Would-be asylum seekers are still attempting to cross from Africa into Europe. Two hundred attempted to make it through the fence at the Spanish enclave Melilla, and more than twenty succeeded. Meanwhile, the Italian interior minister says that up to 600,000 African migrants are waiting to attempt the crossing to Europe.
In other news, according to the latest report on racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia in France, more than one-third of French people acknowledge being at least somewhat racist.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, Kitman, KP, MC, 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.
9 of the Top 10 Occupations in America Pay an Average Wage of Less Than $35,000 a Year
According to stunning new numbers just released by the federal government, nine of the top ten most commonly held jobs in the United States pay an average wage of less than $35,000 a year.
When you break that down, that means that most of these workers are making less than $3,000 a month before taxes. And once you consider how we are being taxed into oblivion, things become even more frightening. Can you pay a mortgage and support a family on just a couple grand a month? Of course not. In the old days, a single income would enable a family to live a very comfortable middle class lifestyle in most cases. But now those days are long gone. In 2014, both parents are expected to work, and in many cases both of them have to get multiple jobs just in order to break even at the end of the month. The decline in the quality of our jobs is a huge reason for the implosion of the middle class in this country. You can’t have a middle class without middle class jobs, and we have witnessed a multi-decade decline in middle class jobs in the United States. As long as this trend continues, the middle class is going to continue to shrink.
The following is a list of the most commonly held jobs in America according to the federal government. As you can see, 9 of the top 10 most commonly held occupations pay an average wage of less than $35,000 a year…
[Comment: Decline of middle class is by design (via trade agreements, outsourcing and insourcing). A strong middle class is a strong deterrent to implementing Communism. This is why the destruction of the middle class is one of the goals of communists.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Billions in Hidden Subsidies Going to Too-Big-to-Fail Banks
As the first round of submissions to the Federal Government’s Financial Systems Inquiry closed this week there was a timely reminder that the fundamental cause of the global financial crisis is still deeply embedded in the banking system.
The world’s wealthiest and most powerful banks still operate behind the shield of being “too-big-to-fail” (TBTF), an issue that former US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke fingered as a major factor in the meltdown and the ensuing economic calamity that still haunts markets and economies worldwide.
Both the International Monetary Fund and the Fed have just published studies showing that, not only did the TBTF policy encourage a coterie of banks to place bigger and riskier bets, it is the taxpayer who largely underwrites the whole operation.
A team of economists in the Fed’s New York office were first out of the blocks last week with a study of more than 200 banks in 45 countries which found “an increase in government support leads to a higher ratio of impaired loans” — that is loans in default or close to default.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fifty-Four Cities in Spain to Shout ‘No More Cuts!’
Almost every major city in Spain will see thousands take to the streets on Thursday to voice their discontent against the Spanish government and the EU’s plans for further austerity cuts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
In Rare Public Rebuke, ECB Chief Draghi Dismisses Monetary Policy Advice From IMF Head Lagarde
Two of the world’s leading financial decision-makers appear at loggerheads as the European Central Bank’s president publicly rejected advice by International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.
Mario Draghi said Thursday the IMF has become overzealous in providing monetary policy guidance and probably wouldn’t have dared to lecture the U.S. Federal Reserve in the same way just before its rate-setting meeting.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian House Prices Dropped 5.6% in 2013
Market hit hard by economic crisis
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — Italian house prices dropped 5.6% last year compared with 2012, national statistics agency Istat said Thursday.
Italy’s housing market has been hit hard by the economic crisis.
Prices also fell in 2012, although they were down by half as much — 2.8% — with respect to 2011.
Istat said the housing market’s problems were also highlighted by a 9.2% drop in the number of properties sold.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Pensions Already Too Low and Can’t be Touched, Says Codacons
Consumer group urges govt to raise taxes on high-income earners
(See related) (ANSA) — Rome, April 2 — With many pensioners living on very low incomes, the government should consider boosting taxes on high-income earners, rather than pension cuts, to ensure greater income equity, consumer group Codacons.
The group’s statement came after a new report showed that just over seven million Italian retirees — 42.6% of the total of 16.6 million — drew pensions of under 1,000 euros a month in 2012. At the other end of the scale in the eurozone’s third-largest economy, 1.3%, or 210,000 people, had pensions of over 5,000 euros a month in 2012, national statistics agency Istat said. And at the very top, 11,683 — 0.1% of the total — had so-called golden State pensions of more than 10,000 euros a month.
Codacons said that the figures show pensioners are too often living at poverty levels, unable to make ends meet, and must not be put at risk of possible cuts.
“It is the elderly who live in hardship and sacrifice,” said Codacons.
Earlier in the day, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said discussions on the future of pensions in Italy are planned but cuts are not being considered.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Retailers Report 80-Billion Euro Drop in Spending Since 2007
Confcommercio says consumers still holding back on purchases
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — Consumer spending has dropped by as much as 80 billion euros since 2007, with consumption of big-ticket items such as cars, furniture and appliances taking a major hit over that period, retailers group Confcommercio said Thursday.
Consumption has been “frozen” as consumers wait for stronger signs of economic recovery, the group said in a report that also looked at monthly spending in February, which showed a drop of 0.7% in spending compared with the same month in 2013.
The group said that until Italians feel confident that employment prospects are improving amid an economic recovery, they will likely hold off on spending any more than necessary. That lack of confidence, fuelled by a double-dip recession causing economic uncertainty dating back to 2007, was seen in statistics that Confcommercio said showed that cars and fuel purchases since then have fallen by more than 35 billion euros, a decrease of 23.2%.
Clothing and footwear showed losses of more than 13 billion euros, a fall of 16.9% since 2007, while furniture sales declined by 10 billion euros, or 13.9%.
Some good news was seen in the monthly statistics that showed in February, compared with one month earlier, spending on communications rose by 4.3%, auto-related spending gained 1.4%, and spending on recreation edged up by 0.4%, according to the report.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Lewis Explains How the Stock Market is Rigged (Video)
Dick Durbin said the banksters own the place… and they also own Congress.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Over 42% of Italian Pensioners on Less Than 1,000 Euros
Just over seven million Italian retirees, 42.6% of the total of 16.6 million, had pensions of under 1,000 euros a month in 2012, national statistics agency Istat said Wednesday. At the other end of the scale, Istat said 1.3%, 210,000 people, had pensions of over 5,000 euros a month in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
USA Today: Is a 1987-Type Market Crash 37 Days Away?
Investors marveling at the striking similarities of the bull market today to the one that ended in 1987 are hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.
If it does, the market could be in some serious trouble in 37 trading days. In 37 trading days, the ongoing bull market would be 1,311 trading days old, says Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management. That is a scary date because it was on the 1,311 trading day after the start of the 1982 bull market that the Standard & Poor’s 500 suffered its biggest one-day crash in history on Oct. 19, 1987. That crash snuffed out what had been a powerful market rally starting in 1982.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
What About the Dollar: Russia, Iran Announce $20 Billion Oil-for-Goods Deal
Spot what is missing in the just blasted headline from Bloomberg:
* IRAN, RUSSIA SAID TO SEAL $20B OIL-FOR-GOODS DEAL: REUTERS
If you said the complete absence of US Dollars anywhere in the funds flow you are correct. Which is precisely what we have been warning would happen the more the West and/or JPMorgan pushed Russia into a USD-free corner.
Once again, from our yesterday comment on the JPM Russian blockade: “what JPM may have just done is launch a preemptive strike which would have the equivalent culmination of a SWIFT blockade of Russia, the same way Iran was neutralized from the Petrodollar and was promptly forced to begin transacting in Rubles, Yuan and, of course, gold in exchange for goods and services either imported or exported. One wonders: is JPM truly that intent in preserving its “pristine” reputation of not transacting with “evil Russians”, that it will gladly light the fuse that takes away Russia’s choice whether or not to depart the petrodollar voluntarily, and makes it a compulsory outcome, which incidentally will merely accelerate the formalization of the Eurasian axis of China, Russia and India?”
In other words, Russia seems perfectly happy to telegraph that it is just as willing to use barter (and “heaven forbid” gold) and shortly other “regional” currencies, as it is to use the US Dollar, hardly the intended outcome of the western blockade, which appears to have just backfired and further impacted the untouchable status of the Petrodollar.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why Aren’t Europe’s Young People Rioting Any More?
Youth unemployment in Europe is a little short of 25%, already a huge number, while in Greece and Spain it has reached extraordinary figures, in the vicinity of 60%. Collapsing youth employment is clearly not the result of more young people seeking jobs, since the number of young people in Europe as a proportion of the population is declining fast.
Youth unemployment is rising because the economies of Europe are failing to generate significant numbers of jobs. For those under the age of 25, there are no jobs in the southern countries and few decent jobs in the north. Mass youth unemployment is the reality across Europe, and things are far from rosy even in Germany, the supposed winner of the past few years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Advocates Seek to Carve Out Official Latin American Areas in L.A.
They want to emulate what Asians have done with the likes of Chinatown and Little Tokyo. Proposed communities include Peru Village, Little Venezuela and Paseo Colombia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chocolate Generates Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients in Your Gut
(NaturalNews) A team of researchers from Louisiana State University has made a fascinating new discovery with regard to the health benefits of chocolate. Announcing their findings at the recent 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Dallas, the group explained how beneficial bacteria in the gut actually convert chocolate compounds into anti-inflammatory nutrients that help protect against stroke and heart disease.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
College Degree Gender Gap Widens With Younger Gen Xers, Study Finds
There’s a growing gender gap when it comes to the youngest members of Generation X and college.
A federal survey of about 9,000 young men and women born during the years 1980 to 1984 shows a big disparity when it comes to higher education, with women a third more likely to have received a bachelor’s degree by age 27. While it has long been known that women are outpacing men when it comes to pursuing higher education, the extensive study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlighted several numbers that show the trend is accelerating.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Common Core Assignment Asks Kids to Solve Unsolvable Math Problem
“They ask her to count and write 20. So she counts, counts again, and again, and says ‘mom, there’s only 19.”
Kindergarten students in Columbia, Ohio are being asked to solve a math problem that does not allow them to provide the correct answer. Mina Boyd, whose kindergartener came home with a Common Core math workbook this week, noticed her daughter’s unusual frustration regarding one lesson entitled “Count and Write 20.”
“Count and tell how many pieces of fruit. Write the number,” the assignment asks.
To Boyd’s surprise, the math problem only included 19 countable apples despite several surrounding problems correctly showing 20.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Consumers Are Souring on Web, Post-NSA, Survey Says
The National Security Agency has left more than a black mark on the reputations of tech companies: It is now hurting them financially.
Americans are less likely to bank and shop online because of lingering doubts over the NSA’s digital-snooping activities.
Almost half the more than 2,000 adult respondents (47%) to a recent Harris poll commissioned by security firm ESET said that they have changed their behavior and think more carefully about where they go, say and do online.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Continuing Adventures of ObamaCare — Covered California is Now a Voter Registration Project
Covered California is covering more than your healthcare, it is now leaning on you to register to vote and in at least one case it is choosing the Democratic Party for you.
The Daily Caller reports that a couple in La Mesa, California (near San Diego) received their friendly voter registration solicitation with a form enclosed already marked up for the individual or couple to register as a Democrat. It seems someone at Covered California Central has decided this is the correct answer to the question “do you want to choose a political party preference?”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
David Letterman Announces He Will Retire in 2015, CBS News Reports
In an announcement made during the taping of his program on Thursday, “Late Show” host David Letterman said that he will retire sometime in 2015, CBS News reported.
| [Return to headlines] |
David Letterman Retiring? Late Night Host Reportedly Announced Plans to Step Down in 2015 (Video)
David Letterman may have just revealed his plans to retire in 2015. Mike Mills, who is reportedly performing on the host’s late-night show on Thursday, revealed on Twitter that Letterman announced his impending retirement during Thursday’s taping.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dragnet Surveillance and the English Language
The revelations over the past nine months that the United States is engaging in various mass-surveillance programs that collect and store huge amounts of information about both Americans and foreigners has rightly invited frequent references to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Perhaps the most notable of these came from federal district-court judge Richard Leon, who had Big Brother on his mind when — in concluding that the government’s comprehensive collection of Americans’ call records over a seven-year period was likely unconstitutional — he labeled the program “almost Orwellian.” Indeed, these days one cannot help but recall the observation of the novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith, that in the society he knew, “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) The U.S. government intentionally subjected children and adults to bizarre medical experiments that required them to inhale diesel pollutants known to contain cancer-causing chemicals. The experiments involved collecting diesel fumes from idling diesel trucks, then piping those fumes into enclosed chambers where U.S. test subjects were required to breathe them for hours at a time.
The EPA conducted these experiments on children and sick people(1), specifically choosing test subjects with metabolic syndrome and asthma, then securing them in bizarre “pollution containment rooms” to make sure they inhaled the cancer-causing particles. (See photo below.)
Even worse, the EPA has openly admitted, in a now-public document detailing these bizarre medical experiments on humans, that it conducted these human experiments for the last decade:
Over the last 10 years, the EPA has conducted 13 human exposure studies using CAPS and four studies using diesel exhaust. (2)
That same document describes the cancer-causing risks of diesel exhaust particles as follows:
Diesel exhaust particles contain some probable carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which in high enough concentrations and/or with repeated exposures may induce tumors. Diesel exhaust also contains aldehydes, some of which are possibly carcinogenic in high enough dose and with long enough exposure.
The document then goes on to justify this by saying a person would experience similar pollution levels by visiting Los Angeles.
Here’s a photo of one of the EPA’s “pollution experiment chambers” in which U.S. test subjects are required to sit and inhale cancer-causing chemicals:…
The whistleblower credited with unearthing this horrifying case of government malfeasance is none other than Steven Milloy of JunkScience.com, a website known for breaking news about the U.S. government’s junk environmental science.
As a whistleblower myself, I admire the work of Mr. Milloy, and I truly understand the kind of personal risk it takes to blow the whistle on unethical, criminal corruption and misconduct at the highest levels of government.
What’s even more amazing in all this — and here’s the real story behind the story — is that Steven Milloy went out of his way to try to garner the attention of deans of prominent medical schools, only to find out they all tried to sweep the scandal under the rug!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EPA Tested Deadly Pollutants on Humans to Push Obama Admin’s Agenda
The Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting dangerous experiments on humans over the past few years in order to justify more onerous clean air regulations.
The agency conducted tests on people with health issues and the elderly, exposing them to high levels of potentially lethal pollutants, without disclosing the risks of cancer and death, according to a newly released government report.
These experiments exposed people, including those with asthma and heart problems, to dangerously high levels of toxic pollutants, including diesel fumes, reads a EPA inspector general report obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The EPA also exposed people with health issues to levels of pollutants up to 50 times greater than the agency says is safe for humans.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Alert! Florida Sheriffs Association Continues Opposition to Right to Bear Arms
Yesterday, Tuesday, 4/1/2014, SB-296 by Senator Jeff Brandes was heard in the Senate Military & Veterans Affairs Committee and PASSED by a vote of 5-4.
SB-296 is the Senate version of HB-209 that was under attack by the Florida Sheriffs Association in the House Judiciary Committee (passed 17-1) last week and continued to be under attack in the Senate.
SB-296 Firearms/Mandatory Evacuations is a bill to allow law-abiding citizens to take their firearms with them when they are complying with a mandatory evacuation order under a declared state of emergency. This bill will keep law-abiding citizens from being arrested and having their firearms confiscated for taking their firearms with them when they evacuate.
The Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA), while proclaiming their support for the Second Amendment, continues to actively OPPOSE this legislation and your right to bear arms.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Florida ALAC Passes Second Senate Committee on Path to Ultimate Floor Vote
The Florida version of American Law for American Courts (ALAC) SB 386 passed the second hurdle today, on a partisan vote of 6 Republicans versus 3 Democrats. The Democrat opponents included Sen. Jeremy Ring, the Chairman of the State Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability (GO&A)Committee.
It was left to GO&A Deputy Chairman Sen. Alan Hays to advance the legislation to passage at today’s hearing..
We join with other Floridians in commending Sen. Hays for his valued support of SB 386: “acceptance of foreign laws in certain cases”.. His tenacity, perseverance and collegiality in working with the proponents and his adroit understanding of the politicking involved has made a demonstrable difference endeavoring to pass the Florida version of ALAC s in its fourth try.
Having watched the video of today’s Florida Senate GO&A hearing and partisan vote we have provided you with the url link to the Hearing video below…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Fort Hood Deadly Shooting — First Press Conference
Watch Lt. Gen. Mark Milley III Corps Commander at Fort Hood, Texas issue a press summary and answer questions at this first Press Conference regarding today’s tragic shooting at Fort Hood by a 34 year old enlisted man identified as Ivan Lopez who was undergoing behaviorial and mental health issues. The shooter took his own life after drawing his own weapon, a purchased 45 caliber Colt semi-automatic pistol after engaging a female Military Police officer. Three military personnel were also killed in the shootings by the perpetrator, 16 others others were wounded, some seriously. Gen.. Milley noted that hidden weapons are barred under Army protocol from Fort Hood. The actions took place at a transportation battalion and adjacent medical facility. The shooter used a vehicle from the motor pool, alighting to fire at victims in the building. The devastating actions took place over a period of less than 15 minutes. As Gen. Milley said at the conclusion of this initial press conference, pray for the survivors and support the families of the victims, all of whom live on or near the vast military base in Killeen, Texas. When asked if today’s tragic events may have triggered an “oh no, not again” reaction, he countered by saying that his first obligations was to secure the facility and attend to the casualties. Although he indicated that this was not a terrorism event, the matter of why the shooter, who had served four months in Iraq , had been recently transferred to Fort Hood was undergoing mental and behavorial evaluations. The shooter was allegedly in the process of being evaluated for possible PTSD. Gen. Milley indicated that there would be daily press briefings.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
George Soros’ Real Crusade: Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S.
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros hopes the U.S. goes to pot, and he is using his money to drive it there.
Through a network of nonprofit groups, Mr. Soros has spent at least $80 million on the legalization effort since 1994, when he diverted a portion of his foundation’s funds to organizations exploring alternative drug policies, according to tax filings.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Great Legs & No Jobs: UPS Fires 250 Employees for Staging a 90-Minute Protest to Defend Co-Worker
By Hayley Peterson
Excerpt: The company dismissed 20 of the workers after their shifts Monday and issued notices of termination to another 230 employees, notifying them that they will be fired once the company has trained their replacements, UPS spokesman Steve Gaut told Business Insider. The workers were protesting the dismissal of longtime employee and union activist Jairo Reyes, who was fired over an hours dispute, according to Gaut. The New York Daily News first reported on the firings. Local politicians are threatening to cancel city contracts that give UPS millions of dollars in breaks on parking fines.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Horror Stories of ObamaCare: State Exchanges
A growing number of state legislatures have confessed that their attempts to create statewide health care exchanges have failed, and now desire to return the responsibility to the federal government. Limited government advocates may fear that the states are giving up their power. On the other hand, the whole insurance exchange folly was a federal mandate which has done nothing but push the limits of what the federal government should be doing in the first place.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Man Beats Ticket With Own Dashcam Footage
A New York City man is thankful he invested in a personal dash cam, not unlike the kind used by police, after an officer accused him of doing something he didn’t do.
The man, a Brooklyn resident referred to simply as “Abraham,” was able to rectify an erroneous traffic citation after he presented his own footage as evidence.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor: ‘Sometimes You Have to Do the Unexpected’
In a SPIEGEL interview, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor discusses her childhood in the Bronx, the challenges she faced in a legal world dominated by men and why life on America’s highest court is more difficult than she thought it would be.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
SYRACUSE — Despite concerns from neighbors on Syracuse’s north side, the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board voted to approve a request by an Islamic group to remove crosses from a former Catholic church.
The Northside Learning Center is leasing the former Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and plans to turn it into a mosque. The center says it needs the crosses removed for religious reasons…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Man Testing Open-Carry Law Told He’s ‘Free to Go’ — Then Tasered and Arrested
Texas gun rights activists are planning a rally on Sunday to protest the stun-gun arrest of a teenager arrested by San Antonio police for doing nothing more than exercising his constitutional rights.
According to San Antonio radio station WOA, the arrest occurred Sunday night, when police stopped 19-year-old Henry Gerald Vichique, who was carrying a loaded rifle strapped to his back.
During a 14-minute encounter recorded by Vichique, officers at first told him they had been called because of reports that Vichique was pointing the gun at people. Vichique denied doing anything wrong and repeatedly stressed that he was acting in accordance with the law.
He also asked repeatedly if he was being arrested and was told he was not. At what seemed to be the end of the encounter, the officer told Vichique he was free to go, but he was going to be followed home for his own safety.
“You are not under arrest. You are free to go,” an officer said in the video. “You’re just going to happen to walk home, and I’m just going to happen to make sure you get home safely — and as soon as you get home safely, you will never see us again.”
That’s when another officer arrived who had other ideas.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage
By Michael Teitelbaum
Excerpt: A compelling body of research is now available, from many leading academic researchers and from respected research organizations such as the National Bureau of Economic Research, the RAND Corporation, and the Urban Institute. No one has been able to find any evidence indicating current widespread labor market shortages or hiring difficulties in science and engineering occupations that require bachelors degrees or higher, although some are forecasting high growth in occupations that require post-high school training but not a bachelors degree. All have concluded that U..S. higher education produces far more science and engineering graduates annually than there are S&E job openings—the only disagreement is whether it is 100 percent or 200 percent more.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
The War on Poverty — $21 Trillion Later
The big fat leftist failure. Now where is the mea culpa?
The heart of the War on Poverty report is its observation that most federal poverty-alleviation programs are essentially useless or incapable of having their impact measured in the real world.
The study observes that in 1965, the poverty rate was 17.3 percent. In 2012, it was 15 percent. This means taxpayers blew a staggering $20.7 trillion over the last half century in order to achieve a paltry 2.3 percentage point decrease in poverty.
Broken down into less mind-blowing, easier-to-grasp figures, between 1965 and 2012 the average family of four spent roughly $146,000 per percentage-point drop in poverty, or $335,000 per family for the whole 2.3 percentage-point reduction.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
They Took the “Jesus is Muslim” Billboard Down
Here is the story. It is worth the read. Jesus Is Muslim.
So we held our rally. It poured down rain the entire time. It is a wonder that anyone came.
But they did. About 100 stout hearts battled the elements to stand up for Jesus. There is a lot of good info on my Facebook page. We have posted some great moments from the rally…vids of the powerful speakers. It is worth your time to visit and read the reports. Go here.
But the bottom line is that the Muslims took down the “Jesus Is Muslim” billboard. You read that right…THEY TOOK DOWN THE SIGN!!
I don’t think you understand the significance of that statement. We are not some powerful media outlet…we used social media to draw a crowd. We didn’t ask them to take the sign down. We didn’t whine and complain about how they dishonored Jesus. We didn’t beg them to be nice.
We just showed up. That’s it. We showed up on the streets and called them liars. They took down the sign.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Headlines at Pro-Gun Rally in Albany, NY
American business magnate and pistol permit holder Donald Trump was among the headliners at a gun-rights rally outside the New York state Capitol building in Albany on Tuesday.
“I’m a big Second Amendment person,” said Trump before a crowd of about 3,500. “I’m a big, strong believer in it … I wanted to be here to support you. I’ll be with you no matter where you are.”
Trump spoke for about six minutes and arrived via his personal helicopter. He was greeted with great fanfare, folks toting signs reading ‘Trump for Governor.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Marshals Shoot Unarmed Man in Albuquerque, Seize Cell Phone Cameras From Witnesses
WARNING: Graphic footage and language.
As Albuquerque residents take to the streets to protest against the ongoing slayings of citizens by their local police department, federal agents got into the act by opening fire on an unarmed man Tuesday morning, then seizing cameras from witnesses.
But more citizens with cameras arrived on the scene as a group of U.S. Marshals stood around the victim, Gilberto Angelo Serrano, proving unafraid to voice their displeasure at the trigger-happy culture that apparently has seeped into all levels of law enforcement in Albuquerque.
Realizing they were outnumbered by cameras, the U.S. Marshals could only ask people to stand back, not bothering to try and stop them from recording as they tried to wrap a bandage around the head of the man they had just shot, who was laying on the sidewalk bleeding.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: NY Troopers Confiscate Toy Gun, Cutout of Gun From Safe Act Protester
A SAFE Act protester at the New York state capitol in Albany yesterday was approached by three state troopers and relieved of his weapons: a toy gun and a plywood cutout in the shape of a gun.
A video posted to Youtube shows a man outfitted in colonial attire arguing with officers in front of a puppet effigy of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the politician who signed into law the SAFE Act which, among various other Second Amendment infringements, requires registration and universal background checks on all gun purchases.
Melbourne Sann, a resident of Rome, New York, turned over his “weapons” at the behest of officers to thunderous booing. Sann then asked the crowd if the officers were innocent or guilty, to which they collectively shouted, “Guilty!”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The freedom of the press and the freedom of religion are two of the most important elements of a free society. These were so important to America’s Founding Fathers that they were protected in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A free and independent press serves as watchdogs for liberty, while a free and independent church serves as watchmen for liberty. Sadly, both watchdog and watchman are, for the most part, missing in today’s America.
Just about everyone knows that the vast majority of the national press corps has a strong liberal bias. That’s a given. But, it’s actually worse than that. Instead of being watchdogs on the government, the mainstream media has become little more than lap dogs for the government. Instead of reporting the truth, most of the media is actually more concerned with covering up the truth. With precious few exceptions, investigative reporting is dead in the national news media…
Did you know that there used to be a time when the major television networks expected that their news shows would not operate in the black financially? It’s true. Back then, it was more important that news shows reported and investigated the news than turn a profit. Therefore, corporate donations and government chagrin had little impact upon newscasters and reporters. Those days are long gone.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Well Done, Mrs. Smith: Hillary Clinton Flees Protest Led by Mother of Man Killed in Benghazi
By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: There is one thing that will make Hillary pass up a venue. The mother of one of her victims. Former Secretary of State and potential Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, recently cancelled her plans to appear as the keynote speaker for the 17th Annual Western Healthcare Leadership Academy on April 11 in San Diego, amidst planned fervent protests from local San Diego residents. Protesters have organized under the banner of “The Difference Matters” coalition, a group that primarily consist of local San Diego women who refuse to allow Clinton into their community because of her role in the Benghazi cover up scandal.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
WSJ Editor Gerard Baker: ‘Journalism is Not a Dying Business’
In an interview, Gerard Baker, the editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal, discusses the wave of billionaires diving head first into the journalism business and his own newspaper’s evolution after seven years of ownership by Rupert Murdoch.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Scars World War I Left on French Canadians
As part of ongoing events to mark the centennial anniversary of WWI, France’s defence ministry is organizing an international conference on the Great War’s impact on the French-speaking community of Canada.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘An Historic Opportunity’: Turkish Cypriot Minister Says Reunification Deal Pending
Negotiations to end the division of Cyprus have been ongoing for years. Now, Northern Cyprus Foreign Minister Özdil Nami tells SPIEGEL that a deal is close. And he wants Germany to help with reunification.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Electric Bike Sales on the Up
Sales of electric bikes are on the rise in Austria although the number of overall bike sales dropped last year, according to figures from the country’s sporting goods association VSSÖ.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Cardinal Shocked at Church Vandalism
An attack on four churches in Vienna over the weekend that left a trail of destruction has been described by the Archbishop of Vienna as “so far the worst act of vandalism in my time as Archbishop”.
A 37-year-old Ghanaian man was caught in the act of vandalising St. Stephan’s but was released at the time because police did not realise it was one of many attacks that that had been carried out that day. Police have since been unable to find him.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Over 26k Bikes Stolen Last Year
Bike owners in Austria are not doing enough to protect bike theft an insurance company has said as their annual survey reveals that there were a total of 26,652 bikes stolen in the country last year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Help Fish Out Boko Haram Sponsors, Jonathan Tells European, African Leaders
Brussels, Belgium — President Goodluck Jonathan has called on world leaders to assist Nigeria identify sponsors of the Boko Haram terrorists Organization, saying that the world has the responsibility of holding the sponsors of the deadly sect responsible and accountable for their atrocities.
Speaking in Brussels, Belgium Wednesday at the European Union/African Union summit on Peace and Security, President Jonathan reiterated that there can be no development in Africa if the issue of insecurity is not holistically tackled, emphasizing that “peace and development are two sides of the same coin”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
British Royals Give Pope Whisky and Eggs
Pope Francis and Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday exchanged an unusual array of gifts, including whisky and photographs, during their first meeting at the Vatican.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cross-Channel Chaos as French Dockers Strike
Cross-Chanel ferry services between Calais and Dover were severely disrupted on Thursday morning after French dock workers called a wild-cat strike. P&0 Ferries told The Local it has been forced to transfer most tourist traffic on to the Eurotunnel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: City Plotting Metro Line to Sweden
The ongoing Metro construction is nowhere close to being completed, but the City Council is already looking at options to build two new Metro stations, construction magazine Licitationen reports, and one of them isn’t even in Denmark.
The City Council is carrying out an analysis of the benefits of a Metro line to Sydhavnen in southern Copenhagen along with an underwater Øresund line to Malmø in Sweden.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dog Poo Detectives to Patrol Spanish Town
Fed up of dog dirt underfoot on its streets, a Spanish town has hired a detective to catch owners who fail to pick up after their pets, officials said on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dog Testifies in Court in French Murder Case
A dog was recently interrogated in French court in an effort to identify the man believed to have murdered the pooch’s owner. As barking mad as it may sound, dogs being drafted in as key witnesses, is something of a recent trend in French court cases.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ebola Epidemic Prompts Warnings in France
The Ebola virus epidemic that has killed over 80 people in west Africa has prompted French health authorities to set up new procedures for airlines and send out an alert urging hospitals to be ready for a case of the disease.
So far no people sick with Ebola have turned up in France, but officials are concerned tight links with west Africa could lead to a case being ‘imported’, French daily Le Parisien reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Engaging EU Citizens in Policy Making
By Deirdre Lee and Hilde C. Stephansen
As part of our series of interviews with practitioners involved in public participation initiatives, Participation Now researcher Hilde C. Stephansen spoke to Deirdre Lee at Insight-NUI Galway, about Puzzled by Policy, a European Commission funded project that aimed to engage citizens in the policy making process.
Hilde: Could you briefly tell me what Puzzled by Policy is?
Deirdre: Puzzled by Policy was a three year project that came to an end at the end of 2013. Throughout the project we explored the challenge of how to engage citizens in the policy-making process. We have built an online e-participation platform to facilitate that and to help our approach, but really Puzzled by Policy is more of a holistic view of participation…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Etihad-Alitalia Due Diligence ‘Almost Done’ Says Italian CEO
Gulf carrier might buy 40% stake in troubled Italian airline
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — A deal between struggling Italian carrier Alitalia and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways appears closer as due diligence is almost complete, the company said Thursday.
“Due diligence is all but finished as of today,” CEO Gabriele Del Torchio said. “The next step is to meet and enter the negotiating phase”.
In early February, Etihad and Alitalia issued a joint statement saying they were in the “final phase” of negotiations for a deal that would see the Abu Dhabi carrier buy as much as a 40% stake in its Italian counterpart, the equivalent of a much-needed capital injection of 350 million euros.
The Gulf carrier is vying to broaden its network in Europe.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU and Africa Wrap Two-Day Summit
The European Union and Africa pledged closer cooperation at a two-day Brussels summit, but differences emerged over issues such as gay rights.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Should Develop a Media Broadcasting Strategy, MEPs Say
On 2 April, the European Parliament encouraged European media broadcasting internationally to ensure accurate and objective news coverage and reflect the diversity of opinions and contexts in the EU while maintaining their editorial independence.
“Foreign policy is often thought of in terms of armies and diplomacy. But we should not underestimate the influence and reach of news broadcasting, especially in emerging democracies,” said Sir Graham Watson (ALDE, UK), who drew up the resolution.
“Broadcasters across Europe can play an important role in promoting democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and media pluralism. In doing so, they must maintain full journalistic independence and provide accurate and objective news coverage,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Six Commissioners Head for EU Election Campaign Trail
By Benjamin Fox
BRUSSELS — Six EU commissioners will officially hit the campaign trail later this month as part of their candidacies for May’s European elections.
Economic affairs chief Olli Rehn, justice commissioner Viviane Reding, industry boss Antonio Tajani, administration commissioner Maros Sefcovic, EU budget chief Janusz Lewandowski, consumer protection commissioner Neven Mimica are all standing for the EU assembly…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Europeans Have Three Times More Neanderthal Genes for Lipid Catabolism Than Asians or Africans
Contemporary Europeans have as many as three times more Neanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asians and Africans. Although Neanderthals are extinct, fragments of their genomes persist in modern humans. These shared regions are unevenly distributed across the genome and some regions are particularly enriched with Neanderthal variants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: Miley Cyrus Concert May be Hit by US Sanctions
Finnish music fans may find they miss out on planned concerts by a host of stars, including Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake, this summer. Both stars may be forced to cancel their sell-out shows as a result of US sanctions against Russia.
Helsinki’s Hartwall venue is owned by Gennady Timchenko and brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. All three appear on the US sanctions list as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finnish Muslims Want Police Hijab
Seeing her dream of joining police shattered over her hijab, a Finnish Muslim has urged the government to allow Islamic headscarf in police uniform to encourage integration of the minority in the society.
“I want to be part of society, but society does not want me,” a 38-year-old Muslim woman, who was barred from joining Finnish police, told Yle on Thursday, April 3.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Geep: Rare ‘Goat-Sheep’ Born on Irish Farm
A rare, hybrid animal that is part goat and part sheep has been born on a farm in the Republic of Ireland. The animal, referred to as a geep, was born about two weeks ago on Paddy Murphy’s farm in County Kildare. The unexpected arrival is thought to be the result of mating between a goat and one of the sheep farmer’s Cheviot ewes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Hackers Steal Details of 18 Million Email Accounts
German authorities on Tuesday confirmed they were investigating the country’s biggest ever data theft — which saw hackers steal details of around 18 million email accounts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: ‘I Tend Not to Stand Around in My Underwear’
Women are a very rare sight on submarines, but the German navy has welcomed its first female officer, Janine Asseln, who is The Local’s German of the Week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Official Criticizes Proposed Athens Mosque Referendum
ATHENS — A proposal for holding a referendum on the building of a mosque in Athens will damage Greece’s international reputation, a senior Greek official said Thursday.
In a written statement Yorgos Kalacis from the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, criticized the proposal from Aris Spiliotopoilos, the New Democracy Party’s candidate for mayor of Athens at May’s local elections…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
How Important is Russia to Germany?
One in ten German exporters sell goods to Russia, while trade between the two countries was worth €76.5 billion in 2013. But how important a trading partner is Russia for Germany compared to other countries?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
In Pictures: Paris — Ordinary Life in the French Capital
Muslims praying in the street at the Goute d’Or.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Ambassadors’ Pay to Feature in Spending Review
Foreign ministry aiming to save 108 million euros in 3 years
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini on Thursday said Italian ambassadors’ pay will feature in the government’s ongoing review of public spending.
“As part of the spending review, the foreign ministry has proposed a total of 108 million euros in savings over three years,” Mogherini said. “The interventions will include a revision of the economic conditions of personnel abroad. There is widespread (public) sensitivity about this and we are responding,” she added, referring to media reports highlighting the high pay of some senior civil servants.
Premier Matteo Renzi’s government is aiming to generate up to five billion euros this year with the spending review. It has also moved to cap the salaries of top public-sector managers.
She said the cuts would also “come from reorganising of the diplomatic, consular and cultural network, (Italy’s) contributions to international bodies, and rationalising (the use of) properties abroad”. Mogherini noted that the foreign ministry’s budget has been cut 25% since 2008, but it one of “the least costly” major ministries.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Grillo Slams Renzi During European Election Campaign
M5S leader brushes off dissension over party candidates list
(ANSA) — Catania, April 2 — Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), went on the attack Wednesday against Italian Premier Matteo Renzi during his party’s campaign for European elections.
“It’s easy for people to vote for Renzi,” said Grillo, a former comedian, as he began a tour ahead of next month’s elections to the European Parliament in which euroskeptic parties such as his are expected to do well.
“If you are not intelligent, honest and democratic, vote for him (Renzi),” said Grillo, who opened the M5S campaign in the southern city of Catania one day after publishing a list of the party’s first 20 candidates on his popular blog.
The candidates were chosen from a pool of 5,091 aspiring candidates in online voting by 35,188 M5S supporters casting 92,877 preferences.
Grillo brushed off internal dissent from some M5S members, including Parma Mayor Federico Piazzrotti who raised questions about the way Grillo selected his party’s candidates for the May 25 elections.
Grillo suggested if dissenters don’t like his approach, they can leave the party.
He also denied comparisons with the far-right National Front political party in France, where leader Marine Le Pen posted a strong showing in local elections last weekend on a wave of discontent with central governments.
“We have a very different matrix,” said Grillo, who denied Le Pen’s allegations that he “hated” her.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome ‘Won’t Know Where to Put Garbage’ Within Few Days
Mayor warns capital risks being ‘covered in trash’
(ANSA) — Rome, April 3 — Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino on Thursday said within a few days he “won’t know where to put” the capital’s garbage. In a meeting with chief Rome Prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone, he added, “either Rome gets covered in garbage, or we put it in the (closed) Malagrotta landfill,” one of Europe’s largest. The owner of the landfill, Manlio Cerroni, is accused of being the ringleader in a waste-trafficking conspiracy that also includes a former governor of the surrounding Lazio region, Bruno Landi, among its suspects. Magistrates said Tuesday they will fast-track the trial, which begins June 5. The Malagrotta landfill, which has been overcapacity for years, was closed last August after the European Union cited Italy for not implementing proper rubbish-treatment procedures there and at other dumps across the country. Already in 2012, rubbish started piling up in Rome’s streets in a crisis reminiscent of the problems Naples has had in recent years due to lack of landfill areas around the southern city.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Camorra-Linked Ex-Berlusconi Undersecretary Arrested
Nicola Cosentino suspected of unfair competition in petrol sales
(ANSA) — Naples, April 3 — The Camorra mafia-linked politician Nicola Cosentino, a former Berlusconi government undersecretary, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of extortion and unfair competition in connection with the sale of motor fuel in the southern Campania region. Twelve other arrest warrants were also issued in the probe, including ones against Cosentino’s brothers Giovanni and Antonio and Pasquale and Antonio Zagaria, brothers of Michele Zagaria, a former boss of the powerful Casalesi clan of Campania’s Camorra mafia whose death threats have forced anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano into 24-hour police protection.
The ex-prefect of the Campania city of Caserta, former centre-right lawmaker Maria Elena Stasi, is also being probed in relation to the case for suspected corruption and extortion.
The Cosentino family, which own a number of petrol stations in the province of Caserta, is suspected of having used illicit methods including extortion and bribery to damage their competitors, with the help of alleged ties with the Casalesi. Investigators say Casalesi bosses banned their affiliates from demanding ‘protection money’ from service stations belonging to the Cosentino family.
Cosentino, a former economy undersecretary and ex regional coordinator for former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (Pdl) party, is already on trial for alleged collusion with the Casalesi in relation to the construction of a shopping mall near Caserta. Prosecutors in that case claimed he was the “national reference point” of the Casalesi, who come from his home town of Casal di Principe.
Cosentino denied all wrongdoing and Berlusconi described the case against him as an example of alleged judicial persecution.
However, he did drop Cosentino from his centre-right party’s candidate lists ahead of general elections in February 2013 amid concern over a possible political backlash.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi ‘Begs President for Pardon’
Italy’s beleaguered former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid a visit on Wednesday to President Giorgio Napolitano, ostensibly to discuss political reforms but also to ask for a pardon for his criminal convictions, according to media reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Fiat Worker ‘Happily’ Lived With Stolen Artwork
The retired autoworker who unknowingly bought stolen paintings worth millions of euros by Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard and hung them in his kitchen for 40 years said he was “proud” of his taste in art.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Sensors and Satellites to Save Pompeii
Ground sensors and satellites will be deployed in a new bid to keep the ancient Roman city of Pompeii from crumbling following a series of recent collapses at the sprawling and long-neglected site near Naples.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
MB Urges UK Not to Proceed With Probe
The Muslim Brotherhood has urged Britain late Wednesday not to bow to foreign pressures after London’s recent announcement that it will launch a review into the operations of the Islamist movement.
“It is important that the British government does not bend to pressure from foreign governments who are concerned about their own people’s quest for democracy,” the Brotherhood’s press office in London said in a statement, according to Reuters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Men Fined for Wearing East German Shirts
Two men went to court in Berlin on Wednesday to dispute being fined €2,700 each for wearing the blue shirts of the youth group of former communist East Germany.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Metamorphosis: A Hungarian Extremist Explores His Jewish Roots
Csanád Szegedi was a prominent right-wing extremist in Hungary until he discovered his own Jewish roots in 2012. Since then, he has undergone a radical reinvention and is even learning Hebrew. His grandmother, though, continues to hide her Auschwitz tattoo.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Stunning Bridge Over Waterfall Wins Permit
This fantastic viewing platform over Norway’s Vøringsfoss waterfall could soon become a reality, after it secured planning permission from the local district council.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Minister Calls Meeting on Utøya Memorial
Norway’s local government minister Jan Tore Sanner has called an emergency meeting on the controversial memorial to the 2011 Utøya massacre, after locals threatened to sue to prevent it being built.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Mette-Marit Opens Up on Father’s Alcoholism
Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has opened up for the first time about her father’s alcoholism, saying that it has been “one of the hardest things” in her life.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
One in Three French Say They Are Racist: Survey
As many as 35 percent of French people admit to being “quite” or “a little” racist, an annual report for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, revealed this week, suggesting that intolerance in France was on the rise.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rights Group Amnesty International Cites Culture of Impunity, Racism in Greek Police
The rights group Amnesty International says it has found a culture of impunity and abuse within the Greek police, which it also criticizes for inadequately responding to hate crimes and attacks by far-right groups on migrants and protesters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s ‘Racist’ Food Banks Hard to Swallow
Valencia’s public prosecutor is looking to open a case against a far-right political party which gave out more than a thousand kilos (2,200 pounds) of food only to needy Spanish nationals in the city’s most multicultural neighbourhood.
Joan Calabuig, socialist spokesperson at Valencia’s Town Hall, labelled the news as “disgusting”, arguing that the city couldn’t “allow such shameful and discriminatory events to happen”.
Although nobody in the neighbourhood of Orriols has placed an official complaint, human rights groups are already claiming España 2000’s xenophobic approach goes against the Spanish Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spike in Smog Raises Questions Over UK’s Air
The UK has suffered an unusually severe smog over the last two days. The number of people making emergency calls about breathing problems has increased as a result.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Statistics: German Firms Only Moderately Dependent on Russia
Ten percent of German companies sell goods to Russia, but that trade makes up only a fraction of overall exports, underscoring a moderate dependency on the country currently entangled in western sanctions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Stroke Patient Overhears Organ Donation Chat
Doctors in Sweden discussed organ donation within earshot of Jimi Fritze as he lay in hospital after a stroke. The patient, however, could hear every word but couldn’t protest as he was under heavy sedation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Youths Attack Romanian Beggars
A group of suspected teenagers attacked several Romanian beggars with stones and bottles at a mall in northern Stockholm, according to police.
One of the victims who was attacked was Ileana Stanescu, who is part of a group of around 60 people begging in the Kista area.
“They beat me for no reason, they chased us all, they brought sticks and stones and they had spray too,” she said.
Police so far had not made any arrests. Witnesses told officers that a group of about 25 teens started attacking 59-year-old Stanescu.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Sells Marquis De Sade Scroll to Frenchman
The original scroll on which the Marquis de Sade wrote the draft of his novel of sexual depravity, murder and paedophilia “The 120 Days of Sodom” has been returned to France from Switzerland following years of legal wrangling.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: ‘Camel Cooler’ Among Inventions Fair Novelties
His eyes hidden by sunglasses, the soft-spoken African gestured at the model camel on his table, its hump hidden by a mysterious contraption topped with a windmill.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Terrorism in Portugal “Worrying in the Mid-Term”
This year’s Annual Internal Security Report (RASI), released this week, has warned that Portuguese nationals are joining the Jihad in countries such as Syria and Mali, where there is a strong Al-Qaeda presence and are the locations where many European combatants linked to the terrorist network gather…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK Condemns Spain Over New Gibraltar ‘Incursion’
The British government summoned the Spanish ambassador to London on Wednesday to explain a fresh “incursion” by Spanish vessels into Gibraltar’s territorial waters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Navy Harassed Boat Off Gibraltar: Spain
A diplomatic spat between Spain and Britain over a fresh “incursion” by Spanish vessels into waters off Gibraltar went up a notch on Wednesday with Spain making an official complaint of harassment against the British navy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: 5 Things You Might Have Missed From the Clegg-Farage Debate
James Delingpole presents five key take-aways from last night’s debate that you may have otherwise missed…
1. The BBC knows it’s in trouble and is desperate to prove it still has meaning.
The BBC did a good job last night, wheeling out its political big gun — David Dimbleby — to moderate in his arch, feline, Flashman-esque way, not showing any noticeable left-wing bias and following up with some integrated coverage from Paxo on BBC Newsnight. But gosh wasn’t the BBC eager to tell us how well it was doing?…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Counter-Terrorism Police Search Portsmouth House Linked to Jihadi Fighter Killed in Syria
COUNTER-TERRORISM police have swooped on a home linked to a jihadi fighter who died in Syria.
Officers from the South East Counter Terrorism Unit yesterday searched a house in Hudson Road, Somers Town, Portsmouth as part of an international investigation…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A secondary school in Birmingham has been accused of praising senior Al-Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki during assemblies.
Two members of staff at Park View Academy claimed a senior colleague had endorsed the teachings of the now dead American-born leader of Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, and that a viewpoint politically sympathetic to the terrorist group had been promoted in an assembly.
The Department of Education confirmed that several schools in the area — thought to include Park View — are under investigation amid claims hard-line Muslims are trying to indoctrinate pupils.
Park View Academy denies the allegations, which were made by anonymous members of staff who were speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: David Cameron’s Muslim Brotherhood Inquiry Could Well Backfire
by Rosemary Hollis
If the investigation leads to a ban it may appease the Saudis, but it would also alienate the millions who never espoused violence
David Cameron will come to regret his call for an investigation of the Muslim Brotherhood. The move is opportunistic and set to backfire on him. The impetus reportedly came from British intelligence, not from the Foreign Office, where there is greater awareness of the dangers of alienating the rank and file of an Islamist movement hitherto identified as relatively moderate and nonviolent…
[Reader comment by elbum on 2 April 2014 at 2:08 pm.]
Just because a movement has a very substantial following does not mean that it should not be the target of an investigation. Those people, the vast majority of whom are just followers, and not necessarily completely committed to the cause, need to know clearly what the movement stands for. One could have said prior to 2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood was the political (as opposed to the violent) face of radical Islam, but since the fall of Morsi in 2013 its methods have overlapped with those of Salafi-jihadis to a surprising extent. That coupled together with MB’s extensive involvement in education in the U.K. and the U.S. (and other places) is considerable cause for worry.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lincoln Anti-Mosque Demonstrations Cost Taxpayer Almost £200k
Almost £200,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent policing two demonstrations in Lincoln by anti-mosque protesters. The East Anglian Patriots group came to the city in June 2013 and returned in January…
[Reader comment by nickythenark on 3 April 2014 at 11:38 am. Punctuation amended.]
Bob Ovett, for your information Mr Bob Ovett I love Lincoln the city of my birth and I wouldn’t dream of moving away from Lincoln, but what I do object to is seeing my city decaying more and more each day and my city like the rest of the country being given away to foreigners and we are not supposed to say anything or stand up against it. So I welcome the EDL or the EAP into this city whenever they want to come. PS vote UKIP I am.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
by Douglas Murray
What is Sharia and what should be our attitude towards it? These questions, which have intermittently swirled around Britain in recent years, have just re-erupted thanks to a recent story in the Sunday Telegraph…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: PM Promises Swift Action to Deal With ‘Terror School’ Plot …
David Cameron has spoken for the first time about an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to take over schools in Birmingham, promising ‘swift action’ to ensure they are not being used to spread the ideology of terrorists.
The Department for Education is believed to be investigating 12 schools in the city after claims that non-Muslim members of staff were being isolated, male and female pupils segregated and assemblies used to promote the teachings of Al Qaeda.
Yesterday the Prime Minister said: ‘We will not accept any school being run by extremists or promoting extremist views…
[Reader comment by Mike Brit ex-pat OAP, Khon Kaen, Thailand on 4 April 2014.]
Cameron all mouth today, nothing will change and he will U-Turn next week. We need a PM with [objects of veneration], Vote UKIP.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Reema Alive During Beheading
A young woman was still alive when she was beheaded with a kitchen knife by her boyfriend, a court heard.
Police discovered the body of 18-year-old Reema Ramzan in a Sheffield flat. Her head had been removed and she had been stabbed in the shoulder.
Her partner Aras Hussein, 21, had stabbed himself in the chest after the killing, stripped off his blood-stained clothes and walked naked on to the street outside his flat on Herries Road, Shirecliffe.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
The record payment was made by the National Grid to turn wind farms off last month as they generated too much electricity.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukrainian Officers Join NATO Drills in Bulgaria
Parada was one of 16 senior officers that Ukraine dispatched to Bulgaria to join a NATO military exercise Thursday — a very public demonstration of cooperation between the alliance and the crisis-torn former Soviet republic.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Victim of Anti-Semitic Attack in France Says Similar Incidents Occur Every Week
The victim of a brutal ant-Semitic attack in Paris late last month said assaults similar to the one he faced are a common occurrence in France. His comments were made in an exclusive interview with The Algemeiner on Thursday…
David said that both he and the police believe the assault was premeditated. The area they chose was not one with a Muslim majority, but in the heart of a Jewish neighborhood, he said.
“Through this act they’ve hit the entire Jewish nation. It was hitting and humiliating a Jew in his own neighborhood to show him it’s not his place anymore,” David said. “Through violence they wanted ‘to break Jewry.’ If it wasn’t me, it could have happened to anyone else who was passing that place. In this act they did not only want to attack me personally, but to attack all Jewish people through me.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sarajevo Auxiliary Bishop Calls Bosnia an ‘Artificial State’
Bosnia Herzegovina is currently an ‘‘artificial state from the political point of view and, as a result, from other ones as well’’, said Sarajevo’s auxiliary bishop Pero Sudar on Thursday. Sudar was speaking in Gorizia at a national conference of Catholic weeklies. ‘‘Bosnia went through a terrible war, caused by communist-inspired imperialism and historic feelings of resentment rekindled among the population,’’ he said. ‘‘The peace that was imposed to satisfy certain interests has nothing to do with the people’s interests. For many in Bosnia it is a dying society, and a country to flee from if possible.’’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ICT: EU Seeks Med Partners for Horizon 2020 Program
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, APRIL 2 -Some 72 billion euros will be available in EU funding for research and innovation in the information and communication technology sector for the next seven years as part of the Horizon 2020 program, 17 billion more than in the previous one.
Enterprises and universities in the Middle East and North Africa will also be able to benefit from the program by working with European partners. The initiative and how to access the funding will be illustrated over the coming months in a series of meetings underway in several Middle Eastern countries as part of the EU’s Med-Dialogue initiative.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
529 Steps Back: Egyptian Death Sentences Reveal Deep Societal Rift
Over 500 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were sentenced to death last week in the small Egyptian city of Minya. But what really happened? A visit to the town reveals the vast divide in Egyptian society.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Airlines Extends Ban on Flights to Tripoli
Austrian Airlines have extended the pause on flights to the Libyan capital of Tripoli until next Monday 7 April as they take more time to decide whether it is safe to continue services there.
Flights to Tripoli International Airport had been cancelled on 22 March following a missile attack on the airport on 21 March that damaged the runway and forced the airport to close for a day.
Along with Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways have also held back from resuming flights to the country, with the German airline also extending the hold on flights until 7 April. “We will then decide again when we can restart operations,” a spokesperson for Lufthansa has said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Police General Killed in Cairo Bomb Blasts
Egyptian police brigadier-general killed as three bombs explode outside Cairo campus
Three bombs exploded outside Cairo University on Wednesday, killing a police general and leaving several injured. Two roadside bombs were detonated in quick succession outside the university’s engineering faculty, killing Brigadier General Tarek al-Mergawi…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Hits Back at British Government Over Terror Probe
Group warns of legal action if UK restricts its activities
The Muslim Brotherhood has warned it will take the British Government to court if it seeks to restrict the movement’s activities in London.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Brotherhood’s London headquarters are under scrutiny from the British intelligence services, who are cooperating with a Whitehall probe into the group’s alleged links to terrorism in Egypt…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt to Receive $1 Bn Grant From Kuwait: Ambassador
More economic aid from Kuwait, which has already given Egypt over $3 billion in bank deposits and oil shipments since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: Cinema: At Tetouan, Mediterranean Returns as Protagonist
(ANSAmed) — Tetouan (Morocco), April 3 — Gulf country money and young Arab and European talent. These are perhaps the elements that most stand out in this 20th edition of the Mediterranean Film Festival, continuing through April 5 in the northern Moroccan city of Tetouan. Beginning March 29, the exhibition has offered about 60 titles between feature films, documentaries, short films and homages coming from the four corners of the Mediterranean.
Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Algeria, Tunisia, France, Spain and Italy — the latter with an interesting selection brought by the Medfilm festival.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US and Algeria to Strengthen Counterterrorism Cooperation in Unstable Sahel Region
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said America wants to strengthen its cooperation with Algeria to fight terrorism in the unstable Sahel region. Kerry is in Algiers for strategic security talks and on Thursday described Algeria as an “important partner” in fighting terrorism.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has targeted the Sahel region, which is an arid strip of land across Africa that touches Algeria’s south.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Born in France, Buried in Israel
France has Europe’s largest Jewish community. But many members don’t want to stay there forever. Increasingly, French Jews are opting to be buried in Israel, for a mix of religious, emotional and historical considerations. But one of the most powerful reasons is also practical; Jewish-only plots in some French cemeteries — along with their leases- are rapidly running out.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How Anti-Jewish Jokes Hurt the Palestinian Cause
By Nuzha Nusseibeh
Excerpt: It happens every time I visit the U.S., and it’s happened increasingly over the last five years. I say I’m Palestinian (usually after trying out the less inflammatory “I’m from Jerusalem” and then being pressed for detail). There’s a pause, and then—”Oh, so… is it a problem for you that I’m Jewish?” There it is. The assumption that because I am Palestinian, I harbor animosity toward Jews—and not just Israeli Jews, but all Jews, all the time, everywhere. It was one of the first questions I got asked when my new roommate met me at the beginning of my college career, and again as I mingled at my first-ever internship lunch. It was what made a Jewish kid switch seats and move across the room from me during a seminar—he was worried, I was later informed, about sitting next to a Palestinian. It’s happened time and again, yet it still takes me by surprise.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Jet Fighters Strike Gaza, Four Injured
GAZA, April 4 (Xinhua) — Four Palestinians have been injured early on Friday in a series of Israeli airstrikes in the Hamas- ruled Gaza Strip, medical sources and witnesses said. The airstrikes came a few hours after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired four missiles into Israel…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Scraps Palestinian Prisoner Release, Reviewing Peace Talks
JERUSALEM, April 3 (Reuters) — Israel has called off a planned release of Palestinian prisoners meant to advance peacemaking and called for the U.S.-sponsored negotiations to be reviewed, an official briefed on the talks said on Thursday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Calls Off Palestinian Prisoner Release
Israel has called off a planned release of Palestinian prisoners in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority seeking greater recognition at the UN. The developments have thrown futher doubt on the US-led peace talks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Gives 4 Mln Euros to UNRWA for Palestinian Refugees
The Italian government has authorized four million euros in aid to UNRWA, the UN agency for assistance to Palestinian refugees. The announcement came in a joint statement issued by the Italian consulate in Jerusalem and the Italian Development Cooperation. UNRWA helps Palestinian refugees in ‘‘Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, by funding basic services such as schools, healthcare assistance and a security network for about five million Palestinian refugees.’’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Salvo of Kassams From Gaza Hit Near Sderot
A salvo of kassam missiles were fired from the Hamas-enclave of Gaza on Thursday night towards Sderot and the surrounding communities. As of now, three rockets have been identified as having fallen in open fields, with no damage or injuries reported.
The ‘code red’ warning siren was sounded in Sderot and the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional District, bordering Gaza…
[A nice start to the weekend — not! — MC]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Blood Money Spares Indonesian Maid From Saudi Execution
Indonesia will pay $1.8m (£1m) in blood money to prevent an Indonesian maid being executed in Saudi Arabia. The maid, known as Satinah, was due to be beheaded in the next few days after being found guilty of murdering her female employer seven years ago.
A campaign in Indonesia by the 41-year-old’s family and supporters had raised some of the money needed to compensate the victim’s family. The Indonesian government has now decided to provide the rest.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Watch this powerful and emotional video of Rescue Christians’ Middle East partner and contact, Sister Hatune Dogan, recounting how the horror Christians girls go through everyday in the Muslim world. In the first story she recalls how a young Christian girl gets kidnapped by Muslims, who then molested and sexually mutilated her for 13 days straight, with each day seven different men ravishing and abusing her.
They demanded a $52,000 ransom, and when her parents made it known that they could not pay it, they slashed her face right right on the doorstep of her mother and father. What makes this story even more disturbing, is that the rapists would scream “Allahu Akbar!” as they abused and molested her.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The intensification of the Syrian civil war is putting increased stress on Lebanon’s political system and security infrastructure. Lebanon has absorbed close to one million Syrian refugees since the start of the conflict in 2011—which now compromise one-third of Lebanon’s population and more refugees than any other country bordering Syria.
The World Bank predicts that the Lebanese economy will spend close to $7.5 billion on refugees, as it struggles to adjust its economy to meet the demands of a growing population. Beyond the economic effects, the spillover from Syria has also heightened sectarian tensions in Lebanon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Influx of Syrian Refugees Pushes Lebanon to “Breaking Point” Says UN
The UN refugee agency has said the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon now exceeds one million, leaving the small host country’s resources depleted and at a “breaking point.” Half of the refugees are children.
The UNHCR said on Thursday that Lebanon had the world’s “highest per capita concentration of refugees” and urgently needed boosts in funding.
A current humanitarian aid appeal for Lebanon was only 13 percent funded, the agency said, adding that 2,500 new refugees entered Lebanon daily — more than one person per minute. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said the impact on Lebanon — a small country of 4.5 million people — was “staggering.”
The influx had severely stretched Lebanon’s health and education sectors as well as its electricity, water and sanitation services. Lebanon had shown “striking generosity” but was “struggling to cope,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraqi Forces Kill 40 Militants Near Capital
BAGHDAD, April 3 (Xinhua) — The Iraqi security forces has killed 40 militants in fierce clashes near the capital Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The security forces foiled an attempt by al-Qaida-linked militant groups to storm a military base in Dwiyliba area outside the town of Yousifiyah, some 25 km south of Baghdad, the ministry said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Tripoli, Security Plan Implemented to Stop Violence
More than a thousand Lebanese soldiers were engaged Tuesday in the northern city of Tripoli in the implementation of the highly anticipated “safety plan” to bring “peace and stability” to the Northern Lebanon main port which has torn apart for years by armed clashes of religious nature, exacerbated due to the nearby Syrian conflict.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Local Elections Results Pave Erdogan’s Way to the Presidency
Despite his authoritarian behaviour, the financial scandals involving his surrounds, the bans on Twitter and YouTube, Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged victorious from the local elections with 45 per cent of the votes.
Now he feels omnipotent, which is why on one hand he has already given the order to combat Fethullah Gulen’s Islamic order of Hizmet, while on the other he is planning his next political steps.
However, political analysts express fears that Turkey is pulling away from Europe and is increasingly becoming a country that will be ruled like the countries of the Middle East.
The main plan in Erdogan’s mind is to become President of the Turkish Republic with increased powers. In Turkey in August 2014, elections will take place and the Turks with their vote will choose the president who will lead the country for the next seven years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Media Neglect Turkish False Flag Attack Leak and Its Implications
Some more thoughts on the leaked tape from a meeting in the Turkish foreign ministry which is only very selectively reported in “western” media.
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By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: While Bush only overthrew Saddam, Obama overthrew Mubarak, Ben Ali, Gaddafi and Saleh. The difference lay not only in the scale of their respective regime change operations, but in their relative impacts on regional stability. Saddam had invaded other countries and cultivated terrorists, while the governments that Obama helped overthrow, aside from Gaddafi, were not expansionistic, were not obsessed with building up WMD’s and had helped maintain regional stability. Bush had sought to stabilize the Middle East by removing Saddam. Obama instead destabilized it by trying to remove every government that was in any way friendly to the United States and was not covered by the umbrella of the Saudi GCC.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Officials ‘Lift Twitter Ban’
The Turkish authorities have lifted a ban on Twitter following Wednesday’s constitutional court ruling, officials and media reports say. The court had told the country’s telecommunication authorities the two-week-old ban must be lifted as it was a breach of freedom of expression.
It may take a couple of hours for full access to Twitter to be restored.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to “wipe out Twitter” after users spread allegations of corruption.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s New Jihad on Christian Armenians
Far from being repentant of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey, under the leadership of Prime Minister Erdogan, is again targeting Armenians; is again causing their death and dislocation.
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Turkish Telecoms Authority Lifts Twitter Ban
The two-week old Twitter ban in Turkey has been lifted and access to the website has been restored. The move follows a constitutional court ruling that the ban breached freedom of expression.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Muslim Brothers and the Gulf
WHEN David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, announced on April 1st an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood, Saudi Arabia was instantly suspected of putting the idea into his head. A few weeks earlier, the Saudis had formally declared the Arab world’s largest Islamist organisation to be a terrorist group. Across the Arab world, but especially in parts of the monarchical Gulf, it is under the cosh…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
NATO’s Eastern Europe Build-Up Plans Alarm Russia
Moscow is pressing Nato to explain its plans to enhance its military presence in Eastern Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Reportedly Arrests 25 Ukrainians on Suspicion of Planning Sabotage
A state-controlled Russian TV station says 25 Ukrainian citizens have been arrested in Russia by the country’s security agency on suspicion of planning sabotage.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Special Police Shot Kiev Protesters, Inquiry Says
Ukraine’s special police were behind the killings of dozens of anti-government protesters in Kiev in February, a government inquiry says.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told reporters that 12 members of the Berkut police had been identified as snipers and arrested. He presented what he said was new evidence from the shootings on 18-20 February, when 76 people were killed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Navy Sending Destroyer to Black Sea to Support Ukraine
The U.S. Navy is sending a destroyer into the Black Sea in the coming days as a symbolic gesture of support for Ukraine and other allies in the region, according to two senior defense officials.
The USS Donald Cook, a guided missile destroyer based in Rota, Spain, and will travel to the Black Sea “in the next week or so,” according to one senior defense official.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: Battling Over an Economic Midget
For months, Moscow and Brussels have been wrestling for influence in Kyiv. But what do they want from Ukraine? Is there something to be gained economically — or is it just power politics?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Authorities Accuse Yanukovych of Ordering Snipers to Open Fire on Protesters
Ukraine’s interim authorities accused the country’s ousted president of ordering snipers to open fire on protesters and getting help from Russian security agents to battle his own people — but their report Thursday provided no evidence directly linking him to the bloodbath in Kiev.
Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov also charged that his predecessor employed gangs of killers, kidnappers and thugs to terrorize and undermine the opposition during Ukraine’s tumultuous winter of discontent.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukrainian Authorities Arrest Riot Police for Protester Shootings
Ukrainian authorities have arrested a dozen members of the ‘Berkut’ police riot squad on suspicion of shooting protesters in February. At the time, snipers killed more than 100 people around Kyiv’s Independence Square.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan’s Musharraf Survives Bomb Attack
Convoy of ex-president targeted near Islamabad
(ANSA) — Islamabad, April 3 — Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf escaped an attack on his convoy early Thursday, police sources report. Musharaff was travelling from a military hospital in Rawalpindi where he had been receiving treatment for a heart condition to his villa on the outskirts of Islamabad at the time of the attack.
A bomb hidden in a pipe under a bridge reportedly exploded 20 minutes before the ex president was due to pass.
No casualties were reported in the blast. Musharraf, who survived numerous assassination attempts during his time in power, is on trial for treason for suspending the constitution and imposing emergency rule in 2007.
He was admitted to hospital for observation at the start of the year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Barred From Voting in Presidential Elections
Thousands of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan won’t be able to cast their votes in their country’s presidential election due to inadequate polling arrangements. Will it have an impact on the outcome of the poll?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
They are truly heartbreaking scenes. The moments of despair as parents cling to their children for one last time before abandoning them in China’s so-called baby hatches.
They are the final moments of lives torn apart, often by poverty or an inability to cope with disease or disability.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Demands Malaysia Ensure Safety of Chinese After Kidnap
China demanded that Malaysia ensures the safety of its nationals on Thursday, after armed men abducted two women, a Chinese tourist and a Philippine hotel worker, from a Malaysian diving resort on Borneo island.
Malaysia’s image has been battered in China over the handling of the investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people aboard, most of them Chinese nationals, on March 8. Relations have become strained between the two countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Buddhist Temple Forms “Anti-Terrorist” Squad
Nervous about a repeat of last month’s deadly knife attack at a Chinese train station, a well-known Buddhist temple in eastern China has drafted some of its monks into a new “anti-terrorist” squad, state media said on Thursday.
The team at the 1,700-year-old Lingyin Temple in the tourist city of Hangzhou is made up of 20 monks and more than 20 security guards, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the temple’s Buddhist Master Jueheng as saying. The squad’s members are equipped with shields, pepper spray and batons. It is the first time a Chinese temple has set up such a team, Xinhua said.
The China News Service said the idea sprang from last month’s attack at the Kunming train station in southwestern China, blamed on militants from the far western region of Xinjiang. Thirty-three people died, including four of the attackers, shot dead by police.
China remains jittery after that incident and after a vehicle ploughed into tourists on the edge of Tiananmen Square last October, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
North Korea to Reportedly Execute 200 Officials Believed Loyal to Kim Jong-UN Uncle
A South Korean newspaper has reported that the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un will execute 200 high-ranking government officials believed to be loyal to Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s once-powerful uncle who was shockingly deposed and executed last December.
The Chosun Ilbo reported the pending executions Tuesday, citing a source who said that North Korea’s State Security Department had conducted a sweep to root out Jang’s remaining supporters in the government. Under Pyongyang’s brutal “guilty blood” system of criminal sentencing, the Chosun Ilbo’s source told the paper that up to 1,000 more people, all family members of the condemned, could be sent to North Korea’s infamous prison camps.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Prada’s Global Expansion Fuelled by China
The Chinese market for luxury fashion products will be the main driver of growth at Italian group Prada, the company said on Thursday after reporting stable profits.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Australia to Develop a Defence White Paper Next Year
CANBERRA, April 4 (Xinhua) — The Australian government will develop a Defence White Paper to be published next year which will underpin a costed, affordable plan to achieve Australia’s defence and national security objectives, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Friday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Shark Kills Woman Swimming at Popular Australia East Coast Beach
A shark killed a woman Thursday as she swam with a group of swimmers off a popular Australian east coast beach, police said. Christine Armstrong, 63, was taken as she attempted to swim the 1,970 feet between the wharf and beach near the village of Tathra, 210 miles south of Sydney, police said in a statement.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rwanda’s Genocide Sparked by Burning Ethnic Tensions
Rwanda will mark this month the 20th anniversary of the start a genocide that shattered the tiny central African country.
Here is a timeline of events:
1959-1961 — Uprising by majority Hutu people against centuries of domination by Tutsi overlords sends thousands of Tutsi refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists Assure US That the Recent Earthquakes on the Ring of Fire Are Not Related
We just had a tsunami-triggering 8.2 earthquake off of Chile’s north coast, a 5.8 earthquake off the coast of Panama, a 5.1 earthquake in southern California, and a dormant volcano in Peru has awakened for the first time in 40 years, but scientists assure us that none of these events are related and that we don’t have anything to be concerned about.
Even though all of these events took place on the Ring of Fire, which is the most seismically-active area of the entire planet, the “experts” promise us that “the odds are overwhelming” that they are not related to one another. So do you believe them? A few days ago, I wrote an article entitled “12 Signs That Something Big Is Happening To The Earth’s Crust Under North And South America”. This was before the earthquakes that struck off the coasts of Chile and Panama. It appeared to me, as a “non-expert”, that seismic activity was really starting to heat up in North and South America — especially along the Ring of Fire. But it turns out that I and everyone else that was concerned about all of these earthquakes was flat wrong. According to the experts, it is just a giant coincidence that earthquakes are popping off like firecrackers all along the west coasts of North and South America.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuela Enforces Fingerprint Registry to Buy Groceries
What if you were forced to “register” in order to buy groceries? And what if, through that registration, the food you bought could be tracked and quantities could be limited?
That’s exactly the plan in Venezuela right now. The AP reports that in an effort to crack down on “hoarding” that ID cards will be issued to families. These will have to be presented before foodstuffs can be purchased…
Last year in Venezuela, it became a crime to “hoard” food, and the country’s Attorney General called upon prosecutors to crack down on “hoarders” by imprisoning them for the “crime”.
Some people may read this and think to themselves, “Why on earth do I care about what happens in Venezuela?”
You’d better care, because this is our future.
Already the Obama administration has moved the pieces into place on the board to be able to appropriate supplies from anyone, at any time. Mac Slavo of SHTFplan warns:
“It should be clear from the laws that are already in effect that the government has given itself a legal pretext for confiscating anything they so choose in the midst of an emergency.
“Should an emergency befall the United States, the military, national guard, and local police operating under orders from the Department of Homeland Security will have carte blanche to do as they please.
“In a widespread emergency where supply lines have been threatened and millions of Americans are without essential resources because they failed to prepare, the government will swoop in and attempt to take complete control.
“They will enter our homes and search them without a warrant. They will confiscate contraband. And they will take any ‘excessive resources’ that you may have accumulated. This includes food, toiletries, precious metals and anything else emergency planners and officials deem to be a scarce material.”…
How Much of a Footprint Are You Leaving?
Now, think about those “loyalty cards” that every grocery store in North America promotes when you go through the checkout. Have you noticed how much more those are being pushed lately? Could there be a nefarious purpose to that? I doubt the person at the cash register thinks twice about it — if these actually are data collection tools, it is something put in place by people far higher up the food chain (pun intended) than the staff of your local supermarket.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Border Patrol Terrorizes Mom & Kids With Knife, Taser
While the Obama administration allows tens of thousands of violent illegal immigrants to go free in the United States without deportation every year, an American woman and her two children were terrorized by Border Patrol agents who threatened to taser her if she did not consent to a search of her vehicle before slashing her tires…
The Department of Homeland Security now considers any area within a 100 mile radius of the entire US border to be what the ACLU has described as a “constitution free zone,” where 4th amendment legal protection from unconstitutional searches and seizures does not apply…
While Americans are increasingly finding themselves on the receiving end of Border Patrol harassment, actual illegal aliens are being treated better than ever before. A recent report by the Center for Immigration Studies found that the Obama administration, “Has allowed tens-of-thousands of violent illegal aliens to go free inside the United States and without deportation,” with 68,000 released in 2013.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Their hands and feet bloodied by the wire, these desperate immigrants clung onto a fence for seven hours today in a desperate bid to start a new life in Spain. The group were pictured as Spanish and Moroccan police engaged them in stand-off as they tried to cross the border from Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Graphic Images Justify Border Patrol’s Use of Deadly Force Against Rock Attacks
The images included below shed light on the dangers U.S. Border Patrol agents are facing from rock throwers along the U.S./Mexico border. The Border Patrol has come under an unprecedented level of fire from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and their allies in both government and media for the use of deadly force in response to some rock attacks from individuals and groups illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico.
Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on the left-of-center campaign to restrict the ability of Border Patrol agents to defend themselves and on the false narratives such open-borders advocates use in their political and media attacks against the men and women of the Border Patrol.
The reality being far from the false narrative of “kids throwing pebbles,” the life-threatening rock attacks against Border Patrol agents often occur in remote areas when a solitary Border Patrol agent may be up to a 90-minute drive from their nearest backup. The solitary Border Patrol agent’s radio often does not work due to insufficient communications infrastructure along the U.S./Mexico border — leaving the agent alone and unable to call for help. The attacks often come from illegal immigrants trafficking drugs or human beings, or from illegal immigrants trying to divert the attention and resources of the Border Patrol in an effort to assist drug and human traffickers.
[Comment: Even today, people are still stoned to death. The idea that a rock hitting your head will not seriously harm you is ludicrous. Border Patrol have every right to defend themselves.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Minister Says Up to 600,000 Migrants Ready to Cross Med
Alfano vows to make Europe ‘defend its border’
(ANSA) — Palermo, April 3 — Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told a convention in Palermo Thursday that the Italian government had information that “there are between 300,000 and 600,000 people in North Africa waiting to cross the Mediterranean”. Tens of thousands of migrants arrive in Italy from North Africa every year and many others die attempting the crossing in often rickety vessels.
In October around 400 people died in two separate migrant-boat disasters near to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which is often the migrants’ first port of call.
“We’ll fight to ensure that Europe defends its border,” added Alfano. Italy has complained that it has not received enough support from the European Union to cope with the arrival of migrants.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
New York Times on Amnesty: Cheap Labor Profiteering Millionaires Need Your Help!
By Ann Coulter
Last Sunday, The New York Times published a front-page article about the heartfelt need of California farmers for more illegal aliens.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: ‘Deny Free Health Care to Illegal Immigrants’
One of Norway’s two governing parties has proposed denying free medical care to illegal immigrants, arguing that it encourages others to seek to settle in the country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rajoy Gets Illegal Immigration at Top of EU-Africa Summit Agenda
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has managed to make the fight against illegal immigration a top issue in Europe-Africa relations.
The two-day Euro-Africa Summit, which was due to end in Brussels on Thursday, approved an action plan for 2014-17 in which over 80 leaders from both continents — 41 of them from Africa — state their commitment to fighting human trafficking, which was described as “a new form of slavery.”
The plan stresses cooperation among countries to fight the trafficking mafias, improve border controls, encourage legal immigration, help migrants return home, reduce the cost of the money transfers they send back to their families, and address the latest causes of illegal immigration.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Dozen Immigrants Manage to Cross Border in Latest Attempt in Melilla
Around 200 would-be migrants tried to get across the border of the Spanish exclave of Melilla at 10am on Thursday, six days after the last such attempt by some of the reportedly thousands of sub-Saharans camped out in Morocco.
The Moroccan authorities were able to stop the majority from reaching Spanish soil, apart from a group of two dozen or so immigrants, who slipped past the officers.
The men managed to make it to the top of the fence, from where they began shouting “Freedom, freedom, freedom!”
One of the group had to be helped down by a civil guard with a ladder, after he appeared to faint. The Spanish officers also supplied the sub-Saharans with water, to stop them from dehydrating.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Up to 600,000 Migrants Ready to Cross Med’, Italian Minister
(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, APRIL 3 — Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told a convention in Palermo Thursday that the Italian government had information that “there are between 300,000 and 600,000 people in North Africa waiting to cross the Mediterranean”. Tens of thousands of migrants arrive in Italy from North Africa every year and many others die attempting the crossing in often rickety vessels.
In October around 400 people died in two separate migrant-boat disasters near to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which is often the migrants’ first port of call.
“We’ll fight to ensure that Europe defends its border,” added Alfano. Italy has complained that it has not received enough support from the European Union to cope with the arrival of migrants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why the All-Ivy League Story Stirs Up Tensions Between African Immigrants and Black Americans
The story of the first-generation Ghanian-American student accepted by all eight Ivy league schools is wonderful, but it also stirs up the tension between black Americans and recent African immigrants — especially when you describe him as “not a typical African-American kid.”
“Not a typical African-American kid” is being read as an allusion to the lazy black American stereotype. The tension comes from the fact that some African immigrants buy into that stereotype, which gets turned into “Africans don’t like black people.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Church on Its Way to Nowhere
Once upon a time the PCUSA was one of the great Christian denominations of America. Now it’s just where daft old white liberals hang out to drink kool-aid. Last year, 16 churches bolted from the PCUSA, and there will be more departures this year.
So, for what’s left of the PCUSA, what’s on this year’s menu?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Disapproval Over Gay-Inspired Square Renaming
When the City Council on Monday votes in favour of changing the name of a city square just around the corner from its headquarters to Regnbuepladsen (Rainbow Square), not everyone will be pleased.
CW Obel, the owners of a building on the square, expects that the name change will lead to a fall in the value of its property. And Spar Nord bank, another resident on the square, is angry that the council has let the LGBT minority group influence the change to a gay-friendly name.
“It’s embarrassing and unserious that such a large majority is backing this meaningless occurrence of nature just because it is apparently connected to a certain sexual conviction,” the bank stated in response to the name change.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Imagine the Outcry if There Was a White Male or Heterosexual Only Cemetery
Lesbian-only cemetery established in Germany
Politically correct exclusivity knows no bounds. Government preferred minorities have screamed for decades about prejudice, racism, homophobia, etc., but given the chance they return the same multiplied.
In Germany, where merely questioning the official historical narrative gets you thrown in prison, the Safia association, consisting primarily of elderly lesbians, has established a lesbian-only cemetery.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Buried ‘Lake Superior’ Seen on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, already known for spitting plumes of water into space, just got even more interesting. New gravity readings suggest it hosts a subsurface sea the size of Lake Superior at its south pole — and that this liquid water is in direct contact with the moon’s core, which is rich in nutrients. Both findings boost hopes that the sea hosts life.
The result comes hot on the heels of the discovery late last year that a second icy moon — Europa, which orbits Jupiter — also spews plumes of water. Both moons are now among the hottest prospects in the solar system for finding alien life — if only a suitable mission could be arranged.
NASA’s Cassini orbiter first spotted spectacular plumes at Enceladus’s south pole in 2005, shortly after arriving at Saturn.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dark Chocolate Ingredient May Prevent Obesity, Diabetes, Study Shows
Snacking on unprocessed dark chocolate may help reduce a person’s risk of obesity and diabetes, Medical Daily reported.
Dark chocolate is rich in flavonols, a type of antioxidant shown to improve cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and improving blood flow. In order to determine whether flavonols also have a protective effect on weight, researchers placed lab mice on a high-fat diet rich in flavonols.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Compare flaws in Marx’ science and sources with those of the climate change environmentalists
Karl Marx has had more impact on the minds of men and women in modern times than almost any other philosopher. One of his great claims about his philosophy was that it was “scientific.” Not “a knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws,” but an ideology that would transform the nature of man. It was a philosophy whose lineage includes terrorism, dictatorships and the ideology of the anti-human environmentalists.
Capital, penned in 1867, includes the chapter “Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation,” where Marx claimed there would be a progressive diminution in the number of capitalist magnates and a “corresponding increase of poverty, oppression, enslavement, degeneration and exploitation.” This prophecy of doom was pure prediction, not science. Another chapter, “The Working Day,” was supposedly “a factual analysis of the impact of capitalism on the lives of the British worker.” And he concluded that capitalism by its nature, involves the exploitation of workers. But he based his conclusions on a single source — The Condition of the Working Class in England, written by his friend (and supporter) Engels — -twenty years before- — in 1845. Neither Marx nor Engels had any first-hand exposure to English working conditions, mining or rural labor…
The red mythologists, now dressed in green, rely on the same type of Marxist “science.” Slithering into towns, cities and academia, just like Marx, they shout Doomsday predictions: this time, not from capitalism, (although some clearly blame capitalism), but from “global warming. Here is just one siren song:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The new germ theory: Infections play a role in many, many diseases—in ways we’re just beginning to understand.
Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and even obesity may have a significant connection to infection.
Taken together, these insights argue for a new germ theory, one that would up-end our prejudices as profoundly as Robert Koch’s discovery did in 1882. This new germ theory would hold that the body is not a sterile instrument; that the interplay between our organism and those trillions of mircrobes is profoundly more complicated than it has seemed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
It’s not usually put like this, but the discovery of primordial gravitational waves two weeks ago has given us our first direct glimpse of a period before the big bang. The term “big bang” is sometimes taken to mean the beginning of the universe, and that’s the impression you get from diagrams such as the one at left, which the BICEP2 team showed during the press conference announcing its discovery.
But cosmologists don’t know whether the universe had a beginning. The term “big bang” really refers to the beginning of the universe as we know it—that is, an expanding universe filled with matter that has cooled and coagulated into galaxies. Cosmic inflation, the process the BICEP2 results appear to have vindicated, occurred before the big bang by this definition.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hidden Ocean Found on Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus, Could Potentially Support Life
The Saturn moon Enceladus harbors a big ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust that may be capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study reports.
The water ocean on Enceladus is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) deep and lies beneath a shell of ice 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) thick, researchers said. Further, it’s in direct contact with a rocky seafloor, theoretically making possible all kinds of complex chemical reactions — such as, perhaps, the kind that led to the rise of life on Earth.
“The main implication is that there are potentially habitable environments in the solar system in places which are completely unexpected,” study lead author Luciano Iess said in a video about the discovery produced by his home institution, Sapienza University in Rome. “Enceladus has a surface temperature of about minus 180 degrees Celsius (minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit), but under that surface there is liquid water.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Icy Enceladus Hides a Watery Ocean
Planetary scientists have found an ocean buried beneath the south pole of the Saturnian moon Enceladus by studying tiny anomalies in the flybys of the Cassini spacecraft. The discovery, which helps to explain earlier observations of geysers, makes Enceladus only the fourth Solar System body found to have a water ocean — making it a potential cradle for life.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kissing Language Barriers Goodbye
Google is paving the way for the universal voice translator, formerly a thing of science fiction. But will they actually help us communicate?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Out-of-This-World: An Ocean on Enceladus
Measurements from the Cassini spacecraft have found a body of liquid water the size of a great lake on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
“There are two main results. The first one is that Cassini data are consistent with the existence of a large water reservoir underneath the icy surface of Enceladus,” said Dr. Luciano Less, a Cassini team member at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. “The second important result is that Enceladus is a differentiated body. There are two layers-an external icy layer of 30-40 km, and an internal rocky core made up of silicates.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: The left has never adapted to the transition from nationalistic wars to ideological wars. It took the left a while to grasp that the Nazis were a fundamentally different foe than the Kaiser and that pretending that World War 2 was another war for the benefit of colonialists and arms dealers was the behavior of deluded lunatics. And yet much of the left insisted on approaching the war in just that fashion, and had Hitler not attacked Stalin, it might have remained stuck there.
| — Hat tip: KP | [Return to headlines] |
Why can’t Europe learn from Australia how to fend off sea-borne intruders, and within the international law framework? Is this too much asked from over overpaid ‘elite’? This is simply beyond me.
For those who haven’t seen it:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/pictures-of-illegal-immigrants-worth-a-thousand-words/story-fni0ffxg-1226859493550
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_what_made_these_boat_people_think_wed_want_them/
Let me please correct:
The 2nd link refers to the interesting article in the 1st link, so is redundant.
The revealing 19-min video in the 1st link doesn’t seem to be the same anymore. There is a short excerpt of it at
http://video.news.com.au/v/203772/Asylum-seeker-rage
Not every browser will play it, FF does. Maybe you can find the full version somewhere else. It would be worth it. Or ask at
http://sheikyermami.com/what-made-these-muslims-think-wed-want-them/
where I found this, he may have saved a copy.
Addendum
It seems I found it:
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s3965617.htm
Make a copy, if you can…
The swarming over the fence goes on day after day, night after night. It is not an incident: it is a continuing process, with the motto:
“MILLIONS MORE WHERE THOSE CAME FROM”
The EU has announced that Europe “needs” 50 million Africans.
Really?
See: BRITAIN’S AFRICAN BORDER –
A CRISIS INFLICTED BY THE EU
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/6323-britain-s-african-border-a-crisis-inflicted-by-the-eu
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2598296/Sangatte-Mark-II-Grim-echo-2002-hundreds-migrants-pack-squalid-Calais-camp.html
Hordes of illegals making their way from France over to Great Britain, 2014