Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/11/2014

Tensions are still running high in Bunkerville, Nevada, where hundreds of heavily-armed federal agents from the Bureau of Land Management are surrounding the ranch of Cliven Bundy and his family. The feds claim the rancher owes them more than a million dollars in back grazing fees for pasturing his cattle on federal land. Mr. Bundy says that his family has been grazing cattle on the same acreage since 1870, before the BLM even existed, and that he does not recognize the jurisdiction of the federal government over the land. Militia members and other supporters — some of them armed — are pouring into the area from out of state.

In other news, the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, says that more quantitative easing by the ECB cannot be ruled out. He says he remains concerned about deflation as high unemployment in Europe continues.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Andy Bostom, Caroline Glick, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, Srdja Trifkovic, 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.

Financial Crisis
» ECB ‘Doesn’t Rule Out More Quantitative Easing’
» German Chancellor Merkel Visits Athens in Show of Support for Economic Reforms
» IMF Warns of Dangers to World Economy
» Marc Faber Warns “The Market is Waking Up to How Clueless the Fed is”
 
USA
» Beware: Obama Ready to Fort Hood-Wink America on Gun Rights
» BLM Action in Nevada is Unconstitutional, Here’s Why
» BLM Attempted Cover-Up of Sen. Reid/Chinese Gov’t Takeover of Ranch for Solar Farm
» BLM Fracking Racket Exposed! Armed Siege and Cattle Theft From Bundy Ranch Really About Fracking Leases
» BLM Rangers Brought in From Out of State for Nevada Ranch ‘Emergency’
» Cambridge Councilor Looks to Recruit More Muslims Into Office
» Chesler: The Shame of Brandeis
» County Commissioner Says Bundy Supporters “Better Have Funeral Plans”
» Ct: Danbury Mayor Quits Maig Over Push for More Gun Regulations
» Cut the Clitoral Relativism: Islam: Sharia, And Female Genital Mutilation/”Circumcision”
» Doctors Implant Lab-Grown Vagina
» Dozens Hit by Layoffs at Al Jazeera America
» Enforcing Islamic Law at Brandeis
» Eric Holder Plays Race Card as Obama Admin. Collapses
» Federal Government Seizing “Trespassing” Cows From Hard-Working Ranchers
» Florida ALAC Passes Final Hurdles for Floor Votes
» GMO Labeling to be Outlawed by ‘Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act’ Introduced Today in Congress
» Grand Canyon Struggles to Repel Invading Beefalo
» Los Angeles Deputies Kill Man Who Managed to Escape Violent Attack
» Massachusetts Governor Adds His Signature to 70,000 Others on Boston Marathon Prayer Canvas
» Media-Suppressed Nevada Case History Shines Truth on Government Ranch Invaders
» Militias Head to Nevada Rancher’s Standoff With Feds: We’re Not ‘Afraid to Shoot’
» Muslim Advocacy Group Calls for Investigation by Oberlin College Into Lecturer’s ‘Bigotry’
» Obama Boasts 7.1 Million Have Signed Up to ObamaCare — But Study Shows Just 858,000 Newly Insured Americans Have Paid Up!
» Op-Ed: Honor Dishonored: Brandeis and Ayaan Hirsi Ali
» Proposed Mosque by Microsoft Raises Traffic Concerns Among Residents
» Rancher Cliven Bundy Speaks: “I Don’t Recognize Them Having Any Jurisdiction or Authority Over This Land”
» Report: NSA Exploited Heartbleed to Siphon Passwords for Two Years
» Teacher Suspended as Student’s Science Projects Deemed to be “Imitation Weapons”
» Tests Suggest ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ is Authentic
» Thorium Reactors: Asgard’s Fire
» U.S. Claims Country Building Its Own Network to Protect Against NSA Spying Violates Trade Laws
» US Navy Superweapon Only ‘Two Years Away’
» Will Feds Stage Violence to Frame Cliven Bundy?
» Woman Gets Life in Prison in Stiletto Heel Slaying
 
Europe and the EU
» Britain Must Increase Spending on Green Energy by Ten Times in Next 15 Years to Help Reduce Global Warming, Says UN
» Cyprus: Drop in Number of Women Working in Cabarets
» Foreign Acquisitions of Italian Firms Boom in 1st Quarter
» French Prison Wardens Struggle With Drunken Inmates
» Heartbleed Internet Flaw Was Written by ‘Mistake’ By a German Programmer
» ‘Hitler’ Cups Embarrass German Chain Store
» Italy: Property Belonging to Ex-Lombardy Governor Confiscated
» Italy: Padoan Looking for ‘Competent’ Managers for State Companies
» Italy: Lupi Says Letter of Intent in Alitalia Deal Close
» Italy: Five Amex Execs Indicted for Usury
» Italy: Berlusconi Can’t Do Community Service if He Defames Judges
» Italy: Ex-Berlusconi Aide Linked to Mafia Declared Fugitive
» Scotch Whisky Concerned About Independence ‘Risks’
» The Netherlands Has More Prison Workers Than Prisoners
» UK: 44 Sentenced for Huge Huddersfield Crash for Cash Scam: Full List of Those Convicted
» UK: Adrian Mole Author Sue Townsend, 68, Dies at Her Home in Leicester After a Stroke
» UK: Islam is as British as the Grey Sky of London
» UK: Mosque Plans Are Lodged for Former Wolverhampton Casino
» UK: Muslims in Gloucester Offer Donation to Somerset’s Flood Hit Communities
» UK: New Islamic Boys’ School Set to Open in Batley
» UK: New Mosque Scouts Group in Keighley
» UK: Police Investigate Suspected Poisoning of Five Dogs on Hampstead Heath
» UK: Peaceful Islam [Letters to the Editor, Daily Telegraph]
» UK: Senior Tory Steps Down as Rumours of Lewd Behaviour Sweep ‘Palace of Sexminster’
 
Balkans
» Gas: South Stream Start Work This Summer on Serbian Stretch
 
Mediterranean Union
» International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Focus at EU Project Seminar
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Forgetting Freedom on Passover
 
Middle East
» 51 Rebels Killed During Infighting in East Syria
» Syria is Now the Gravest Terrorist Threat to Britain
» Turkey’s Top Court Strikes Down Part of Erdogan’s Judiciary Reform Law
» Turkish Constitutional Court Overturns Part of Judicial Law
» White House: No Visa for Iran’s UN Ambassador Pick
 
Russia
» A Crimean Travelogue, Part I
» NATO’s Russian Troop Build-up Satellite Images ‘Show 2013 Drills’
» Ukraine Offers Devolution to Pro-Russian East
 
South Asia
» 16 Injured as Blast Hits Motorbike Shop in E. Pakistan
» Australian Prime Minister ‘Confident’ Pings Are From Flight 370 Black Boxes
» Latest ‘Ping’ Signal Not Related to Missing Malaysian Jet, Official Says
 
Far East
» Three Years After Fukushima, Japan Forges Ahead With Nuclear Energy
 
Latin America
» Exclusive: My Lab-Grown Vagina and Hopes for a Family
» World’s Largest Gold Crystal Found
 
Immigration
» 800 Migrants Rescued 70 Miles South of Lampedusa
» 800 North African Immigrants Off the Coast of Libya Rescued
» EU Must Help Italy With Migrant Influx — UN
» Hoping for Asylum, Migrants Strain U.S. Border
» Influx of Migrants Across Mediterranean Has Reached ‘Biblical Proportions’, Italy’s Navy Chief Warns, As Criminal Gangs Wreak Havoc on the High Seas
» Italy: Mogherini: 12,000 Lives Saved But EU Necessary
» Muslim Zones Are Dangerous for White French Citizens
» Nigerians Among 896 Boat Migrants Rescued by Italy
 
Culture Wars
» Italian Bishops Condemn Ruling on Gay Marriage Abroad
» Knight: Recovering the Meaning of Marriage
» The New Inquisition
 
General
» Oldest Fossilized Heart Found… it Belonged to a Shrimp
 

ECB ‘Doesn’t Rule Out More Quantitative Easing’

‘Don’t repeat past mistakes,’ Draghi warns

(ANSA) — Washington, April 11 — The European Central Bank does not rule out more quantitative easing to help banks release credit to squeezed firms but has to be on guard against deflation as unemployment continues to rise, ECB President Mario Draghi said at the International Monetary Fund’s spring summit.

Draghi warned against “resting on one’s laurels” or “repeating the mistakes of the past”.

The ECB has launched a huge bond-buying programme to help struggling eurozone economies back onto the growth path.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

German Chancellor Merkel Visits Athens in Show of Support for Economic Reforms

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has travelled to Athens in a visit seen as a show of support for the Greek government’s reform efforts. This comes a day after Greece returned to the international bond markets.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

IMF Warns of Dangers to World Economy

G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are set to discuss controversial issues at the annual IMF spring meeting. Risks posed by low inflation and the Ukraine crisis are very real, analysts warn.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Marc Faber Warns “The Market is Waking Up to How Clueless the Fed is”

“I think it’s very likely that we’re seeing, in the next 12 months, an ‘87-type of crash,” warns a somewhat excited sounding Marc Faber, adding that he thinks “it will be worse.”

The pain is just getting started as Faber notes that “the market is slowly waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is a clueless organization.” Internet and Biotech sectors (growth stocks) are “highly vulnerable because they’re in cuckoo land in terms of valuations,” and fully expects the selling to spread as The Fed “have no idea what they’re doing. And so the confidence level of investors is diminishing,” and that means we will see a major decline.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Beware: Obama Ready to Fort Hood-Wink America on Gun Rights

Keystone State stabbing spree comes as president looks to exploit Fort Hood victims for political gain

After the Dec. 14, 2012 spree shooting at Sandy Hook School, Newtown, Conn., the president said: “We won’t be able to stop every violent act, but if there is even one thing that we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try.”

The statement is a neat construct that basically concedes his proposals will not work, yet should be “tried” anyway because, because, because? Because of the wonderful things he does — dah, da-da, dah, da-da.

Just as an armed citizen would have ended the Newtown slaughter in seconds, not the 15 minutes it took the police to arrive, the spree stabbing in the Pittsburgh suburb would have been over quicker with a less miserable outcome if someone was armed at that school.

Further, just the hint that there might be armed citizens — let alone armed guards — at either one of those schools would have been enough to deter the sprees in the first place. This is not speculation. This is a simple fact.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

BLM Action in Nevada is Unconstitutional, Here’s Why

The establishment media is now paying attention to Cliven Bundy and his struggle with the Bureau of Land Management. Most of this coverage assumes Bundy is engaged in illegal cattle grazing on federal land.

“The U.S. government is rounding up Bundy’s cattle that it says have been grazing illegally on public lands in Clark County for more than 20 years, according to the land-management bureau and the National Park Service,” CNN reports today.

The BLM insists “Mr. Bundy has… failed to comply with multiple court orders to remove his cattle from the federal lands and to end the illegal trespass.”

It is the BLM, not Cliven Bundy, who is in violation of the law and the Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution.

The clause, known as the Enclave Clause, authorizes Congress to purchase, own and control land in a state under specific and limited conditions, namely “for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings,” and not, as the feds now insist, to protect an endangered tortoise.

The Founders were opposed to providing a centralized federal government with unlimited authority to purchase and, as is routinely the case today, seize state and private land.

During the federal convention debates in September, 1787, Elbridge Gerry, who later went on to serve as vice president under James Madison, contended federal purchase of land “might be made use of to enslave any particular State by buying up its territory, and that the strongholds proposed would be a means of awing the State into an undue obedience.”

In order to make certain the federal government did not abuse the Enclave Clause, the words “Consent of the Legislature of the State” were added.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

BLM Attempted Cover-Up of Sen. Reid/Chinese Gov’t Takeover of Ranch for Solar Farm

The Bureau of Land Management, whose director was Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) former senior adviser, has purged documents from its web site stating that the agency wants Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle off of the land his family has worked for over 140 years in order to make way for solar panel power stations.

Deleted from BLM.gov but reposted for posterity by the Free Republic, the BLM document entitled “Cattle Trespass Impacts” directly states that Bundy’s cattle “impacts” solar development, more specifically the construction of “utility-scale solar power generation facilities” on “public lands.”

“Non-Governmental Organizations have expressed concern that the regional mitigation strategy for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone utilizes Gold Butte as the location for offsite mitigation for impacts from solar development, and that those restoration activities are not durable with the presence of trespass cattle,” the document states…

Back in 2012, the New American reported that Harry Reid’s son, Rory Reid, was the chief representative for a Chinese energy firm planning to build a $5-billion solar plant on public land in Laughlin, Nevada.

And journalist Marcus Stern with Reuters also reported that Sen. Reid was heavily involved in the deal as well.

[Reid] and his oldest son, Rory, are both involved in an effort by a Chinese energy giant, ENN Energy Group, to build a $5 billion solar farm and panel manufacturing plant in the southern Nevada desert,“ he wrote. “Reid has been one of the project’s most prominent advocates, helping recruit the company during a 2011 trip to China and applying his political muscle on behalf of the project in Nevada.”

“His son, a lawyer with a prominent Las Vegas firm that is representing ENN, helped it locate a 9,000-acre (3,600-hectare) desert site that it is buying well below appraised value from Clark County, where Rory Reid formerly chaired the county commission.”

Although these reports are in plain view, the mainstream media has so far ignored this link.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

BLM Fracking Racket Exposed! Armed Siege and Cattle Theft From Bundy Ranch Really About Fracking Leases

(NaturalNews) The Bureau of Land Management says its 200-man armed siege of the Cliven Bundy ranch in Nevada is all about protecting an “endangered tortoise.” But a Natural News investigation has found that BLM is actually in the business of raking in millions of dollars by leasing Nevada lands to energy companies that engage in fracking operations.

[…]

U.S. Bureau of Land Management geologist Lorenzo Trimble tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal the Elko County oil and gas leases sold Tuesday for $1.27 million to six different companies. The auction took place in Reno. The leases are near where Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. wants to drill for oil and natural gas on 40,000 acres of public and private land near the town of Wells. The Review-Journal reports the project would be the first in Nevada to use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract oil and gas from shale deposits.

The way this works, of course, is that BLM runs land theft operations by claiming they are “managing” the land and thereby kicking everyone else off it. They then invoke a reptile, an owl, a bird, a snake or some other animal which they claim to be “saving,” even while they are stealing and destroying hundreds of cattle belonging to a private rancher trying to make an honest living in a nation where productive Americans are increasingly branded “enemies of the state.”

Once control of the land is established via court order or by bringing armed men with automatic weapons, BLM then turns around and leases the land to fracking companies who proceed to exploit the land using hydraulic fracturing techniques that inject toxic chemicals into groundwater supplies (and have been linked to earthquakes). The money collected by the BLM is then used to increase BLM salaries and bonuses.

In essence, the BLM is a criminal mafia racket, and Cliven Bundy just happened to be in the way of their next target, the Gold Butte area of Nevada. That is why they brought hundreds of heavily armed men to a “save the tortoise” operation.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

BLM Rangers Brought in From Out of State for Nevada Ranch ‘Emergency’

Armed Rangers were brought in from out of state by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to assist in security surrounding the Bundy Ranch, according to the family.

A heated confrontation on Wednesday resulted in Cliven Bundy’s son Ammon being tasered by BLM officials and a 57-year-old protester being shoved to the ground.

Stetsy Bundy Cox, Cliven’s daughter, told the Washington Free Beacon that some of the rangers had Oregon and California license plates.

“You know, some of these guys don’t even know why they’re here,” she said. “A few people have talked to them and they got called in here on an emergency feed and they didn’t know what it was for, it just said they had to be here.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cambridge Councilor Looks to Recruit More Muslims Into Office

The first Muslim city councilor in Cambridge is looking to recruit more Muslims into office. Even in a city that calls itself the People’s Republic, Nadeem Mazen said he was surprised by the sometimes-overt Islamophobia he encountered while campaigning last fall — as rare as those encounters were…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Chesler: The Shame of Brandeis

Dr. Phyllis Chesler, noted feminist author has written this News.Max.com opinion piece on la’affaire Ayyan Hirsi Ali at Brandeis University, “The Shame of Brandeis”.. We draw your particular attention to identification of Brandeis faculty member Jytte Klausen, author of the redcated Yale Press book that eliminated all of the Jyllands Posten Danish Mohammed cartoons. Klausen, herself the subject of censorship by her publisher, is cited by Chesler as a signatory of the Brandeis faculty letter requesting President Lawrence to withdraw Ali’s honorary degree at next month’s Commencement. We are sure that Lars Hedgaard executive editor of Dispatch International in Copenhagen will have choice comments about Ms. Klausen’s participation in this dastardly act against free speech.

Note these comments from Chesler’s essay:…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

County Commissioner Says Bundy Supporters “Better Have Funeral Plans”

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins has caused outrage by remarking that Utahns planning to travel to Nevada to support Cliven Bundy in his standoff against the feds “better have funeral plans”.

The comments were revealed by Darin Bushman, a Piute County, Utah, commissioner after he spoke with Collins about Utah ranchers and his colleagues on the County Commission complaining about tactics used by Bureau of Land Management agents during their seizure of Bundy’s cattle in southern Nevada.

“I was just told by commissioner Collins of Clark County NV that all of us folks from Utah are a bunch of “inbred bastards” and if we are coming to Clark Cointy NV to support Cliven Bundy we all “better have funeral plans”. We should “turn our asses around on mind our own f-ing business”. Now there’s some classy leadership for you,” wrote Bushman on his official Facebook page.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ct: Danbury Mayor Quits Maig Over Push for More Gun Regulations

Mark Boughton, current mayor of Danbury, Connecticut, announced Wednesday that he was leaving Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

This comes as Boughton, the longest serving mayor in the state, is in the middle of a campaign as the Republican candidate for Connecticut Governor’s office.

“As a member of the Connecticut General Assembly, I was a strong supporter of the rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in Connecticut. This remains my position today,” Boughton said in a statement released April 9.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cut the Clitoral Relativism: Islam: Sharia, And Female Genital Mutilation/”Circumcision”

by Andrew Bostom

Despite their ongoing antagonisms—played out, prominently, on Fox News—a bizarre, shared apologetic has emerged which denies the irrefragable sanctioning of female genital mutilation/”circumcision” (FGM/C) by canonical Islamic tradition (“hadith”), and over 1100 years of authoritative, mainstream Islamic jurisprudence. The strange bedfellow antagonists engaged in these overlapping apologetics about FGM/C are the Clarion Foundation and its film “Honor Diaries,” allied with the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation (Ms. Ali is also listed as the film’s executive producer), “versus” the Hamas-linked cultural jihadist organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Fox News has served as overseer of this “conflict” cum consensus, while also reinforcing the fallacy that FGM/C is simply a tragic manifestation of misogynistic patriarchal trends that are generic, and have “no basis” in Islam and the Sharia, Islamic law.

Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR issued the following statement (which Fox News host Megyn Kelly aired on her broadcast), that melds Islamic negationism (in bold, below), with vitriol against the Clarion Foundation-produced film:…

           — Hat tip: Andy Bostom [Return to headlines]
 

Doctors Implant Lab-Grown Vagina

Four women have had new vaginas grown in the laboratory and implanted by doctors in the US. A tissue sample and a biodegradable scaffold were used to grow vaginas in the right size and shape for each woman as well as being a tissue match. They all reported normal levels of “desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction” and painless intercourse.

Experts said the study, published in the Lancet, was the latest example of the power of regenerative medicine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Dozens Hit by Layoffs at Al Jazeera America

Dozens of Al Jazeera America employees were laid off after the ratings-challenged network decided to close down its sports bureau and reduce “The Stream” from a daily to weekly show. The network attempted to put the best spin possible on the lay-offs to the Hollywood Reporter, but after a reported initial investment of over a half-billion dollars and a launch seven months ago, the network’s ratings are still so low they sometimes cannot be measured.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Enforcing Islamic Law at Brandeis

by Diana West

When Brandeis University withdrew an honorary degree for Ayaan Hirsi Ali after a student-professor firestorm branded her an “Islamophobe,” the campus in effect declared itself an outpost of Islamic law, American-style. Officially, Brandeis is now a place where critics of Islam — “blasphemers” and “apostates,” according to Islamic law — are scorned and rejected.

Not that Brandeis put it that way in its unsigned announcement about Hirsi Ali’s dis-invitation, which notes: “She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women’s rights, and we respect and appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls throughout the world. That said, we cannot overlook … her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.”

Translation: Hirsi Ali’s advocacy on behalf of brutalized women is Good, but Hirsi Ali’s “past statements” — advocacy that connects such violence to Islamic teachings — are Bad, or, in faddish twaddle, “Islamophobia.” As a dhimmi (non-Muslims under Islamic law) institution, Brandeis cannot possibly honor the infidel.

Islamic blasphemy laws sanction the death penalty for exactly the kind of criticism of Islam ex-Muslim Hirsi Ali has engaged in: hence, the innumerable death threats she has received for over a decade; and hence, the ritual Islamic slaughter of Hirsi Ali’s co-producer, Theo van Gogh, for “Submission,” their short film about specifically Islamic violence and repression of women. In the U.S. (so far), punishment for such “transgressions” against Islam usually resembles an aggressive form of blackballing. There are horrifying exceptions, however, including the decision to prosecute and incarcerate Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, producer of “Innocence of Muslims,” for “parole violations.” To be sure, when it comes to participating in the 21st-century public square — in this case, donning academic robes and making valedictory remarks — “Islamophobes” need not apply.

This has long been the case. But we have reached a new nadir when a courageous figure of Hirsi Ali’s stature is publicly lashed for expressing herself about the perils that Islamic teachings pose to women’s rights and, more generally, human rights. Brandeis, however, deems such opinions “hate speech” — exactly the phrase used in an online student petition against Hirsi Ali. After all, name-calling is so much simpler than having to mount an argument. And so much more effective as a political weapon.

In our post-Orwellian time, “hate speech” means publicly reviled speech. A “hate-speaker” thus becomes fair game for public humiliation — exactly what Brandeis chose to inflict on Hirsi Ali. The humiliation, however, is Brandeis’ alone.

For what “core values” is Brandeis protecting? Denial. Orthodoxy. Cant…

           — Hat tip: Diana West [Return to headlines]
 

Eric Holder Plays Race Card as Obama Admin. Collapses

In a calculated effort to test the historical and political amnesia of the American public and simultaneously play a frayed race card, Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, has decried his treatment at the hands of a House Judiciary Committee hearing earlier in the week.

The Obama administration continually plays the race card when confronted with political opposition and accusations of impropriety.

Holder asked “what attorney general has had to deal with that kind of treatment?” following a pointed exchange with Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican.

“I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight,” Gohmert remarked as Holder weathered questions about the Justice Department’s stonewalling of handing over documents related to the prosecution of a Texas-based Islamic charity.

Although not specifically stated, Holder accused Gohmert and the Republicans of picking on him due to the color of his skin. This was underscored by the fact he complained about his treatment while attending Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Federal Government Seizing “Trespassing” Cows From Hard-Working Ranchers

History is repeating itself on the Bundy Ranch, near Bunkerville, Nevada, where the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spends its time and resources on “trespassing” cows.

Hardworking generation rancher Cliven Bundy — the last remaining rancher in the Southern Nevada county — is not the first and tragically won’t be the last American harassed by an overbearing, invading BLM.

If the BLM, in cahoots with radical environmentalists, keeps up its pace, ranchers like Bundy will be the end of an era with with no Hollywood movies like Dances With Wolves to mark the sad passing.

As of yesterday the Bundy Ranch was under siege with 200 (count ‘em) armed federal agents and helicopters whirling overhead. Bundy’s cattle had been rustled off for immediate public auction, and the call was being sent out to patriots, including other ranchers, military, Oathkeepers and sheriffs to come and take a stand against the invading government bureaucrats.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Florida ALAC Passes Final Hurdles for Floor Votes

Shortly after 9:00AM CST today, I received a text message from Sen. Alan Hays, Florida Senate sponsor of American Law for American Courts (ALAC) indicating that the House Version 903 passed on a 13 to 6 partisan vote. On Wednesday, the Florida Senate Rules Committee passed the Senate Version SB 386 on a 7 to 6 vote. Two Rules Committee Republican members, Senators Lizbeth Benacquisto and Tom Lee, Senate Majority and deputy leaders, were absent for the crucial vote, although they both voted for its passage in the Judiciary Hearing. One South Florida Republican Senator, Diaz Miguel de la Portillo voted against it.

There were two votes of significance in the House Judiciary Committee Hearing today. One was Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz from Okaloosa County here in Florida’s Northwest Panhandle. He is the son of current Senate President, Don Gaetz. The younger Gaetz had previously been a co-sponsor of the ALAC legislation.The other is previous Democrat supporter of ALAC, Rep. Daphne Campbell. She voted no along with her Democrat colleagues on the Judiary Committee.

Educated at a Christian university in South Florida, Ms. Campbell had been a supporter of the social issues agenda of the Christian Family Coalition (CFC) led by its effective executive director, Anthony Verdugo, an important ally in the fight to obtain passage of ALAC. The CFC has made passage of ALAC a major legislative priority in 2014 . Apparently this time, Ms. Campbell decided to ropt out of her CFC support and reversde her previous commitment.

Together with the passage at the Senate Rules Committee, the stage is now set for floor votes in both chambers. These votes culminate a four year effort to pass ALAC in the sunshine state. We commend both Senator Hays and Rep. Neil Combee, for navigating ALAC to possible floor votes…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

GMO Labeling to be Outlawed by ‘Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act’ Introduced Today in Congress

(NaturalNews) A proposed new federal law just introduced by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (a Democrat) and Rep. Mike Pompeo (a Republican) would outlaw state-enacted GMO labeling laws. The new law, ridiculously called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, is actually an last-ditch, desperate effort by the biotech industry and the GMA to forever bury the truth about GMOs so that consumers don’t know they’re eating poison.

According to mainstream media reports (1), the bill would require the FDA to mandate GMO labeling only if those foods “are found to be unsafe or materially different from foods produced without biotech ingredients.”

Because the FDA and USDA have already decided, against all scientific evidence, that GMOs are “safe” and “not materially different” from other foods, this requirement is nothing but sheer sleight of hand and a pandering to idiocy. In truth, this new bill, if passed into law, would allow food companies to permanently and insidiously hide GMOs in all their products forever, nullifying the numerous state-based GMO labeling laws which are on the verge of passing.

The Environmental Working Group calls this proposed new law the “DARK Act” (Denying Americans the Right to Know), saying:

After two states have passed GE labeling bills and more than 30 others are poised to consider similar labeling bills and ballot initiatives, the food and biotech industry have goat-roped some members of Congress into introducing legislation to block state GE labeling laws.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Grand Canyon Struggles to Repel Invading Beefalo

The Grand Canyon needs to evict its squatters. Rangers in the area are struggling with herds of beefalo, a hybrid of American buffalo and domestic cattle. Ecologists say many of them will have to go, although how that will happen is unclear.

Beefalo are the product of a failed breeding experiment that a rancher tried in the early 1900s. Today, they roam in designated wildlife areas, where hunters with special permits can shoot up to 65 each year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Los Angeles Deputies Kill Man Who Managed to Escape Violent Attack

Giving an object lesson in “shoot first, ask later,” officers of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have confessed they were responsible for the shooting death of an aspiring television production assistant, and not the knife-wielding lunatic who was holding him hostage.

Police shot and killed John Winkler, 30, Monday night as he tried to flee an apartment where he and two others were being stabbed and held hostage. Winkler later died in the hospital due to his injuries.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Massachusetts Governor Adds His Signature to 70,000 Others on Boston Marathon Prayer Canvas

BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Deval (deh-VAL’) Patrick has signed a huge prayer canvas designed to serve as a message of support on the anniversary of the deadly Boston Marathon bombing. Supporters say the America 4 Boston Prayer Canvas has been signed by more than 70,000 people from all 50 U.S. states and 30 nations…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Media-Suppressed Nevada Case History Shines Truth on Government Ranch Invaders

Coming clearly through the throbbing of helicopters and the roar of the SUVS of the feds harassing the Cliven Bundy Ranch, patriots there for Bundy should “tell it to the judge”.

There is mainstream media-suppressed case history in Nevada the feds are desperately trying to keep under wraps.

Chief Judge Robert C. Jones of the Federal District Court of Nevada smacked down high-handed, abusive feds, sending the pretend cowboys riding roughshod over Western ranchers and property owners back to their cobweb-laced offices in 2013.

In spite of their 200 armed snipers with boy toys in tow, those Stetson-wearing feds hunkering down on Cliven Bundy’s Ranch are nothing more than a bunch of cowardly ‘cobweb cowboys’ doing duty for radical environmentalists.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Militias Head to Nevada Rancher’s Standoff With Feds: We’re Not ‘Afraid to Shoot’

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s decades-long battle against the federal government over grazing rights has heated to the point where militia groups have joined in and taken up spots against the feds who’ve circled his land — and talk is, they’re not afraid to open fire.

A spokesman for the one of the militia groups said as much to local 8 News Now: I’m not “afraid to shoot,” he said.

Margaret Houston, Mr. Bundy’s sister and a cancer survivor, said at a town hall gathering this week that the situation “was like a war zone” and that she felt “like I was not in the United States,” The Daily Mail reported.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Advocacy Group Calls for Investigation by Oberlin College Into Lecturer’s ‘Bigotry’

OBERLIN — The Cleveland chapter of the Council on America-Islamic Relations is asking Oberlin College to investigate a lecturer in the Arabic Language Department whom they say openly promotes “anti-Muslim bigotry and crude stereotypes of Muslims in his writings on campus.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Boasts 7.1 Million Have Signed Up to ObamaCare — But Study Shows Just 858,000 Newly Insured Americans Have Paid Up!

A triumphant President Barack Obama declared Tuesday his signature medical insurance overhaul a success, saying it has made America’s health care system ‘a lot better’ in a Rose Garden press conference.

But buried in the 7.1 million enrollments he announced in a heavily staged appearance is a more unsettling reality.

Numbers from a RAND Corporation study that has been kept under wraps suggest that barely 858,000 previously uninsured Americans — nowhere near 7.1 million — have paid for new policies and joined the ranks of the insured by Monday night.

Others were already insured, including millions who lost coverage when their existing policies were suddenly cancelled because they didn’t meet Obamacare’s strict minimum requirements.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Op-Ed: Honor Dishonored: Brandeis and Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Long ago, in Jerusalem, in Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, King David’s son, famously wrote: “There is nothing new under the sun.”

How right he was. Brandeis’s decision to disinvite Ayaan Hirsi Ali is “nothing new” under the liberal Waltham sun.

In 2003, Brandeis partnered with Al-Quds University—and did so, year after year, until 2013, when violent demonstrations broke out on the Al-Quds campus, replete with traditional Nazi salutes.

In 2006, the Brandeis community of students and professors did not protest the Distinguished Professorship Brandeis awarded to the “inflammatory” anti-Zionist playwright Tony Kushner…

[Return to headlines]
 

Proposed Mosque by Microsoft Raises Traffic Concerns Among Residents

The possibility of increased traffic and noise are among the reasons a group of Redmond residents are concerned about a mosque being proposed for an empty plot of land near Microsoft.

If approved, Anjuman-e-Burhani Mosque would be located at 15252 N.E. 51st St. It would be two stories with a basement for a total of 22,467 square feet, according to plans from Rolluda Architects, the architecture firm designing the building.

The size of the building, which would sit on about 1.12 acres of land, is one of the things that has residents in the neighborhood most concerned. “It’s not about the religion,” said Frank Niederle. “It’s about 20,000 square feet. That’s something else. It doesn’t make sense.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Rancher Cliven Bundy Speaks: “I Don’t Recognize Them Having Any Jurisdiction or Authority Over This Land”

Update: [16:00 PST] — This video interview follows reports that up to 5,000 militia members are on their way to Nevada to stand with the Bundy family against massive government overreach. Earlier today Bundy family members and friends broke through the Federal blockade to rescue cattle stuck behind enemy lines.

The man at the center of the dispute, rancher Cliven Bundy, joins Infowars’ David Knight and Steve Quayle for an exclusive interview to discuss developments at Bunkerville, Nevada where there are now at least 300 Federal law enforcement agents surrounding the Bundy ranch.

According to Cliven Bundy, what’s at issue is that the US government has no right to call the shots over the land, as dictated by the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Mr. Bundy also notes that he and those arriving in the area are prepared to do whatever it takes to maintain their sovereignty.

The first thing we need to make clear is — who owns this land? That’s really not clear. We have a federal judge that says the United States owns this land. We have the United States Constitution that says Nevada owns this land.

So this is where I’m at… Let’s talk about my grazing fee… who am I supposed to pay my grazing fee to? Constitutional sovereignty of Nevada that owns this land?

No. The one I get the grazing fee bill from is the United States government.

I don’t recognize them having any jurisdiction or authority over this land.

I do not have a contract with the United States government.

…I urge you, read the Constitution. Those founding fathers laid out how we’re supposed to act. They have all the answers already laid out for us. Why don’t we live that Constitution and be happy in America?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Report: NSA Exploited Heartbleed to Siphon Passwords for Two Years

The NSA knew about and exploited the Heartbleed vulnerability for two years before it was publicly exposed this week, and used it to steal account passwords and other data, according to a news report.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Teacher Suspended as Student’s Science Projects Deemed to be “Imitation Weapons”

Students at a public high school in Los Angeles are campaigning for Unified School District officials to reinstate a popular teacher after he was suspended when two of his students submitted science projects that administrators said resembled guns.

The LA Times reports that Greg Schiller, was sentence to “teacher jail” (with pay) in February from the Grand Arts High School for “supervising the building, research and development of imitation weapons,” according to administrators.

As part of a science fair, one student created an “air cannon” that was capable of propelling small objects, while another put together an electromagnetic battery powered “coil gun”. The former was designed to be operated using air pressure. However, no source of air pressure was ever connected to the device, so it could not have been “fired”.

The device was reportedly similar to one that fired marshmallows in 2012 as part of a White House Science Fair. The horror. When administrators investigated, they impounded the device as “evidence,” and also confiscated the “coil gun”.

Mr Schiller was removed from his position after a school employee saw the air pressure project and told officials that it looked like a scary weapon. Schiller himself says that he never saw the completed project and had only seen blueprints and photos.

“As far as we can tell, he’s being punished for teaching science,” said Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tests Suggest ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’ is Authentic

A small scrap of brown papyrus paper, about the size of a business card, has ignited a red-hot argument that spans all of Christendom.

The papyrus document, known as the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” was unveiled in 2012 and instantly set off a debate over its authenticity. Perhaps its most controversial elements are lines that suggest Jesus had a wife.

But a recent announcement from the Harvard Divinity School that the document is probably genuine has rekindled the disagreement over its provenance and meaning.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Thorium Reactors: Asgard’s Fire

Thorium, an element named after the Norse god of thunder, may soon contribute to the world’s electricity supply

Thorium, though, is hard to turn into a bomb; not impossible, but sufficiently uninviting a prospect that America axed thorium research in the 1970s. It is also three or four times as abundant as uranium. In a world where nuclear energy was a primary goal of research, rather than a military spin-off, it would certainly look worthy of investigation. And it is, indeed, being investigated.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Claims Country Building Its Own Network to Protect Against NSA Spying Violates Trade Laws

NSA spying is costing the U.S. tech industry tens of billions of dollars, and people around the world are trying to find non-U.S. companies to provide internet, cloud and computer products and services. And see this and this.

Numerous countries are trying to thwart NSA spying.

Many countries are planning to create their own communications infrastructures to bypass the U.S. altogether. For example, economic powerhouse Germany is rolling out a system that would keep all datawithin Germany’s national borders.

The U.S. is trying to not only protect U.S. businesses, but also keep the NSA’s hand in the cookie jar by arguing (wait for it…) that closing borders to the NSA would violate trade law.

Specifically, the United States Trade Representative released a report Friday stating:…

Postscript: The U.S. Trade Representative is the same motley crew pushing the Trans Pacific Partnership, which would destroy the sovereignty of all nations which join.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

US Navy Superweapon Only ‘Two Years Away’

“It’s now reality and it’s not science fiction. It’s actually real. You can look at it. It’s firing.” An electromagnetic superweapon capable of firing shells at up to 5,400mph over 100 miles is only two years away, according to the US Navy.

Rear Adminal Matthew Klunder, the chief of naval research, has announced that the US Navy plans to conduct sea trails for this ‘Star Wars’ technology in 2016.

These tests will be the first time an electromagnetic railgun (EM railgun) is demonstrated at sea, and will herald a new age of naval technology.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Will Feds Stage Violence to Frame Cliven Bundy?

Will the feds resort to staging violence in order to frame Cliven Bundy and his supporters?

With hundreds of “militia members” heading to Nevada, the possibility of the feds inserting provocateurs posing as protesters in order to demonize Bundy’s cause is a major threat.

Remember, Ed and Elaine Brown mistakenly invited U.S. Federal Marshals posing as supporters into their own home before they were arrested.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Gets Life in Prison in Stiletto Heel Slaying

A Houston woman was sentenced to life in prison Friday for fatally stabbing her boyfriend with the 51/2-inch stiletto heel of her shoe, striking him at least 25 times in the face and head.

Ana Trujillo was convicted of murder Tuesday by the same jury for killing 59-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson during an argument last June at his Houston condominium. Defense attorneys argued that Trujillo, 45, was defending herself from an attack by Andersson, who was a University of Houston professor and researcher.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Britain Must Increase Spending on Green Energy by Ten Times in Next 15 Years to Help Reduce Global Warming, Says UN

Britain will have to increase spending on wind farms and other green projects ten-fold in the next 15 years if global warming is to be controlled, the UN will warn on Sunday.

Critics say the Government is already spending far too much on trying to reduce carbon dioxide and should instead concentrate on adapting to the impacts of climate change.

Lord Howell of Guildford, a former Foreign Office minister, says investment in carbon mitigation projects should be cut, not increased.

‘It seems that our current mitigation efforts seem to be producing no vast improvement in carbon emissions — in fact an increase in our carbon footprint — – burning more coal, increased fuel poverty, driving investment away from this country to elsewhere where power is cheaper, raising the prospect of blackouts and general environmental damage.’

Former Chancellor Lord Lawson of Blaby, a leading climate change sceptic, is also critical. Speaking in the same Lords debate, he said: ‘There are competing claims on resources and we have to decide which is our priority.

‘Is it to try single-handedly to decarbonise the world and thus push up to no useful purpose British energy prices, make fuel more expensive for British homes and litter the countryside with wind farms and solar panels?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cyprus: Drop in Number of Women Working in Cabarets

Some 400 are currently employed compared to 6,000 in 2007

(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, APRIL 10 — The number of women working in cabarets in Cyprus has dropped dramatically since the law was changed five years ago abolishing the ‘artiste licence’ as daily Cyprus Mail reports. According to figures from the Cyprus Gender Equality Observatory (Cgeo), 400 women are currently employed in 20 cabarets compared to 6,000 women and 108 cabarets in 2007. Prior to 2009, a legal loophole existed in the law that allowed cabaret owners to employ women under the guise of ‘artiste’ for which there was a special licence that facilitated traffickers.

The government closed the loophole in 2009 by introducing an amendment requiring the women to have a degree in dance and other professional requirements. The amendment angered cabaret owners, who went as far as to stage a protest outside the interior ministry, asking for the amendment to be abolished. While Cgeo congratulated the government for introducing the new legal framework and protect victims, especially minors, it said the drop was likely only on paper as traffickers always found new ways around the law. The organisation cited figures from Eurostat, saying that for the years 2008-2010 sex trafficking in the EU was actually on the rise. According to Eurostat, 15% of trafficking victims in 2010 were minors. The vast majority of those minors — 80% — were female. Victims of sexual trafficking are predominantly women (96%), while men are the majority of victims when it comes to work exploitation (77%), according to Eurostat. The EU statistics office also noted that there was an increase in trafficking in boys. It is estimated that 61% of the trafficking victims comes from EU member states.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Foreign Acquisitions of Italian Firms Boom in 1st Quarter

Worth 4.3 bn euros

(ANSA) — Milan, April 10 — Foreign acquisitions of Italian companies picked up in the first quarter of 2014 and were worth 4.3 billion euros from 2.7 billion in the same period last year, according to data released by KPMG on Thursday.

The data included People’s Bank of China investments in Italian energy giant Eni and utility Enel worth 1.4 and 0.8 billion euros respectively.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

French Prison Wardens Struggle With Drunken Inmates

Prisoners are getting friends to throw whiskey and vodka over the gates as guards look powerlessly on

French prison wardens have appealed for help in dealing with inmates getting drunk on smuggled whisky and vodka. Friends of prisoners in Arras jail in northern France are throwing bottles of alcohol and packets of drugs into exercise yards, wrapped in bubble wrap or rags to stop them breaking…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Heartbleed Internet Flaw Was Written by ‘Mistake’ By a German Programmer

A German programmer has said he wrote the Internet security flaw “Heartbleed” by mistake. The bug has created a serious security hole that has made Internet passwords and encrypted transactions vulnerable to hackers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Hitler’ Cups Embarrass German Chain Store

Furniture store said it was unaware of ‘mistake’

(ANSA) — Berlin, April 11 — A German furniture store has apologized for selling Chinese-made mugs featuring an image of Adolf Hitler and has offered a 20-euro voucher to customers who will bring back the mugs, which were originally sold for 1.99 euros,reports said Friday.

The Zurbrueggen store claimed nobody had noticed the image of a Nazi-era stamp with Hitler’s profile on the mug, which also features a rose and poetry in English.

The chain reportedly ordered 5,000 cups of which 175 were sold before anyone recognized Hitler’s profile on the mug.

The store said it destroyed the other cups.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Property Belonging to Ex-Lombardy Governor Confiscated

Formigoni on trial for alleged graft in regional health sector

(updates previous) (ANSA) — Milan, April 10 — Police on Thursday confiscated assets including a Sardinia villa and bank accounts linked to former Lombardy governor Roberto Formigoni and his old friend Alberto Perego ahead of their trial for alleged graft in the region’s health sector.

Formigoni, a Senator with the New Centre Right (NCD) party of Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, is accused of criminal association and corruption in the case relating to the Pavia-based Maugeri healthcare trust.

The confiscated assets have a total value of around 49 million euros, equivalent to the estimated material value of the graft of which the defendants are accused. Formigoni has always denied any wrongdoing.

Eight other people have been indicted in the case, including businessman Pierangelo Dacco’, another friend of Formigoni’s.

Last year Dacco’ was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Milan appeals court for embezzling money through the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

According to the court, Dacco’ helped create the so-called “San Raffaele system”, whereby entrepreneurs who worked under contract for the hospital would intentionally over-bill clients and give the difference to Dacco’ who used the money for slush funds.

He was also found guilty of misappropriating assets and tax fraud.

The Maugeri trial is due to start on May 6.

Formigoni and the whole Lombardy government and parliament resigned at the end of 2012 after a wave of scandals.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Padoan Looking for ‘Competent’ Managers for State Companies

Labour market reforms aimed at ‘simplification’

(ANSA) — Washington, April 10 — Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Thursday that change is coming to public-sector management appointments in Italy and competency will be the most important qualification.

Italy has been reviewing senior management appointments to State-controlled companies including Finmeccanica, Enel and Eni.

During an interview with business television network CNBC Padoan, in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, said that the government is looking for “competence and, in some cases, new (faces),” at top management jobs.

Appointees will also be judged on how they handled previous responsibilities, successes and overall experience, he added.

Meanwhile, Padoan also said that Italy has “one of the most sustainable tax systems in the world” and that fiscal consolidation was almost finished in Europe and starting to yield benefits.

He explained that the government of Premier Matteo Renzi is also working on reforms to the labour market aimed at its “simplification” and at bringing “more young people permanently into the labour market”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Lupi Says Letter of Intent in Alitalia Deal Close

Investment plans could be firmed up by Monday, says minister

(See related) (ANSA) — Rome, April 11 — A letter of intent that would see Etihad Airlines take a significant stake in troubled Italian flag carrier Alitalia could come as early as Monday, Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said Friday.

Lupi met with Etihad Chief Executive Officer James Hogan earlier in the day, after meetings Thursday night between the CEO and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.

Sources said that following that session, an investment deal that would see the Abu Dhabi-based airline inject as much as 300 million euros into Alitalia in return for a stake of about 40% was “close”.

The major stumbling block, they said, is the number of layoffs that the deal would entail.

Earlier this week, Lupi said that Etihad Airlines had finished its “due diligence” in examining Alitalia’s accounts. Investments in troubled Alitalia have been controversial, as rival carriers have complained that deals could contravene European Union regulations on State aid. That is the basis of a complaint by German carrier Lufthansa about the Etihad investment while the owner of British Airways has raised the same rational for its complaints about a rescue plan coordinated by the Italian government late last year.

That plan included a controversial 74-million euro investment by Italy’s state-owned post office Poste Italiane.

International Airlines Group (IAG), the holding company that owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling called that a form of protectionism and said it was illegal under EU laws governing State assistance to businesses.

Meanwhile, in early April the European Commission warned Italian authorities to be careful to follow EU rules on ownership and control of European companies, and investments involving carriers from countries outside of Europe with reference to Etihad.

The Gulf carrier was drawn to Alitalia as it is vying to broaden its network in Europe.

Etihad has been expanding aggressively into Europe, and Alitalia would give it a further foothold in a lucrative market.

After buying 29% of Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, in 2011, Etihad has taken stakes in carriers across the world, including Air Serbia, Aer Lingus, Darwin Airlines, Virgin Australia, Jet Airways and Air Seychelles.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Five Amex Execs Indicted for Usury

Case involves ‘revolving’ credit cards

(ANSA) — Trani, April 11 — An Italian judge on Friday indicted five American Express executives and managers for alleged fraud and usury against residents in the southern Italian region of Puglia in a case involving so-called ‘revolving’ credit cards.

Amex denies the charges. The probe, which began four years ago, led to the Bank of Italy temporarily ordering Amex to stop issuing credit cards in Italy.

The precautionary measure was taken after some card users in Puglia were implicated in a probe into money laundering and usury, or loan-sharking.

The credit-card probe is based in the Puglia city of Trani.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Berlusconi Can’t Do Community Service if He Defames Judges

Ruling on social work or house arrest expected in 5-15 days

(ANSA) — Milan, April 11 — The prosecutor who asked a Milan court to order Silvio Berlusconi to serve a 10-month sentence for tax fraud doing community service rather than house arrest has said the measure could be suspended if the ex-premier were to defame single magistrates, reports said Friday.

The court’s prosecutor-general Antonio Lamanna on Thursday took to court an article published last month by Corriere della Sera in which Berlusconi was quoted as referring to the Milan court weighing the issue as a “mafia of judges”.

Lamanna reportedly told the court that, under standing legislation, community service “can be revoked” if the three-time premier will defame “single judges”, as he has done on a number of occasions.

There are no “vindictive angels” nor “guardian angels” in the court but magistrates “who must enforce laws”, Lamanna said.

The 77-year-old media magnate, who has said the tax fraud conviction is part of a longstanding campaign by left-wing magistrates to sweep him out of Italy’s political scenario, has applied to do community service and could work as little as half a day a week.

The ruling on what kind of punishment the center-right leader will receive, which is expected within the next two weeks, will be key in determining what role Berlusconi will play in the coming year.

If he gets house arrest, it would seriously curb his ability to lead his revamped center-right opposition Forza Italia in May 25 European elections, a key test for his party.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Ex-Berlusconi Aide Linked to Mafia Declared Fugitive

‘International manhunt’ for Dell’Utri, missing since mid-March

(ANSA) — Rome, April 11 — The manhunt intensified Friday for former Senator Marcello Dell’Utri, once a close aide to centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, who has apparently skipped the country to avoid an arrest warrant on Mafia charges.

Italy’s anti-Mafia investigative directorate, DIA, said the 72-year-old Dell’Utri, who was facing the possibility of a jail sentence on Tuesday if definitively convicted of helping the Sicilian Mafia, had been missing since mid-March. Italian authorities have started the procedures to ask Interpol to help them to track down the wanted man.

Investigators said they had been monitoring Dell’Utri for weeks and had tried without success to arrest him, after judges deemed Dell’Utri to be a flight risk on April 8.

Rumours suggested he had fled to Lebanon, possibly using a passport issued in the tiny nation of San Marino, where the co-founder of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia political party has extensive business interests.

And prosecutors in Palermo noted that he had been in Beirut earlier this month.

But in a statement to ANSA Friday, Dell’Utri said that he was having medical tests after heart surgery, did not intend to evade authorities, and would appear next week for the supreme court final decision on his seven-year conviction for Mafia links. Dell’Utri had appealed to the supreme Court of Cassation the seven-year sentence imposed in March, with the final decision set for Tuesday.

“I would like to clarify that I do not intend to evade the judicial result of the upcoming sentence of the Court of Cassation; and, finding myself in precarious health — for which I had to have an angioplasty a few weeks ago — I am undergoing further tests and check-ups,” Dell’Utri said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Scotch Whisky Concerned About Independence ‘Risks’

Scotch whisky makers expressed their concerns about the impact of Scottish independence for the first time on Friday, saying they needed an effective diplomatic network to promote sales.

The Scotch Whisky Association said it was seeking “reassurances” about the “risks” of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom following a referendum on September 18.

The SWA says whisky represents about 85 per cent of all Scottish food and drink exports, making it an economic jewel in the crown for a future independent Scotland.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Netherlands Has More Prison Workers Than Prisoners

The Netherlands has more prison guards than prisoners, the AD reports on Friday, quoting justice ministry figures.

Currently, there are 9,710 people serving time in jail and 9,914 prison officials, the ministry figures show. While the bulk of them are guards, the total also includes support staff and trainers such as sports coaches, the AD says.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: 44 Sentenced for Huge Huddersfield Crash for Cash Scam: Full List of Those Convicted

The ringleaders of a huge “crash for cash” scam were behind bars last night. Huddersfield company director Nadeem Khalid was one of several people jailed for their part in a crime network exposed in a massive police operation. They made claims for injuries and damage allegedly sustained in car crashes but a court heard most of the incidents had never taken place.

In all 44 people appeared at Leeds Crown Court for sentencing over the complex and systematic fraud…

The defendants sentenced for conspiracy to defraud are:

Nadeem Khalid, 34, of Laund Road, Salendine Nook Huddersfield, jailed for four years six months; Sahir Mohammed, 37, of Uplands, Birkby, Huddersfield will be sentenced at a later date; Bobby Samra, 64, of Twickenham, jailed for two years; Mohammed Nadeem Azam, 27, of Fitzwilliam Street, jailed for two years; Mohammad S Anwar, 35, of Weymouth Avenue, Huddersfield, jailed for three years; Frankie Junior Davies, 39, of Gloucester jailed for two years Thazeem Khalid, 32, of Laund Road, Salendine Nook, jailed for 12 months suspended for two years with 100 hours community service.

El Habbal Fouad, of Headfield Road, Dewsbury, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was jailed for 18 months…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Adrian Mole Author Sue Townsend, 68, Dies at Her Home in Leicester After a Stroke

Sue Townsend, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole books, has died after suffering a stroke at the age of 68.

The novelist and playwright, who died at home in Leicester, had various health problems throughout her life and had lost her sight in 2001 after complications from type 1 diabetes.

In 2009 she received a new kidney donated by her son Sean, 50 — who was said to be the inspiration behind Adrian Mole — after a two-year wait for a donor.

She leaves husband Colin Broadway, son, Sean, and her three other children Daniel, 45, Victoria, 44, and Elizabeth, 37.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Islam is as British as the Grey Sky of London

by Giulio Meotti

These words were uttered by a London Alderman. Sheer numbers of Muslims weak British backbones and the desire for Arab investments are turning Britain into something unknown.

“Islam is British like grey sky”

In 1215, Britain enacted the “Magna Charta Libertatum”. It is the basis of the UK legal system which protects individual rights. 800 years later, for the first time, that glorious legal system is changing face. It is now an experiment unique in the world, the hybridation of the Magna Charta and Islam…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Mosque Plans Are Lodged for Former Wolverhampton Casino

The site of a disused casino in the Black Country will be converted into a mosque under new plans submitted to council chiefs.

Gala Casino in Whitmore Street, in Wolverhampton’s city centre, closed in 2011.But under proposals it will become an Islamic place of worship and a community centre. The property is opposite the Broad Street car park and will be called Wolverhampton City Islamic Centre and Alrahma Mosque.

In a document submitted to the city council, the applicant, Mekawy Morsy says: “The property is at the heart of our beloved Wolverhampton city centre. “This centre will be a great service for local worshippers. It will be a very convenient and accessible location for shoppers, local shopkeepers, students and close-by residents to use the centre to practice their religious activities.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Muslims in Gloucester Offer Donation to Somerset’s Flood Hit Communities

Flood ravaged communities in Somerset have been offered a helping hand from the Muslim community in Gloucester with a donation of more than £1,600. Yakub Patel, its Honorary President, said:

“As Muslims we have a duty to help our fellow human beings who are suffering, regardless of who they are. We were very saddened to learn of the destruction caused by the unprecedented flooding in Somerset which has caused suffering to so many. The Muslim community is motivated by the Prophetic saying: ‘The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind.’“

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: New Islamic Boys’ School Set to Open in Batley

A dedicated secondary school for Batley’s Muslim community will officially open its doors in September. The Al Hashim Academy has completed its takeover of Kirklees College’s Batley centre, in Cambridge Street, which has been empty for two years. The educational charity bought the premises for £415,000, after it appealed on its website for donations.…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: New Mosque Scouts Group in Keighley

More than 30 young people and seven leaders have been invested into the Scout movement following the launch of the new group based at the Madinah mosque in Keighley. The ceremony — which also included the blessing, in Arabic and English verse, of section flags — was well attended by parents, civic guests, councillors and Scouting representatives…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Police Investigate Suspected Poisoning of Five Dogs on Hampstead Heath

Five dogs were rushed to a veterinary practice for emergency treatment after suffering suspected poisoning on Hampstead Heath. The Heath’s police force is investigating after the group of dogs were taken ill in the Sandy Heath area between Wildwood Road and Spaniards Road…

[JP note: See also another case in March 2014 http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/three-dogs-dead-and-three-more-treated-after-eating-poisoned-meat-in-london-park-9200476.html ]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Peaceful Islam [Letters to the Editor, Daily Telegraph]

by Lord Pearson of Rannoch

True Islam should flow from Verses of Peace

SIR — Fraser Nelson says that “the good British Muslim is truly one amongst us — and proud to be so”. That is right, but it skates over the deeper problem within Islam, which is a single political, religious and legal system, taking its authority solely from the Koran, the Hadith and the Sunna.

Unfortunately, the things Mohammed did and said later in his life — the “Verses of the Sword” — give ample inspiration and justification to the jihadists, and, under the Muslim tenet of “abrogation”, are held to outweigh the earlier “Verses of Peace”.

Since September 11 2001, there have been some 18,000 attacks by Islamists worldwide, killing 206,000 people (45 a day), a majority of them Muslim. So the question becomes: if Islam is a religion of peace, and if the Jihadists form such a tiny minority, why do the vast majority not get together and issue a fatwa to cast them out of Islam?

Couldn’t they organise a Great Council and decree that the Verses of the Sword are to be taken as referring to the internal struggle between good and evil in each one of us, and that true Islam flows only from the Verses of Peace?

If they don’t, is it because they daren’t?

Lord Pearson of Rannoch
London SW1

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Senior Tory Steps Down as Rumours of Lewd Behaviour Sweep ‘Palace of Sexminster’

Iain Corby, a senior Conservative official who testifed at Nigel Evans trial, resigns amid concern over Westminster’s culture of excessive drinking

A senior Conservative official has resigned amid concerns over the culture in Parliament exposed by the trial of Nigel Evans, the former Deputy Speaker. Iain Corby, a former head of the Policy Research Unit, which provides support to 270 Conservative MPs, stood down earlier this month to look for a position in the private sector…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Gas: South Stream Start Work This Summer on Serbian Stretch

Gazprom head, attention to environmental safety

(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, APRIL 11 — The Serbian section of gas pipeline South Stream, the Gazprom-Eni joint project intended to bring Russian gas to Europe while avoiding through Ukrainian territory, will start work this summer. Gazprom Project officer, Leonid Ciugunov, said in Belgrade that formalities regarding ownership of land affected by the pipeline have been completed. For the production of the Serbian stretch, Ciugunov stressed, particular attention to environmental safety was applied, with the use of technologies and materials with low environmental impact.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Focus at EU Project Seminar

The EU-funded Euromed Justice III project has brought together representatives of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia in a training seminar on the theme of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

The seminar on ‘Problems of International Judicial Cooperation in criminal matters: effective exchange of information, mechanisms in order to recover assets from abroad and extradition’ was held in Maastricht, Holland on 25-27 March, under the project’s component on criminal and penitentiary law.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Caroline Glick: Forgetting Freedom on Passover

Passover, which begins on Monday night, is the festival of freedom.

The holiday reminds us of the brutal enslavement of the Jews by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. We recall their midnight flight from Egypt, pursued by the mighty Egyptian army, and God’s miraculous rescue of the Jews at the shores of the Red Sea. We remember how Moses led them for 40 years in the desert, and taught them what it means to be a nation, and what it means to be free.

We repeat the story of enslavement, flight, redemption and freedom each year at Passover, because our sages wanted to ensure that we never forget the value of freedom, and remain vigilant in our fight for it.

In Israel, where our freedom is physically threatened, most Jews understand and live by the lessons of Passover.

But something is happening to the Jews in America…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

51 Rebels Killed During Infighting in East Syria

DAMASCUS, April 10 (Xinhua) — A total of 51 rebels were killed on Thursday during an infighting among rival radical rebel groups in east Syria, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV cited activists as saying.

The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized control over the city of Bukamal in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi borders, following clashes with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and so- called Islamic Front, the report said.…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Syria is Now the Gravest Terrorist Threat to Britain

Figures recently compiled by MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, indicate that at least 500 British Muslims have travelled to Syria as jihadis, where they have met up with radical Islamist groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which seeks to create a hardline Islamic state in “liberated” areas of Syria and Iraq.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey’s Top Court Strikes Down Part of Erdogan’s Judiciary Reform Law

Turkey’s constitutional court has struck down parts of a new law designed to tighten government control of the judiciary. This follows a court decision last week to lift a government-imposed ban on Twitter.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Constitutional Court Overturns Part of Judicial Law

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, APRIL 11 — The Turkish Constitutional Court of Ankara ruled to annul parts of the controversial law on government control of the judiciary’s governing body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), reported the private television network NTV.

The new law, adopted in February following the explosion of the Bosphorus graft scandal, triggered severe criticism in the European Union and the United States. The Constitutional Court rejected the provisions reinforcing powers of the justice minister over the HSYK.

The main opposition party, the CHP led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had denounced the law on powers over justice as “unconstitutional” and “freedom-killing”, and on March 2 had presented a complaint to the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court ordered rewriting of the contested article of the law widening powers of the justice minister, according to the online news site Hurriyet. According to the law, the justice minister presides over the work of the HSYK and has the last word on the appointment and assignment of judges. The European Union and the United States have denounced the move as a violation of the principles of separation of powers in a democratic society. The head of the opposition, Kilicdaroglu, accused Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being “ready for anything” to remain in power and bury anti-corruption investigations that involved dozens of regime personalities. After Bosphorus graft scandals broke out on December 17, Erdogan removed thousands of managers and police officials as well as hundreds of magistrates, among them those in charge of anti-corruption probes.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

White House: No Visa for Iran’s UN Ambassador Pick

The White House announced Friday that the U.S. will not issue a visa to Iran’s choice for U.N. ambassador, over concerns about his involvement in the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.

The decision comes after Congress earlier this week approved a bill that would bar Hamid Abutalebi from stepping on U.S. soil. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the White House is reviewing that legislation but announced that Abutalebi would be barred anyway.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

A Crimean Travelogue, Part I

By Srdja Trifkovic

Friday, March 14 — The afternoon Aeroflot flight from Belgrade to Moscow takes a surprising route: due north over Hungary, Slovakia and eastern Poland, then turning east-northeast over Belarus, and into the Russian air space just east of Smolensk. In more normal times the flight path would have taken us across Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, shorter by some 250 miles. The attendant tells me that the decision to divert flights to bypass Ukraine had only been made the previous day. Interestingly, I learn later that Air Serbia’s flights from Belgrade to Moscow still follow the old route.

The names of the towns 35,000 feet below — Brest, Minsk, Mogilev, Smolensk, Borodino, Mozhaisk — fit almost exactly the line of advance of Napoleon’s Grande Armée in 1812, and that of Hitler’s Army Group Center in 1941. Observing those immense spaces makes one wonder about that strange, self-destructive impulse that makes the lure of western Eurasia so hard to resist. OK, John McCain is ignorant of history as well as insane, ditto the neocons, but Zbigniew Brzezinski is not. Those endless forests and rivers remind me of my plea — often repeated in the pages of Chronicles over the years — for a paradigm shift in the West that would pave the way for a Northern Alliance of Russia, Europe, and North America. All three face similar existential threats, demographic and cultural, in the decades ahead. Their renewed disputes caused by old geopolitical ambitions can only regale the hearts of that false prophet’s followers everywhere.

The late-evening flight from Moscow to Simferopol is almost full. Overhead bins of the Soviet-era IL-96-300 are huge, so some two-dozen Western and Asian media crews are able to place their cameras, tripods and other equipment out of the harm’s way. A Russian policewoman checks our passports at Sheremetyevo’s Terminal D: the SU1826 is evidently still treated as an international flight. We are 45 minutes late departing Moscow, but arrive almost on time two and a half hours later.

No alcohol is served on board, to the loud chagrin of three British journalists seated in front of me. (They surreptitiously dig into their duty-free supplies instead.) A Dutch businessman to my left mentions some unspecified “opportunities” in the Crimea, as the Russians are “certain to invest billions soon” into the peninsula’s downgraded infrastructure. Some of the passengers are Crimean Russians resident abroad who are making the trip in order to vote in the referendum. My friend and fellow monitor Alessandro Musolino, a member of the Provincial Parliament of Veneto, has shared his flight from Venice with seven young women from the Crimea who work in Italy as nurses and who had taken a week off to come home for the occasion.

On arrival there are no soldiers and no military equipment or vehicles in evidence, either inside or around the airport building. Having visited various hotspots around the world over the years, I am struck by the air of apparent normality that prevails here. The police personnel at the control counter wear Ukraine’s blue-and-gold shoulder badges, and the passport stamp says (in Ukrainian) “???????—???????????.” They are certainly loyal to the Crimean local government, however, and the only two flags outside the building are those of Russia and the Crimean Republic.

In the arrivals hall I find myself under the sudden glare of camera lights, as a dozen microphones are pointed at me: “Are you one of the monitors? Where are you from? Who has invited you? Where will you go?” A Japanese crew, quicker than the rest, pushes me aside and I give them an impromptu interview, the first of many to come over the next few days. Yes, I am here because I believe the referendum is legitimate, especially in the light of several precedents — not just that of Kosovo! — established by the United States and her NATO allies in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere. No, it is not “unconstitutional,” since we’ve witnessed the complete collapse of constitutional order in Kiev. Yes, I am an American, and I believe it would be in America’s best interest not to get involved any deeper in this crisis. No, I don’t think there will be any war, least of all a World War III. Yes, I feel safe, and no, I am not getting paid…

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

NATO’s Russian Troop Build-up Satellite Images ‘Show 2013 Drills’

The satellite images released by NATO that allegedly show a current build-up of Russian troops near Ukrainian border were taken in August 2013 amid military drills, a source in the General Staff of the Russian Army has said.

Image: NATO (Wiki Commons).

NATO’s top military commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, on Wednesday claimed that there is evidence of what he says are 40,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, tweeting a link to satellite images.

The images, some of them colored and some black and white, appear to show multiple Russian tanks, helicopters, fighter jets and a “special forces brigade” with locations and dates added to them. The dates marked range from March 22 to March 27, 2014. Another image not available on the original webpage but used by some Western media has “April 2, 2014” stamped on it.

Upon looking at the photos, a senior official at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has confirmed to RIA Novosti the troops shown are indeed Russian ones and that they were photographed in the south of Russia.

There is one problem, though: the images were taken some eight months before the stated date, the source said.

“These shots, which were distributed by NATO, show Russian Armed Forces units of the Southern Military District, which in the summer of last year were taking part in various drills, including near the Ukrainian border,” the General Staff official told RIA Novosti.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Offers Devolution to Pro-Russian East

Unclear if activists will accept

(ANSA) — Rome, April 11 — Ukraine interim Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Friday offered to devolve more powers to eastern regions, where pro-Russian separatists are demanding self-rule. The interim PM is holding talks with regional leaders in Donetsk, where activists are defying the government. It was unclear whether the activists would settle for the offer.

Russia’s threat to cut gas supplies has led Ukraine to seek deliveries from French and German firms.

The European Union says it can pump gas back to Ukraine with reverse-flow pipeline technology. Ordinarily Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

16 Injured as Blast Hits Motorbike Shop in E. Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, April 11 (Xinhua) — At least 16 people were injured when a blast hit a motorbike shop in Pakistan’s eastern Lahore city in the wee hours of Friday morning, local media reported. Samaa TV said that the explosion happened at about 2:15 a.m. ( local time) in Achra area of Lahore, the capital city of the country’s eastern Punjab province.

WaliShah, the shop owner said told media that he was receiving calls and letters from Pakistan Taliban, demanding him to pay an extortion of 2 million rupees (over 20,000 U.S. dollars) to them. He said when he refused to pay the money, unknown gunmen fired at his house and shop over the last few days, however, no damage was done in the previous attacks.

The shop keeper, who sells motorbikes on interest, said that he also received threat calls from extremists asking him to stop doing business on interest as it is against Islamic teachings…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Australian Prime Minister ‘Confident’ Pings Are From Flight 370 Black Boxes

Authorities are confident that signals detected deep in the Indian Ocean are from the missing Malaysian jet’s black boxes, Australia’s prime minister said Friday, raising hopes they are close to solving one of aviation’s most perplexing mysteries.

Tony Abbott told reporters in Shanghai that crews hunting for Flight 370 have zeroed in on a more targeted area in their search for the source of the sounds, first heard on Saturday.

“We have very much narrowed down the search area and we are very confident that the signals that we are detecting are from the black box on MH370,” Abbott said.

“Nevertheless, we’re getting into the stage where the signal from what we are very confident is the black box is starting to fade,” he added. “We are hoping to get as much information as we can before the signal finally expires.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Latest ‘Ping’ Signal Not Related to Missing Malaysian Jet, Official Says

The latest signal detected in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is likely not related to the missing jet, authorities said Friday, even as Australia’s prime minister said searchers are confident other underwater ‘pings’ are coming from the jet’s black boxes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Three Years After Fukushima, Japan Forges Ahead With Nuclear Energy

Japan will keep nuclear power as an important source of energy, according to the country’s latest energy plan. The move comes despite widespread public unease over the technology following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Exclusive: My Lab-Grown Vagina and Hopes for a Family

A woman from Mexico who was born without a vaginal canal talks to New Scientist about her pioneering vagina operation. She was 18 when she was diagnosed with the rare disorder Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome (MRKHS). The same year, she was one of the first women to receive a bio-engineered vagina grown from her own cells.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

World’s Largest Gold Crystal Found

It’s the size of a golf ball, but a lot more valuable: Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Lujan Neutron Scattering Center have verified that a heavy piece of gold, found years ago in Venezuela, is, in fact, a single crystal of the valuable element — and it’s worth an estimated $1.5 million.

The lump of gold, which weighs 217.78 grams (about 7.7 ounces), was brought to Los Alamos to confirm whether it was a single crystal of gold, or a more common multiple-crystal structure. “The structure or atomic arrangement of gold crystals of this size has never been studied before, and we have a unique opportunity to do so,” Miami University geologist John Rakovan said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

800 Migrants Rescued 70 Miles South of Lampedusa

Taken aboard Italy Navy ships

(ANSAmed) — ROME, APRIL 11 — Italian authorities rescued another 800 migrants on Thursday evening 70 miles south of Lampedusa. The migrants were aboard seven boats that were intercepted by Italian Navy ships Sirius, Espero, Euro, and Stromboli, and a Finance Guard patrol boat. The frigate Euro, coming to the assistance of two vessels, brought in 336 migrants, including 44 women and 10 minors. The ship then transferred 66 migrants to Finance Guard patrol boat Avallone, now sailing to Porto Empedocle. The frigate Espero rescued 198 migrants, including 17 women; tanker Stromboli rescued 108 migrants including three minors. Port authority patrol boats rescued and transferred 54 migrants, including 53 women and 9 children to the Sirius. All migrants rescued on Thursday evening will be transferred to amphibious ship San Giorgio. Meanwhile, Trapani is awaiting the arrival of frigate Zephyr, which has on board more than 400 migrants rescued Thursday in the waters south of Lampedusa.(

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

800 North African Immigrants Off the Coast of Libya Rescued

(FINNBAY-ANSA) — (On board the San Giorgio cruiser), 11 April 2014. The Italian navy rescued 800 North African immigrants off the coast of Libya Thursday night in the latest in a string of pick-ups off rickety boats that have been launched like flotillas during the recent spell of warm weather…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

EU Must Help Italy With Migrant Influx — UN

The EU must help Italy to deal with a dramatic upsurge in migrants and refugees, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned. The UNHCR said as many as 6,000 migrants had been rescued by Italian authorities in the past four days. The agency wants the EU to help to process arrivals, provide more reception facilities and find “durable solutions” for the migrants.

Italy has repeatedly called for more support for the EU. The latest influx of migrants were making their way in about 40 boats from Libya. The UN said they had come from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria, Gambia, Mali and Senegal. They included many women, children and newborns.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hoping for Asylum, Migrants Strain U.S. Border

The Border Patrol made more than 90,700 apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley in the past six months, a 69 percent increase over last year.

The migrants are no longer primarily Mexican laborers. Instead they are Central Americans, including many families with small children and youngsters without their parents, who risk a danger-filled journey across Mexico. Driven out by deepening poverty but also by rampant gang violence, increasing numbers of migrants caught here seek asylum, setting off lengthy legal procedures to determine whether they qualify.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Influx of Migrants Across Mediterranean Has Reached ‘Biblical Proportions’, Italy’s Navy Chief Warns, As Criminal Gangs Wreak Havoc on the High Seas

The Mediterranean has become ‘another Somalia’, Italy’s naval chief has warned, as criminal gangs importing migrants to Europe by the thousand wreak havoc on the high seas.

Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, head of the Italian Navy, said that the influx of migrants had grown ‘exponentially’ in the last few months to reach ‘Biblical proportions’.

Italy has been forced to step up military efforts to match the surge in trafficking operations, he said, but was fighting a losing battle.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Mogherini: 12,000 Lives Saved But EU Necessary

Mare Nostrum not enough,much to be done during Italian semester

(ANSAmed) — ROME, APRIL 8 — Italy’s sweeping surveillance-and-rescue operation Mare Nostrum in the Mediterranean “has so far saved 12,000 migrants but our efforts alone are not sufficient”, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.

“Progress has been made in making Europe aware of the need to take charge of the problem but it is not enough”, Mogherini said, addressing the Schengen Committee.

The foreign minister said “a lot still needs to be done and we count on taking care of it during the Italian semester of presidency” of the EU Council.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Zones Are Dangerous for White French Citizens

By Brenda Walker

In France, Muslims increasingly attack white French citizens, and it’s called crime, but it’s really war in the Islamic conquest by immigration. Islamic no-go zones are “little Muslim caliphates” and white French enter at their own risk because police fear to go into those places also.

In addition, the French left are worsening a dangerous situation by stupidly believing that they can make a deal with the devil of Islam, perhaps because Muslims helped elect the socialist Hollande. However, the leftist Muslim allies will merely be eaten last — if they are lucky.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Nigerians Among 896 Boat Migrants Rescued by Italy

Italy has rescued 896 migrants, among them Nigerians, crossing the Mediterranean by boat overnight, the navy said on Friday, after the government warned of an “emergency” caused by a surge in new arrivals.

Three navy warships and two coast guard patrol boats took on the migrants in the Mediterranean and they were then transferred to other vessels and taken to ports in Sicily, the navy said in a statement.

In Geneva, the UN refugee agency UNHCR estimated 6,000 people had been rescued by the Italian navy from over 40 overcrowded boats in the past four days. UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the migrants had set off from northern Libya “and many were fleeing violence, conflict and persecution”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Bishops Condemn Ruling on Gay Marriage Abroad

‘Dangerously jumps the gun’

(see related) (ANSA) — Rome, April 10 — The powerful Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) on Thursday said a ruling by an Italian court recognizing same-sex marriages contracted abroad “raises serious questions”.

A statement said the bishops recognized “marriage as the union between a man and a woman,” and anything else was “dangerous” and “jumping the gun”.

On Wednesday a court in Grosseto took the historic step of recognising a same-sex marriage contracted overseas, authorising two men to have their union recorded in the local civil registry.

The judge ruled that the Italian civil code “contains no reference to sex in relation to the requisites” for marriage and that there is “no impediment to the registration of a marriage contracted abroad”.

With this decision, said the bishops, “one of the fundamental pillars of the institution of marriage is likely to be swept away, one that is rooted in our cultural tradition, and is recognized and guaranteed in our constitution”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Knight: Recovering the Meaning of Marriage

Not a scheme for alienation, it’s the purpose of creation

The stage is being set for the U.S. Supreme Court to manufacture a “right” to homosexual “marriage” in the Constitution. That’s the document written by the same American Founders whose minds the court read in 1973 to include fever dreams of unlimited abortions.

This time around, the court might desist. We can only hope.

Meanwhile, the Orwellian juggernaut of intolerance in the name of tolerance rolls on, with Mozilla Firefox CEO Brendan Eich the latest victim. Mr. Eich resigned Thursday for the crime of donating $1,000 in 2008 to support Proposition 8. He was in good company. California’s marriage amendment was widely approved by the electorate — including 70 percent of black California voters.

I guess they should all be fired from whatever jobs they have.

Marriage is not just any relationship. It predates the law and the Constitution, and is an anthropological reality, not primarily a legal one. No civilization can survive without it, and those societies that allowed it to become irrelevant have faded into history…

Hijacking the moral capital of the black civil rights movement to turn a wrong into a “right” is part of a detailed strategy in the 1989 book “After the Ball,” by public relations experts Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, who advised: “In any campaign to win over the public, gays must be portrayed as victims in need of protection so that straights will be inclined by reflex to adopt the role of protector.”

They suggested branding people with traditional values as “haters” and “bigots.”

That PR strategy has worked like magic, pounded into the American psyche over and over via the media, Hollywood, the educational establishment and liberal corporations that have become willing accomplices. Many well-intentioned people, such as students in “gay-straight alliances,” unknowingly aid what is fast becoming a totalitarian movement.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The New Inquisition

What if you believed that the planet might not have warmed up the last two decades, even though carbon emissions reached all-time highs?

Or, if the earth did heat up, you thought that it was not caused by human activity?

Or, if global warming were the fault of mankind, you trusted that the slight increases would not make all that much difference?

The Los Angeles Times would not print your letter to the editor to that effect.

The CEO of Apple Inc. might advise that you should “get out of this stock.”

Or maybe if you were a skeptical climatologist, you would cease all research and concede that man-caused global warming needed no further scientific cross-examination — as columnist Bill McKibben recently advocated.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Oldest Fossilized Heart Found… it Belonged to a Shrimp

Researchers found the oldest-known cardiovascular system in a fossilized “shrimp-like” animal.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

2 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 4/11/2014

    • Well, if I were a jihadi, I would send the foolish infidel converts to die first….

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