur, or has lost the good will of the enlightened West. Again, we are told Putin worries about this; but I think he is about as concerned as were Norsemen like Eric Bloodaxe [4], who lost all the respect of the monks along the English coast that he so freely raided.
While Putin was making a premodern fool out of himself, blustering and bullying, and lying on the global stage, Barack Obama confirmed most of the Russian stereotypes that he was a postmodern metrosexual [5]. Putin gets up every morning to annoy Barack Obama, piqued not just that he is weak, but that he is sanctimonious and weak. Obama tries to ignore Putin, who grates on him like some Russian version of the folks who tailgate with their Winnebagos at a NASCAR race.
Putin lives to break Western rules. But Obama’s Western rules — deadlines, red lines, step-over lines [6], leading but from behind — are hard to either break or follow because they are not really rules as much as rhetorical constructs that come and go.
[…]
To reflect Obama’s cool, the president did not do photo-ops with European leaders. He did not fly to meetings with Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea and Australia to shore them all up in these uncertain times. Obama certainly did not call in the Persian Gulf monarchs to have no fear, given that Iran better not try the Putin method of appealing to Shiite oppressed minorities in the Gulf petro-kingdoms.
Instead, as if out of central casting, Obama did his now ritually televised basketball-pick shtick [7], where he sets up a board and draws out winners and losers in the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament. No worry here that his Marks-A-Lot might go rogue on his plastic chalkboard and instead give the nation a primer on international boundaries. No worry here that the president has invested hundreds of hours in watching and following basketball teams rather than in boring stuff like finding the killers of Benghazi, the status of Syrian WMD, Iranian compliance with his promises, or calling some obscure Baltic foreign minister.
[…]
Of course, we prefer our postmodern president to Putin’s Neanderthal world, given that Obama’s platitudes and serial fibbing — from keeping our doctors, period, to hounding a video maker for the terrorist attack on Benghazi — do not lead to knocking off his opponents, Russian style. The Obama administration is correct to remind us that the premodern world just can’t work in the present age according to Putin’s rules — in the way unchecked naked aggression always destroys the world around it.
So what does our Eloi in Chief [9] want from Putin the Morlock? He seeks to school Putin to be as sophisticated as we are, in the sense of analyzing the art of annexation and thus concluding that going Viking leads the world nowhere.
Putin stubbornly begs to differ. True, he implicitly understands that every head of state cannot act like Putin. But then again Putin assumes that everyone is not going to act like Putin.
The Western world’s notion of transparent trading of stocks and bonds, of common banking protocols in selling and buying oil, of shipping lanes free of pirates, and of flying according to standardized rules is all predicated on a system. But every system has built into it a margin of error.
Putin is that error. He says to Obama that the world should keep playing by Western rules so that on occasion it can afford him not doing so. Putin is our graffiti vandal, whose antisocial behavior depends on others to ensure most of the walls are not cleaned and repainted.
Putin, in other words, wants a world with one Putin, but not too many more.
Why should Putin stop when he is already the most popular Russian strongman since Stalin, with a good decade to cement his reputation among his flock as the restorer of Greater Russia [10], with the clout of the Soviet Union, but now energized by oil-fed capitalism? And why should Obama do anything about those dreams when the Final Four is far more important than are either far away Crimeans or Georgians.
[…]
[Read the whole thing.]
[NOTE TO EUROPEANS — “The Final Four” is a reference to basketball playoff games in the U.S.]
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Sanctions on Russia Threaten ‘Catastrophic’ Losses for German Businesses
BERLIN — If an escalation of Europe’s standoff with Moscow over Ukraine results in economic sanctions, more than 6,000 German companies who do business with Russia would suffer catastrophic losses, Germany’s main trade body has warned.
“About 6,200 German companies are engaged in Russia, some of them very strongly,” Anton Boerner, head of the BGA exporters’ body, told the Dortmunder Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper in an interview published Friday. “For them, economic sanctions would be a real catastrophe.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
This Map Shows What the Loss of Crimea Really Means for Ukraine
The swift annexation of Crimea from Ukraine by Russia is one of the biggest international incidents of recent years, with global condemnation leading to sanctions and the worrying possibility of armed conflict.
It raises an uneasy question: Is Crimea worth it?
In symbolic terms, it’s a huge loss. The Crimean Peninsula holds an important place in the region’s history, and the inability to prevent the region from joining Russia is a serious test of leadership for the new Ukrainian government in Kiev.
In practical terms, however, what Crimea means for Ukraine is less clear.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Top Commander Held After Base Stormed, Ukraine’s Interim President Says
A Ukrainian air force commander has been “abducted” after his base in Crimea was stormed by pro-Russian forces, Ukraine’s interim president said Sunday.
Col. Yuliy Mamchur is the commander of the Belbek Air Force base near Sevastopol, which was taken over Saturday by forces who sent armored personnel carriers smashing through the base’s walls and fired shots and stun grenades.
Two officers were injured by gunshot wounds in the assault, a Ukraine Defense ministry official confirmed to Fox News. Several journalists, including foreign press, were beaten by Russian forces, officials told Fox News.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Intelligence Officials Believe Snowden is Working With Russia, Lawmaker Says
A top congressional intelligence official said on Sunday that American counterintelligence officials are virtually unanimous in believing that Edward J. Snowden is “under the influence of Russian intelligence services.” That suggestion came from Representative Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who is chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Fiasco Marks End of the EU’s Imperial Dream
The EU, dedicated to eliminating national identity, has finally run up against the rock of a national interest that will not give way.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: Violence Erupts in Kharkiv as Political Turmoil Grips City
Though Kharkiv was largely spared the violent protests that rocked Kyiv last month, ethnic tensions have since increased. Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian activists are facing off for control of the divided city.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
We’re Being Dragged Into a New Cold War by a Puffed-Up Bullfrog (And I Don’t Mean President Putin)
Apart from knowing nothing about European history, and apart from their bone-headed inability to distinguish Christian Russia from the communist USSR, these people also don’t understand what is going on in Ukraine. It never occurs to them that Russia has good historical reasons to fear its neighbours.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Australia PM Has ‘Increasing Hope’ For Finding MH370 as Fresh Satellite Images Emerge
Australia’s prime minister has said there is “increasing hope” in the hunt to find a missing Malaysian Airlines flight. French satellite images of possible debris from the plane have provided additional leads.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Discrimination in India: Christians Are 6 Per Cent of the Prison Population
According to the 2012 report on Prison Statistics in India by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB), the percentage of Dalit, tribal, Muslim and Christian inmates is higher than the national average. For Christian activist, “states are targeting minorities.”
Mumbai (AsiaNews) — The high number of prison inmates from socio-religious minorities “is due to the attitude of some states, which target the most vulnerable sections of society,” said Arun Ferreira, an activist for Christian Dalits and tribals, who spoke to AsiaNews following the release of the 2012 Prison Statistics report by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB).
According to the report, Muslims, who are 13.4 per cent of India’s population, represented 28.02 per cent of the prison population in 2012. Christians are in the same situation. Nationally, they are 2.3 per cent of the population but they constitute 6 per cent of the prison population.
For the activist, “We get these percentages because Dalits, Tribals, Muslims and Christians are often the victims of loopholes and sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Ferreira should know. He personally experience what it means to be behind bars. Accused of being a Naxalite (Maoist) guerrilla, he was arrested in May 2007 in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and indicted on 11 charges, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
During his detention, he was tortured and interrogated twice after being treated with a “truth serum,” a psychoactive drug that is now illegal. After four years and eight months in jail, he was released on bail.
“My experience in prison is that every state tends to target minorities, showing some of its specific features,” Ferreira told AsiaNews.
“In states where Hinduism is strong, like Orissa (where the effects of anti-Christian pogroms still linger), many innocent Christians have been arrested and thrown in prison, falsely accused of being Naxalites. However, the same thing happened in Gujarat after the 2002 riots.”
“In Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which are also under strong Hindu influence, the authorities have overtly attacked the Christian community, treating its members as the ‘criminal’ element in the Dalit and Tribal groups.”
All too often, Christians fall into the clutches of the justice system on false evidence because they back causes that embarrass the authorities.
“In Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, some tribal Christians were arrested on false accusations of terrorism,” Ferreira noted, “when in fact the problem was their struggle against large-scale mining projects that required huge tracts of land to be expropriated.”
The same is true for Tamil Nadu, where Christians have been charged with ‘subversion’ for opposing the construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
“Sadly, neither the government nor the NCRB recognise political prisoners as a separate category, so there are no statistics about it.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: Sharia to Apply to Non-Muslims in Aceh
Non-Muslims can be prosecuted under Sharia law in Aceh if they participate with Muslims in offenses not regulated by Indonesian criminal law, under a new bylaw passed in the province late last year.
The controversial clause is contained in the Qanun Hukum Acara Jinayat (QHAJ), Islamic criminal procedure codes, passed by the regional House of Representatives (DPRA) on December 13th, 2013.
It also states that non-Muslims who are arrested can choose to be prosecuted in a Sharia court or a state court. But if the violation is not regulated by Indonesian criminal law, the non-Muslim will be prosecuted in Sharia court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia Flight MH370: New Images of ‘Possible Debris’
Malaysia says it has received new satellite images from France showing potential debris from missing flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. This is the third set of images in a week of possible debris in the area.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia: Muslim Body Warns of Bloodbath to Protect Islam
The Malaysian Islamic Propagation Organisation (Pekida) said today that it was willing to suffer a bloodbath for Islam and the country, including defending the word “Allah”, Sinar Harian reported today.
Christians who worship in Bahasa Malaysia and Arabic use the term “Allah”, which is Arabic for “God”. Sikhs also use the term in their religious rituals.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia Says French Satellite Images Show Possible Debris From Missing Flight
Malaysia says France has provided satellite images that show more possible debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Malaysia’s Transport Ministry said in a statement Sunday that it had received images from French authorities showing “potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor.” The description refers to an area of the southern Indian Ocean where satellites from Australia and China have also captured images showing objects that may be debris from the plane that vanished early on the morning of March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Acquitted of Blasphemy, Gunned Down Anyway
If someone is accused of blasphemy in Pakistan, all too often he or she is brutalized or killed before any trial is held. Or even if acquitted, as in this case, the accused person is targeted by a Muslim mob that enforces the Sharia death penalty for blasphemy by a vigilante action. This is a human rights issue of massive proportions, and yet the “world human rights community” seems decidedly uninterested in calling upon Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy laws and combat blasphemy vigilantism.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Search Area for Malaysian Airliner Widened After French Satellite Images
(Reuters) — The search area for a missing Malaysian jetliner in remote seas off Australia was widened on Monday after French satellite images revealed potential “floating debris” several hundred kilometers north of pictures previously captured by U.S. and Chinese satellites.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the new lead in the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was promising, but cautioned that the search in the icy southern Indian Ocean remained difficult.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How Japanese Single Malts Surpassed Scotland’s Finest
My first sip of a great Japanese single-malt whisky was back in 2004, when the 18-year-old Yamazaki was first introduced into the U.S. I found its suave smoothness and elegance as sleek as a new Lexus. It had the familiar spicy, caramel-and-honey notes of a luxury single malt from Scotland but with its own exotic appeal from partial aging in Japanese mizunara oak.
Since then, Japan has been quietly scooping up gold medals at world whisky competitions, and in 2012, the 25-year-old Yamazaki beat out 300 of the world’s single malts in an international blind tasting.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A new exhibition at Shanghai’s K11 Art Mall is attracting several thousand visitors each day. They all want to see some 40 original Monet paintings that are on show at the museum — the first ever exhibition of the master’s paintings in Mainland China.
Thousands of people waited for several hours outside the museum on March 8, the first day of the exhibit that runs until June 15. Security was heightened with guards posted every 10 metres and more than 100 volunteers recruited to guide visitors and warn them against taking photographs.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists Studying Radiation in Japan Are Subject to ‘Insidious Censorship’
When the Fukushima nuclear crisis began in March 2011, much censorship was placed on scientists and researchers who set out to measure the radioactive fallout that was silently affecting the public.
One scientist, Michio Aoyama, recorded initial findings that were too startling for the Japanese government. As a senior scientist working within the Japanese government’s Meteorological Research Institute, Aoyama reported dangerous levels of radioactive cesium-137 in the surface water of the Pacific Ocean. His reports estimated that levels of cesium-137 could be 10,000 times higher than nuclear contamination measurements from Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear accident.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Taiwan Students Storm Government Headquarters
Hundreds of students have stormed the Taiwanese government’s headquarters in protest at a deal that will bring closer trade ties with China. They used a vehicle to knock down barbed wire gates outside the Executive Yuan in central Taipei. Another group of students has occupied the parliament chamber since Tuesday.
The protesters fear that the agreement would make Taiwan susceptible to pressure from China, which believes that Taiwan belongs to the mainland.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gunmen Kill Two in Kenya Church Attack
(AGI) Nairobi, March 23 — At least two people were killed on Sunday when gunmen opened fire indiscriminately at worshippers inside a church in the Kenyan city of Lokoni, near Mombasa, local police reported.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Gunmen Kill Six in Attack on Kenyan Church
(Reuters) — Gunmen shouting in a foreign language killed six worshippers in a church near the coastal city of Mombasa on Sunday, an attack of the kind that Islamist militants have been carrying out in retaliation for Kenya’s intervention in neighboring Somalia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Soy vs Beef: Agriculture at Heart of Argentina’s Woes
Walter Canzani’s farm is in one of the most fertile zones of Argentina’s Pampas region. Still a proud gaucho (cowboy), this son of Italian immigrants knows, however, that the cows that made Argentina’s beef the most famous in the world are no longer the big money-maker.
Although Canzani still keeps some 50 heifers in his pastures, these days he’s focused more and more on an enormous field of soy, the crop which the late-president Nestor Kirchner used to lift the country out of crisis in 2001. Now Kirchner’s widow and current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has pushed measures to keep farmers cultivating soy as a response to the more recent economic slump and currency shock.
In 1978, when Walter was 10 years old, he inherited 48 hectares of land beside a rare asphalted road that cut through the plains of the Pampas, in central Argentina. “In the middle of the 1980s, people began to see the potential of soy,” he recalls, speaking under the shadow of the porch that surrounds his house. “But the real boom came in 2000.”
In 1992, one ton of this produce — used for food, animal feed, and fuel — was priced on the Chicago stock market at $180 dollars. By 2004, pushed by Asian demand, soy climbed to $407.
So, the farmers began to enclose their fields with electric fences so that the herds of Aberdeen Angus, which had previously been allowed to roam freely, couldn’t graze on this new farming gold. Canzani, who prefers cattle farming to tillage, gave in and did the same, still completely unaware that he already had an invisible partner in this new enterprise.
The Kirchner family came to power in 2003, with a center-left proposition that was quickly revealed as classic Peronism: state intervention on the economy, protective tariffs to strengthen industry and taxes on farmland. Nestor Kirchner imposed export taxes on soy that reached 35%. Given that Argentina had become the third biggest producer in the world after the United States and Brazil, this meant an important flux of capital was secured. With this money, the family financed big social plans for the lower class and incentives for industry, but while employment rose, the cost of living soared.
The farmers in the Pampas were forced to shoulder the new tax burden, a mechanism that had spurred national development from the 19th century onwards, creating a certain proud resignation that they must help fuel the recovery.
Beginning of the end
But by 2006, the inflation — increasing at rate of more than 20% annually — hit the food industry. When it came to the treasured beef output, Nestor Kirchner feared a revolt. He tried to keep the prices down, blocking exports almost completely, justifying the decision by saying Argentina needed to feed its own first.
For the country’s famous gaucho meat, this was the beginning of the decline. In 2005, Argentina was still the third biggest exporter in the world, but by 2012 it had fallen to the 10th place, outstripped by neighboring Uruguay and Paraguay. It’s worth noting here that international demand for Argentine beef never diminished, even if the export levels did…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
5 Big Wins for Militant Gay Pressure Groups
On Sunday, the city of New York marked St. Patrick’s Day with its historic parade — but this year, Mayor Bill De Blasio was missing. The reason: parade organizers have banned political messages, including pro-homosexuality messages. The same situation unfolded in Boston, where Mayor Martin Walsh boycotted their St. Patrick’s Day parade over organizers refusing access to a gay group.
Is all of this due to some latent or overt homophobia on the part of parade organizers? Of course not — pro-lifers and National Rifle Association members cannot carry banners for their causes, either. Ireland’s head of government, Enda Kennedy, has said, “The St. Patrick’s Day parade is a parade about our Irishness and not about sexuality, and I would be happy to participate in it.”
But apathy is not good enough when it comes to the radical gay bullies who now insist that every event carry the stamp of their movement. And so sponsors like brewer Sam Adams in Boston and Guinness in New York pulled out of the parade. Guinness pulled out after radical gay groups threatened to march to Stonewall, a historically important point for the gay rights movement, and pour vats of Guinness into the streets. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation quickly praised Guinness’ move, with CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis stating:…
This has become the raison d’etre of many in the gay rights movement: destroying the businesses of those who refuse to abide by their standards of conduct, all in the name of tolerance. And they’ve been tremendously successful at it. Here are the top five recent instances of successful gay intimidation of business:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Stanford Labels Traditional Marriage Conference “Hate Speech, “ Denies Funding
Tolerance and free speech are apparently not welcome at Stanford University. The Graduate Student Council denied funding for a “Communicating Values” conference citing it as “hate speech,” Wednesday.
The Stanford Anscombe Society (SAS), a group which claims it is neither religiously nor politically affiliated but focuses on human principles, requested funding for the event. According to their website:
“Our aim is to help university students and young adults to promote the values of marriage, family, and sexual integrity to the broader popular culture. Featuring speakers at the forefront of this effort, the conference will allow students to network with other individuals who are willing to engage in intellectual and civil discourse about the issues of marriage, family, and sexual integrity.”
The student council, however, was not eager to promote this type of intellectual and civil discourse. SAS was denied $5,600 between the graduate and undergraduate student bodies, according to The Stanford Daily.
“ Bringing the speakers to Stanford would threaten the safety of campus for the queer population, according to Brianne Huntsman ‘15, who started a Facebook event to organize a rally at the GSC meeting on Wednesday night. “
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Alien Moons Could Bake Dry From Young Gas Giants’ Hot Glow
When we think of where else life might exist in the universe, we tend to focus on planets. But on a grander cosmic scale, moons could prove the more common life-friendly abode.
A single gas giant planet in the not-too-warm, not-too-cold habitable zone around its star — where Earth and Mars correspondingly reside — could host several livable moons. At this early point in our hunt for exoplanets, most of the worlds we have found in the habitable zone are giants, not Earths. It’s possible that the first inhabited place we discover outside our Solar System will be a moon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gravitational-Wave Finding Causes ‘Spring Cleaning’ In Physics
Big Bang findings would strengthen case for multiverse and all but rule out a ‘cyclic Universe’.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Computer program crudely predicts a facial structure from genetic variations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tech advancements make it too easy to forget age-old realities.
Americans now have more computer power in their smart phones than did the Pentagon in all its computer banks just 30 years ago. We board a sophisticated jet and assume that the flight is no more dangerous than crossing the street.
The downside of this complete reliance on computer gadgetry is a fundamental ignorance of what technology is. Smart machines are simply the pumps that deliver the water of knowledge — not knowledge itself.
What does it matter that millions of American students can communicate across thousands of miles instantly with their iPads and iPhones if a poorly educated generation increasingly has little to say?
The latest fad of near-insolvent universities is to offer free iPads to students so that they can access information more easily. But what if most undergraduates still have not been taught to read well or think inductively, or to have some notion of history? Speeding up their ignorance is not the same as imparting wisdom. Requiring a freshman Latin course would be a far cheaper and wiser investment in mastering language, composition, and inductive reasoning than handing out free electronics.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Dice’s YouTube channel was shut down just days after the company handed government agencies powers to flag “extremist content” for removal. Coincidence?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Geert Wilders and the PVV have dropped from the top position in Dutch polls in the wake of Mr. Wilders’ role in leading the controversial “Fewer Moroccans” chant’: What pathetic sissies are the dutch? He said the natural thing only. Do they want their mohammedan problem solved or don’t they? This is insanity. ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.’
But then again, the kind of brainwash which has led to such fickleness is nowadays probably universal among westerners.
By their protest, the Dutch people have inferred that they want more Moroccans and others too. This begs the question, are they nuts?
TRM, Michael L., I recently had a discussion with a Dutch family camping in Monterey, California. When I brought up how much I appreciated Wilders, the patriarch of the family (65ish) looked surprised, then bestowed upon me guilt in the mistreatment of the Indians. His son to his credit came to my defense. Simply to mention Wilders in a positive light was considered an assault worthy of cheap attack by this well dressed elderly man.
The patriarch told me that the Muslims did all the bad work that they didn’t want to do. A John McCain moment. Further, he said there is nothing that can be done about it. That was it, no discussion was needed he implied.
I pointed at his son and son’s pretty wife (both 25ish) and said, “maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but what about them? You’re okay about leaving them with this future? I saw intransigence, maybe a glint of shame. He hung his head and turned away.
Wow. What a wonderful opportunity, YN. Thank you for being willing to tackle an extremely difficult subject in such a beautiful setting. And thank you for not addressing that old Indian canard with an equal airing of the Great Dutch Guilt of WWII. The latter is what led to their spineless behavior at present. Two reactive episodes, and someday they will feel the same “hanging head” kind of shame for what they have done…
“The patriarch told me that the Muslims did all the bad work that they didn’t want to do.”
Not according to Geert Wilders who cites the Muslim crime and welfare statistics….