On the eve of the Afghan presidential election, two Western journalists were shot while covering the campaign in eastern Afghanistan. One was killed instantly, and the other is being treated at a hospital at Bagram Air Base.
In other news, wolves have been sighted on the northern outskirts of Oslo.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Diana West, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
IMF Warns: Global Stagnation if Ukraine Not Bailed Out
IMF boss recycles scary mantra used in 2008 to bailout too big too fail banksters
IMF boss Christine Lagarde has recycled the bankster mantra as the globalists push for a bailout of Ukraine. “Geopolitical tensions” in Ukraine “could cloud the global economic outlook” and “could have broader spill over implications,” she told an audience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.;;;
Ms. Lagarde did not mention what the IMF package will do to the average Ukrainian. The package “puts virtually all the pain on average Ukrainians,” writes Robert Parry. “There is nothing in the economic ‘reform’ package that extracts some of the ill-gotten gains from Ukraine’s ten or so ‘oligarchs,’ the multimillionaires and even billionaires who largely plundered Ukraine’s wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.”
Parry notes what the corporate media has assiduously ignored: the IMF package will “reduce public spending, slash social programs, eliminate energy subsidies, devalue the currency, raise taxes, impose triggers for more austerity if inflation rises, etc.” and will, according to economists, “result in a 3 percent contraction of Ukraine’s already depressed economy, which fell into a severe recession after the Wall Street crash of 2008 and has been inching along at almost zero growth the past two years.”
The impending economic hardship and globalist looting of the country is scheduled to be implemented before Ukrainians have the chance to vote for a new government. This is a situation preferred by the IMF and the banksters because democracy and elections invariably get in the way of neoliberal fire sales and looting.
[…]
Former congressman Ron Paul put it succinctly on Wednesday:
All this nonsense we hear now of bailing out Ukraine — it’s going to the bankers; it’s going for the politicians; it’s not really even going to help the people in Ukraine. It’s criminal. And yet the people here in this country are going to suffer.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Shocking Facts About the Deindustrialization of America That Everyone Should Know
How long can America continue to burn up wealth? How long can this nation continue to consume far more wealth than it produces? The trade deficit is one of the biggest reasons for the steady decline of the U.S. economy, but many Americans don’t even understand what it is. Basically, we are buying far more stuff from the rest of the world than they are buying from us. That means that far more money is constantly leaving the country than is coming into the country.
In order to keep the game going, we have to go to the people that we bought all of that stuff from and ask them to lend our money back to us. Or lately, we just have the Federal Reserve create new money out of thin air. This is called “quantitative easing”. Our current debt-fueled lifestyle is dependent on this cycle continuing. In order to live like we do, we must consume far more wealth than we produce. If someday we are forced to only live on the wealth that we create, it will require a massive adjustment in our standard of living. We have become great at consuming wealth but not so great at creating it. But as a result of running gigantic trade deficits year after year, we have lost tens of thousands of businesses, millions upon millions of jobs, and America is being deindustrialized at a staggering pace.
Most Americans won’t even notice, but the latest monthly trade deficit increased to 42.3 billion dollars…
Below, I have posted our yearly trade deficits with China since 1990. Let’s see if you can spot the trend…
[…]
Many people find this statistic hard to believe, but the United States has lost a total of more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.
[Comment: This is by design; the intentional destruction of America from within. ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Added 192,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment Still 6.7%
The economy added 192,000 jobs in March, as the end of winter and better weather in many parts of the country encouraged employers to begin hiring workers slightly more aggressively.
The new data, released by the Labor Department on Friday morning, suggested businesses did a bit of catching up last month, but not as much as some analysts had predicted.
The unemployment rate remained flat from last month, at 6.7 percent.
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375-Pound Drone Crashes Near Elementary School
An unmanned Pennsylvania Army National Guard drone crashed near Lickdale Elementary School Thursday afternoon.
The aerial vehicle, controlled by a remote operator, was part of a training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap, said Maj. Ed Shenk, public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard.
The craft experienced “a hard landing” and was run over by a civilian vehicle on Fisher Avenue in front of the school and the Comfort Inn, according to the Pennsylvania National Guard. No one was injured. The craft was destroyed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
And the World’s Busiest Airport Is …
(CNN) — Atlanta’s airport is still the busiest passenger airport in the world, but Beijing’s airport is closing the gap.
More than 94 million passengers went through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2013, a decrease of 1.1% over the previous year, according to Airports Council International’s preliminary passenger traffic results for 2013.
Beijing Capital International Airport came in second place and is continuing to close the gap with Atlanta, reporting nearly 84 million passengers last year. That’s an increase of 2.2% over 2012.
London’s Heathrow Airport remained in third place with more than 72 million passengers, an increase of 3.3%.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Army Admits Ft. Hood Shooter Given Psychiatric Drugs (Video)
At last night’s press conference regarding the Ft. Hood shooting, Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley admitted that the shooter was given SSRIs and anti-depressants.
These type of drugs have been linked to dozens of previous mass shootings.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Botch a Drug Raid? No Problem, Just Seal the Warrant, Citizen Complaint and Gag Order Itself
Anyone can make a mistake. The best solution is to acknowledge it, make amends if needed, and move forward, striving to learn from the experience. Far too many entities opt instead for bluster, obfuscation and intimidation, rather than deal with the consequences of their screwup. This is especially true for law enforcement agencies, who often use everything in their power to avoid having to admit anything went wrong, much less take responsibility for it.
Photo of a raid taking place as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Operation Mallorca Here’s what went wrong recently, to the detriment of a person who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time: his own house.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Chris Christie and the “Occupied Territories” Incident
by Daniel Pipes
A small but significant event took place on March 29 at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. Hosted by Sheldon Adelson, the mega-donor to Republican presidential campaigns, the event drew four leading potential candidates for president in 2016, including New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
In the Q&A session, Christie recounted a trip he took with the RJC to Israel in 2012. In the course of a choppy sentence in which he expressed his admiration for the country, he used the term occupied territories to refer to the West Bank: “I took a helicopter ride from the occupied territories across, … and just felt, personally, how extraordinary that was, to understand the military risk that Israel faces every day.”
That term caused a stir in the audience. As Christie left the venue, Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, confronted him in a hallway. “Governor Christie, you used an inaccurate and erroneous term.” Klein tells me that he explained to Christie that the Kingdom of Jordan lacked recognized control of the territory and that Jews have greater rights to it than Arabs. He concluded by requesting that Christie not use “occupied territories” in the future but rather “Judea and Samaria,” “West Bank,” or “disputed territories.”
Christie replied, “Yeah, I saw you shaking your head when I used that term.” Klein acknowledged that he had, indeed, shaken his head and again asked if Christie would use a different formulation. Christie rebuffed him a second time saying, “Yeah, I saw you shaking your head,” and walked off.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Connecticut Student Suspended for Asking Governor Questions About Gun Control
Found guilty of harassment and making threats for explaining anti-gun legislation was killing his ammo business
In a blatant violation of the right to free speech, a college student in Connecticut has been suspended after he asked Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy several questions about his stance on gun control during an appearance at a public forum.
The student, Nicholas Saucier, approached Malloy after the campus event at Asnuntuck Community College, and asked him to address his support for gun control legislation which, Saucier claims, has negatively impacted the student’s ammunition manufacturing business.
The exchange, which occurred in October of last year, was caught on video:…
As the video shows, Saucier was polite and courteous and was simply asking legitimate questions of his elected representative.
“Do you have any comments about how the legislation has affected my business?” Saucier asks in the video, commenting “All of our work got outsourced to another state.”
Malloy clearly has little interest in engaging the student before he gets into a car and drives away, prompting Saucier to call him a “f*cking snake”. The president of Asnuntuck Community College is seen attempting to push Saucier away from the Governor, before reporting the student to a campus security officer, claiming that Saucier attacked the governor, quickly qualifying that he meant “verbally”.
After being escorted from the campus, Saucier was charged with harassment and making threats, among other violations of the college’s conduct policies. The college refused to review the video evidence of the incident and was suspended on the grounds that his “continued presence on campus would present a danger to the persons, property and/or academic process of the College.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cop Pulls Gun on Fifth Graders Building Tree Fort
Police in Georgia forced a group of fifth graders to the ground at gunpoint this week as they attempted to build a tree fort in their own neighborhood.
According to 911 records, Henry County Police were called after a neighbor noticed the children “chopping off tree limbs,” an activity she claimed was hurting the environment and creating “tripping hazards.”
Police arrived on scene to find 11-year-old Omari Grant and his friends playing in a small patch of trees, prompting at least one officer to reportedly draw his firearm and force the boys to the ground.
“I was thinking that I don’t want to be shot today, so I just listened to what they said,” Grant said.
As the children lay face down, the officer allegedly screamed profanities as he forced them to spread their arms and legs. Grant’s mother, Janice Baptiste, detailed her son’s experience in an interview with WSB-TV.
“All he could get out at the time was, ‘Mom, he had a gun in my face, he had a gun in my face,’“ Baptiste said. “So my son was of course traumatized by that.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Could U.S. Constitution be Changed to Eliminate Second Amendment?
The entire U.S. Constitution could be up for review after Michigan became the 34th state to vote in favor of a Constitutional Convention, satisfying a rule that states America’s founding document can be amended if two thirds of state legislatures approve the measure.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress “shall call a convention for proposing amendments” should the two thirds requirement be met, which it was last week when Michigan lawmakers endorsed the move…
“Nevertheless, in such a convention, the ENTIRE Constitution is subject to review and can be altered and changed. This could be everything from installing “social justice” to the dissolution of the federal government. Everything is on the table as if we were back in 1776 Philadelphia,” writes Martin Armstrong, adding that the Michigan vote represents an, “unprecedented event to amend the U.S. Constitution.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Detroit: Mob Severely Beat Driver Who Stopped After Hitting Boy, 11
A motorist is in critical condition after being beaten by a large group of people on the city’s east side after his truck struck an 11-year-old boy today, Detroit police said.
“He got his,” said one witness to the beating who declined to give her name. “He got beat up real bad.”
Sgt. Michael Woody said officers believe the driver pulled over to check on the child after he was hit around 4:10 p.m. He was then assaulted by people in the neighborhood near Morang and Balfour streets…
Woody said the driver sustained multiple, serious head injuries and was also transported to St. John.
“He could potentially die,” Woody said.
The Balfour resident who asked not to be identified said she saw the boy get hit by the truck after he and about three other children attempted to cross the intersection to go to a Clark gas station across the street.
[Comment: Driver of truck was old white guy — who is in now a coma. Comments to the article are interesting.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Eric Holder Defends Using Justice Department Airplane for 27 Personal Trips
Attorney General Eric Holder disputed a Government Accountability Office report on his use of Justice Department airplanes for personal trips, saying it overstated the number of trips he took and failed to recognize that some trips were job-related.
“My staff keeps telling me to take it easy, you know, well, this is one that gets me,” Holder told Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. “There was this notion that we’ve taken — I think it was described as hundreds of personal trips. That was wrong. GAO counted flights, not round trips. And we looked at it and figured out from the time period that they were looking, we took not hundreds, but 27 personal, four combined — official and nonpersonal trips — and none of the trips that I took or that the [FBI] director took ever had an impact on the mission capability of those airplanes.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fort Hood Shooter on Ambien, Antidepressants and a ‘Cocktail’ Of Mind-Altering Meds
(NaturalNews) Earlier Natural News reported that the Army specialist who shot and killed three and wounded more than a dozen people at Fort Hood April 2 before taking his own life was taking the powerful delirium drug Ambien.
That was certainly true enough, as we documented, but later reports indicated that the shooter, Spc. Ivan Lopez, was actually on several mind- and mood-altering medications…
A reporter from Infowars.com asked specifically about the names and types of drugs Lopez had been prescribed. The Army’s reponse, given by Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley: “He was on medications, that’s correct.”
“The obvious link between psychiatric drugs and violent outbursts is a common theme that crops up in almost every mass shooting incident, yet the media is routinely loathe to make the connection,” Infowars.com reported.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Free Speech Wins: University Pays $100g After Conservative Paper is Trashed
Oregon State University has paid $1,000 plus $100,000 in legal fees to a former student to settle a lawsuit over the confiscation of distribution boxes for a conservative-leaning student newspaper.
Supporters of the newspaper called The Liberty sued the school in 2009, alleging the university president and other school officials granted the official campus newspaper numerous bins while restricting The Liberty’s distribution.
The suit alleged that school officials confiscated distribution bins for The Liberty and tossed them onto a trash heap. The bins, which contained copies of the paper, were allegedly removed without notice and thrown next to a dumpster.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Halalywood: The Rise of the Islamic Entertainment Industry
A new generation of young, modern Muslims are carving out new ways to entertain themselves, yet remain loyal to their faith. By Omar Shahid.
We’ve all heard of Hollywood and Bollywood. Some of you may have even heard of Lollywood (the Pakistani version) and Nollywood (the Nigerian version). But what about Halalywood? No? Well, as of 2014, you probably will. American actor and comedian Omar Regan, who has appeared in films such as Rush Hour 2, has set out to create a halal-certified film industry for Muslims…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Holder and Mueller Spent $7.8 Million on Personal Travel
Federal officials and employees have never been shy about mixing personal travel with official business and sticking taxpayers with the tab.
Last summer, an internal audit revealed that top executives at the Internal Revenue
Service were spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars commuting to Washington from their homes across the country, instead of living in D.C.
Then a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) showed that many of these top executives who travel extensively for work are skirting the law and not paying income tax on their hefty travel reimbursements, as ordinary Americans are required to do.
Now we learn that Senior Justice Department officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and former FBI Director Robert Mueller used federal aircraft for hundreds of personal trips that were not properly reported, according to a report by Congress’s nonpartisan Government Accountability office issued this week.
GAO found that Holder, Mueller and other Justice Department executives took 395 unclassified, non-mission flights between fiscal years 2009 and 2001. GAO determined that the flights cost taxpayers $7.8 million. But the General Services Administration, which oversees such trips, did not require documentation because of a GSA reporting exemption that covers intelligence agencies, even in cases of unclassified personal travel.
The GAO report states that the reporting exemption applied to the FBI and other Justice Department agencies contradicts decades-old executive-branch requirements, specifically guidelines established by President Bill Clinton and the Office of Management and Budget. The report said GSA “has not provided a basis for deviating from executive branch requirements.”
[…]
[Much more detail at the URL above]
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Honor Diaries: Silencing Speaks Volumes
Islamists aim to shut down a documentary by Muslims about honor violence.
By Qanta Ahmed
Victims of honor crimes are silenced. Victims of honor crimes are shamed. Victims of honor crimes are made pariahs. And, often, victims of honor crimes are extinguished. This week, Honor Diaries, a documentary focusing on the global manifestations of honor violence, was itself silenced, when two American universities — the University of Michigan at Dearborn and the University of Illinois in Chicago — canceled planned screenings. With this act of censorship, the movie has become a metaphor for its message. Just like the women and girls it portrays, the movie has been silenced and its progenitors shamed.
While honor crimes take place in many cultures, they are most prevalent today in the Muslim-majority world and increasingly in Muslim diaspora communities settled in the West. Our movie examines the work of nine women activists, many of them Muslim, in defending and rescuing these victims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Innocent Roommates Awake to Police Handcuffs
“When I came to it, someone’s pulling me out of bed and to the floor”
Two students from the University of Utah woke up to police standing over their beds last weekend after officers entered their residence without a warrant.
According to the Unified Police Department, officers were called out to investigate an open apartment door early Saturday morning…
“As soon as you see the situation, a guy in his underwear in bed, it’s pretty obvious he’s not a burglar,” Mertlich said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Islam Awareness Week Seeks to Promote Positive Understanding of Islam on Campus
This week on campus, Brandeis hosted its annual “Islam Awareness Week,” established to raise awareness about Islam and to remove misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. Sponsored by the Muslim Student Association, the various events held over the course of a week included an Islam 101 lecture, photography exhibit, an Interfaith lunch and prayer and more…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Napolitano: DNI James Clapper Belongs in Prison (Video)
Intelligence boss says violation of the Fourth Amendment legal.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Machine Can Tell Whether You’re Liberal or Conservative
Jefferson didn’t have access to today’s scientific machinery — eye tracker devices, skin conductance sensors, and so on. Yet these very technologies are now being used to reaffirm his insight. At the center of the research are many scholars working at the intersection of psychology, biology, and politics, but one leader in the field is John Hibbing, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln whose “Political Physiology Laboratory” has been producing some pretty stunning results.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Marine Vet Says He Faces Possible Eviction Over U.S., USMC Flags on Apt. Balcony
Manuel E. Vega, a Marine Corps veteran who served three combat tours in Iraq, says he faces possible eviction from his apartment if he does not remove two flags — one U.S. flag and one Marine Corps flag — from his balcony. The Salem Run Apartment Homes in Fredericksburg, Va., initially warned Vega about the flags, then said they would be willing to work something out, but, Vega told Examiner.com Thursday, nothing has been done and the complex has not backed down.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan Cops to Track Cell Phone Calls With Military Hardware
Oakland County police purchase device with Department of Homeland Security grant
Police in Oakland County, Michigan, will soon use a Hailstorm device to track cell phone calls. The secret device is manufactured by Harris Corp., a Florida-based international telecommunications equipment company and military contractor.
“It’s all very secretive and information about (Stingray and Hailstorm) is tightly controlled, which makes it (difficult) to have a broad discussion about these tools,” Alan Butler, a lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the Detroit News.
In 2011, use of the Stingray, considered the most widely used surveillance device by government to track cell phones, was questioned during an Arizona court case. The Department of Justice issued a memorandum at the time admitting use of the device constituted “a Fourth Amendment search and seizure.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Revelations About Mom Killed by Capitol Cops
Autopsy reveals stunning details in shooting that rocked Washington
WASHINGTON — First they called her a terrorist threat.
When she turned out to be an unarmed suburban mother, they said she was on drugs.
Now, WND has exclusively learned, without a trace of doubt, that was wrong, too.
WND can also now report Miriam Carey was shot in the back of the head by U.S. Capitol Police officers and uniformed Secret Service agents six months ago, on Oct. 3, 2013.
The official police investigation still has not been released. But Carey family attorney Eric Sanders obtained the toxicology and autopsy report on this macabre anniversary.
The report showed there were no drugs in Carey’s system, prescription or otherwise, when she was shot dead.
The report was prepared by Dr. Nikki Mourtzinos of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia.
After the terror threat was discarded, the media had tried to portray Carey as mentally unbalanced, citing prescription medications she was reportedly taking.
Sanders spoke to WND at the Garfield traffic circle, on the edge of the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, which is where the Carey family believes Miriam was fatally wounded before driving a few blocks farther.
And Sanders believes the autopsy report provided the evidence proving that theory, because it showed that Carey was severely wounded in the back of the head. Sanders suspects that was the fatal shot, but adrenaline allowed Carey to drive to Maryland Ave. and Second St., where her car crashed at a Capitol Police guard shack.
The report said Carey was shot numerous times but did not specify exactly how many.
When Miriam’s sister, Valarie Carey, learned that her sister was shot and killed from the back, the former New York Police Department sergeant was too distraught to speak with WND on camera.
The video below shows officers fired at least seven shots at Carey in a crowded public space after they inexplicably failed to block her car at the traffic circle.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Newspeak and the Supreme Court
If I seem to have had Orwell on the brain lately, it is because his eternal relevance is particularly intense at the moment.
Consider Dahlia Lithwick’s argument in Slate, and, by extension and more important, Justice Breyer’s argument, on the matter of the McCutcheon decision. Regarding the question of corruption, Lithwick writes:
If dollars are speech, and billions are more speech, then billionaires who spend money don’t do so for the mere joy of making themselves heard, but because it offers them a return on their investment. We. All. Know. This.
. . . Breyer is quick to call out the chief justice’s narrow reading of quid pro quo corruption, noting that Roberts specifically excludes any efforts to “garner ‘influence over or access to’ elected officials or political parties” . . . . Breyer tersely writes: “Speech does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, political communication seeks to secure government action. A politically oriented ‘marketplace of ideas’ seeks to form a public opinion that can and will influence elected representatives.” The First Amendment doesn’t protect speech for its own sake, he continues: “The First Amendment advances not only the individual’s right to engage in political speech, but also the public’s interest in preserving a democratic order in which collective speech matters.”
In short: Political activism must be suppressed, because it might be effective.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NSA Admits Directly Targeting Americans for Warrantless Surveillance
After years of denial — much of which likely constituted perjury — officials of the National Security Agency (NSA) admitted to having conducted unwarranted surveillance of Americans, a violation of the protections against such searches provided by the Fourth Amendment.
Previously, NSA chiefs have confirmed only that the conversations of foreigners had been caught in the surveillance web, but the letter from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to Senator Ron Wyden, released Tuesday by Wyden’s office, revealed that in fact Americans were directly targeted for monitoring.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s NSA Overhaul May Require Phone Carriers to Store More Data
President Barack Obama’s plan for overhauling the National Security Agency’s phone surveillance program could force carriers to collect and store customer data that they are not now legally obliged to keep, according to U.S. officials.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Officials Confirm Armed Stand-Off Between Mexican Soldiers, US Border Patrol
Two armed Mexican soldiers crossed into the Arizona and drew their guns during a concerning stand off with Border Patrol agents back in January, the Mexican government and U.S. officials have confirmed.
In the most recent of more than 20 instances since 2010, in which Mexican soldiers have crossed into southern Arizona, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Jan. 26 confrontation ended only after the Mexican soldiers retreated back to Mexico, when Border Patrol drew their weapons and called for backup.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Oh the Irony’: Tweeter on Lockdown at Fort Hood Frustrated ‘Soldiers Unable to Defend Themselves’
During [yesterday]’s lockdown at Fort Hood, a tweeter on site described the scene and expressed frustration with rules that disarm soldiers on the base (Note: The information below regarding the suspect(s) and the number of injuries and fatalities is unconfirmed):
We are only being told to “seek shelter, lock doors and windows, and turn off ventilation systems, heaters and air conditioners.” #forthood
— CJ Grisham (@cjgrisham) April 2, 2014
As you may know, #FortHood is a #gunfreezone and Soldiers are unable to defend themselves. Someone tell that to the active shooter please.
— CJ Grisham (@cjgrisham) April 2, 2014
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Outrage Over Gun Free Zone: “The Very People Trained to Take Out Armed Attackers… Are Disarmed.”
There are some 50,000 people stationed on the base at any given time (military and civilian), making Fort Hood essentially a small city packed into about 200,000 acres, which incidentally makes it the largest military base in the world. With that many people in one place, it becomes a numbers game. Eventually someone is going to snap, just like they do in the civilian world. And like many parts of the civilian world, the only people allowed to carry guns on base are personnel operating under the umbrella of the military police — who are the first responders for various incidents at the massive cantonment.
According to Ed, the military police face the same problem on this base as law enforcement officers face in any American city. When an active shooter is on the loose, they’re minutes away, giving the perpetrator vital time to execute his mission.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ron Paul: SSRIs to Blame for Ft Hood Shooting
Alex breaks down the factors behind the latest mass shooting in Ft. Hood, including the fact that the shooter was prescribed anti-depressant drugs and that the shooting occurred in a gun-free zone.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Scientists Dismiss Claims That Yellowstone Volcano About to Erupt
(Reuters) — Yellowstone National Park assured guests and the public on Thursday that a super-volcano under the park was not expected to erupt anytime soon, despite an alarmist video that claimed bison had been seen fleeing to avoid such a calamity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Students and Faculty Wear Hijabs to Raise Awareness About Islam
To raise awareness and foster dialogue about the hijab and Islam, students and faculty from across religious and cultural backgrounds wore hijabs and stickers in support of “Hijab for a Day” on Wednesday, April 2.
The event was organized by the Students’ Association for Interfaith Cooperation (SAIC) and the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA). It was a part of MSA’s Islam Awareness Week, which runs from April 2-10. The event was partially inspired by the global “World Hijab Day” campaign that occurs annually on February 1…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
by Diana West
Whether the Cold War is back, it’s an apt moment to strike up a wider conversation about a couple of central questions from my book American Betrayal. Why did the West fail to claim an ideological or moral victory at the apparent end of the Cold War? Did the West really even win the Cold War?
If we go back in time and listen, we hear no consensus click over signs that an unalloyed U.S.-led triumph over communist ideology had taken place; nor do we find a sense of national thanksgiving for the forces of good — or, at least, for the forces of better — in their triumph over the forces of a non-abstract evil as manifested in Gulag or KGB or famine or purge history. “Mustn’t gloat” was about as joyous as the White House of Bush 41 ever got.
Was the official non-reaction due to that “crisis of confidence” we always hear about — specifically, that “politically correct” failure to believe in the worth of the West? I used to think exactly that and no more. The self-loathing West, failing to see anything of value in itself, was simply unable to take satisfaction, let alone pride, in the demise of its mass-murdering nemesis. “After all,” the PC catechism goes, “Who’s to say the Western system is ‘better’ than any other?”
But there is far more to it. At a certain point, it becomes clear that what we are looking at isn’t a West that fails to appreciate itself anymore, but rather a West that isn’t itself anymore. Decades of subversion by communist infiltrators and American traitors, collaborators and “useful idiots” have helped make sure of that. So, even if the military enemy went away after the dissolution of the USSR on Christmas Day 1991, our ideological enemy never even had to break step. Cold Warriors might have prevailed abroad, but America lost the ideological Cold War at home.
This helps explain why our college campuses are outposts of Marx, our centralizing government is increasingly invasive and dictatorial, and our culture is one of metastasizing decadence — the amoral conditions of “The Communist Manifesto” made manifest.
Indeed, to be “anti-Western” today, as some have noted, is to stand in opposition to the West’s rampant immorality, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pointedly claims to do. This is why, as Masha Gessen recently wrote in the Washington Post, Russians look at events in Ukraine and think “the West is literally taking over, and only Russian troops can stand between the Slavic country’s unsuspecting citizens and the homosexuals marching in from Brussels.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. finds itself paying lip service to the constitutional principles it is still somewhat nostalgically known for.
President Obama’s recent speech in Brussels, headquarters of the European Union, reveals the chasm between what we have become and what we are supposed to be. Wearing his “Leader of the Free World” hat, Obama made the case against Russia’s annexation of Crimea by conjuring a Manichaean split between free societies and dictatorships. But does it fit?…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
Why Does John Boehner Want to Keep 40 Million Americans From Buying Guns?
Reacting to the shooting at Fort Hood on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner reiterated a popular NRA talking point: “There’s no question that those with mental health issues should be prevented from owning weapons or being able to purchase weapons.” Those suffering the same diagnosed illnesses as the shooter — depression and anxiety — might be surprised by Boehner’s willingness to take away their Second Amendment rights.
Ivan Lopez, the alleged shooter, was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder at the base, where he was stationed and lived with his wife. According to CNN, Lopez “was undergoing a variety of treatments for conditions including depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances,” according to Army Secretary John McHugh. Lopez “was prescribed drugs that included Ambien” and “was fully examined last month by a psychiatrist.”
An estimated one-in-10 Americans suffers from depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s about 31 million people, skewed told older people and women. The National Institutes of Health puts those suffering from “major depressive disorder” at the lower figure of 14.8 million. As for anxiety? The NIH says that 40 million Americans suffer from that.
[Comment: Mental health issues — as defined by the State. For example, are you a Global warning sceptic? If so, then you are mentally deranged. No 2nd amendment right for you. Eventually, it will be expanded to include those who believe in the traditional Constitution and not the New Constitution as defined by the Con-Con which will have no 2nd amendment right.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why SpaceX’s Elon Musk Says 2008 Was His ‘Worst Year’ Ever
“That was definitely the worst year of my life,” SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk tells 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley in an interview that aired Sunday (March 30).
Musk was talking about 2008. His Falcon 1 rocket was 0-3, having failed again that August. And Tesla, which hit a speed bump with its early model Roadster, “was hemorrhaging money,” in Pelley’s words.
The $180 million Musk made from selling PayPal to eBay in 2002 was essentially gone, having “bet it all” — as Pelley put it — on SpaceX and Tesla.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Woman Dies as Deputy Writes Ticket
Deputy Micah McNinch pulled over Wayne Ables after 2 a.m. as he raced his infirm mother to a hospital just a mile from the site of the stop.
McNinch pulled Ables over for expired tags and kept the pair there while an ambulance and fire truck were en route.
Ables says he told McNinch his mother was in the back seat, suffering from severe breathing problems.
After 11 minutes, the emergency vehicles arrived. The driver had pleaded with the officer to escort them to the hospital a mere five minutes away.
This story happened in March of 2009. Mr. Ables has yet to be compensated for his loss.
McNinch was given one of the harshest penalties that police face when their negligence leads to the death of another, one entire day without pay.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
$1.5 Million Hotel Bill for Obama’s One-Day Visit to Brussels
In late March, President Obama took a week-long trip through Europe which included a stop of less than 24 hours in Brussels, Belgium for meetings with the European Union and NATO. The president stayed at The Hotel, a twenty-seven story hotel in the center of the city. The estimated cost for the president’s stay, including about two weeks for an advance team, was $1,522,646.36.
[…]
Despite reports that the president travelled with an entourage of 900, the Justification and Approval documents only indicate a need for “283 Lodging Rooms.” However, sometimes more than one hotel is used during VIP trips. For instance, when the president travelled to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral, five different hotels were used.
Contracts for lodging have not yet been posted for the president’s other stops during his Europe trip, which included the Netherlands and Rome, Italy.
[Note: This is obscene]
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Denmark: Electric Car Sales Rising, But Norway Miles Ahead
According to new figures from the traffic authority, Trafikstyrelsen, there are now 2,000 electric cars in Denmark — a sign, claims the e-car industry, that interest is on the rise.
But while the national electric car association, Dansk Elbil Alliance (DEA), called the figure a “milestone”, Danish e-car sales continue to lag far behind other nations such as Norway, where 3,000 e-cars were sold in March alone.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Mohammed Delegation Met With Hamas and Hezbollah
The terror organisations Hamas and Hezbollah were called to help when the Danish delegation of imams in September 2005 travelled through the Middle East to draw attention to Jyllands-Posten newspaper’s printing of the Mohammed cartoons.
According to a new book written by Ahmed Akkari, one of the architects behind the Cartoon Crisis, the delegation’s meetings with Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon were never mentioned outside the closed circle of imams who feared they would lose credibility in the media.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Ebola Scare Sees Plane Quarantined in Paris
An Air France plane from the Ebola-hit west African country of Guinea was quarantined in Paris for two hours Friday after the crew suspected a passenger may have the deadly disease, the airline said. It comes after France introduced measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Government Effort to Take Down Golden Dawn Exposed
A senior aide to the Greek PM resigned on Wednesday after a leaked video allegedly showed him describing a government conspiracy to clamp down on the far right-wing Golden Dawn party. The leak came as several Golden Dawn MPs were stripped of immunity.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Grillo Vows to Shake Up EU in European Parliament Campaign
5-Star Movement chief aims to beat centre-left Democratic Party
(ANSA) — Rome, April 4 — Beppe Grillo on Friday told journalists in Naples that European Union treaties need to be revamped and a referendum held in Italy to withdraw from the European single currency.
The leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) was in Naples on the second stop of the ex-comedian-turned-politician’s “I’ll give you Europe” campaign for the European parliamentary elections.
Before Italian general elections in February 2013, Grillo took the same tack, tapping into political discontent to win a quarter of the popular vote for his M5S. “We will tell (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel that all the EU treaties are to be revisited. This is the purpose of my participation in the battle for the European Parliament.
Otherwise I would not have embarked on this adventure,” Grillo told journalists as he left his Naples hotel. Grillo also confirmed his intention to demand a referendum on Italy’s exit from the European single currency. “Absolutely. Absolutely yes,” Grillo replied when questioned by a journalist whether it was still on his political agenda. Grillo also vowed to beat the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), which currently holds the reins of a fragile left-right ruling majority in parliament.
“We will win (the European parliamentary elections) without a doubt,” he said. “There are 75 deputies in the running for Italy and if we take one more than the PD, we will have won. It is the only way to make the European Parliament really work,” Grillo said. Thursday night, he blasted his centre-left and centre-right Italian political rivals, the PD’s Premier Matteo Renzi and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi respectively.
“Berlusconi and Renzi are finished. They are people who have gotten old. Renzi has aged prematurely,” said Grillo Thursday night on Sky TG24.
Renzi is Italy’s youngest premier ever at age 39.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Le Pen on Muslim Children in France: Let Them Eat Pork!
Earlier this week, Shoebat.com reported on the success of the right-wing National Front in France’s municipal elections. It didn’t take long for Marine Le Pen, the leader of the Party to fire her first post-election salvo. In all 11 towns where her National Front was victorious, Le Pen pledged that no schools would be serving alternatives to pork if pork is on the school lunch menu.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New French Premier ‘Seeking Alliance’ With Renzi on Rigour
Valls reportedly looking for Italian support — Le Monde
(ANSA) — Paris, April 4 — French newspaper Le Monde on Friday reported that new Prime Minister Manuel Valls is angling to ally with centre-left Italian Premier Matteo Renzi in an effort to postpone budget targets.
Under the front page headline “France, Italy: the offensive of bad students against Europe”, the paper wrote that France’s conservative socialist premier — picked this week in a major cabinet reshuffle after the ruling Socialist Party suffered a crushing defeat in local elections across the country — wants to position himself “in the wake of the Italian premier, Matteo Renzi, to postpone the reduction of the deficit”.
The paper reports, however, that “France is isolated in its fight against partisans of (financial) rigour in Europe”. “Even Renzi is reluctant to ally himself with Paris in front of Angela Merkel,” the paper wrote referring to the German chancellor who has been a champion of financial discipline in the EU.
“Allying with Rome would permit Paris to transform a weakness into anti-austerity activism, but Renzi seems more interested in convincing Brussels that Italy can get on by itself and negotiate with Angela Merkel without allying with a troubled partner”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway PM Rings Utøya Mum Over Memorial
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Wednesday personally telephoned the mother of one of far-right extremist Anders Breivik’s victims to invite her to a meeting on a proposed memorial.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Police’s Chilled Way With Drunk Wows US
Footage of the humorous, laid-back way two Norwegian policeman cope with a combative drunk has amazed American viewers after it was posted on the video-sharing website LiveLeak.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Wolf Sightings in Oslo Outskirts
Wildlife authorities received three separate reports on Wednesday of a wolf in Nittedal near Oslo’s northern Nordmarka forests. Experts said it’s the time of year when young wolves venture away from their parents, and it’s possible pups born in the city’s eastern Østmarka forests last spring are now finding their own territories.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Ranked Second Best Place to be Young
Sweden is the best country in Europe to be young, and the second best in the world, according to a ranking released on Thursday. But the report authors found that young Swedes may not feel they are being heard by policy-makers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Travel Agency Runs Contest Urging Danes to Procreate
While the United Nations is busy trying to convince the world of the risks of a rising global population, a company in Denmark is practically begging its country’s citizenry to procreate in order to “save Denmark” from its low birth rate epidemic.
Under the banner “Do it for Denmark,” Danish travel agency Spies Travels hopes to give its country’s ailing population a much-needed boost by incentivizing couples to copulate while on travel with the aim to produce children.
“Denmark faces a problem. The birth rate is at a 27-year low and there are not enough children being born to support the aging population. The Danish government has not found a solution,” informs the company’s video, which has accrued more than 5 million views in just over a week.
“The 55,873 children born in Denmark last year is the lowest number since 1986,” explains a recent report in The Copenhagen Post.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Householders could be required to pay the television licence fee even if they do not own a television, under proposals being discussed by the BBC.
Executives at the broadcaster have suggested that reforms, which are due to be agreed with ministers in 2016, could include a new “universal charge” on all households, regardless of whether they own a television.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Birmingham ‘Trojan Horse’ Plot ‘Started 20 Years Ago’
A former teacher at a Birmingham school alleged to be part of an “Islamic takeover plot” says concerns were first raised more than 20 years ago.
Michael White, who was dismissed in 2003 from Park View School, in Alum Rock, said its board of governors was “taken over by a Muslim sect” in 1993. He said he told the local education authority (LEA) but his claims were not investigated. Tahir Alam, chair of governors at Park View, denied Mr White’s claims…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Inspectors to Examine Tower Hamlets Fraud Claims
Inspectors have been appointed by the government to examine allegations of “governance failure, poor financial management and fraud” in Tower Hamlets.
It comes after the BBC Panorama’s investigation into the east London borough, which is run by directly elected mayor Lutfur Rahman. It alleged he diverted £3.6m of grants to Bangladeshi and Somali-run charities in return for political support…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lutfur Rahman, Council Assets and Close Personal Allies: The Evidence
by Andrew Gilligan
At 8 this morning, Government inspectors arrived on the doorstep of Lutfur Rahman’s Tower Hamlets Council, with the power to enter any council building, seize any document and speak to any member of staff. A file has also been handed to the police. Computers have been locked down by the inspectors, I am told, and documents removed…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ministry of Truth: Crackdown Ordered on Climate Change Skeptics
Ministers who question the majority view among scientists about climate change should “shut up” and instead repeat the Government line on the issue, according to MPs.
The BBC should also give less airtime to climate sceptics and its editors should seek special clearance to interview them, according to the Commons Science and Technology Committee. Andrew Miller, the committee’s Labour chairman, said that appearances on radio and television by climate sceptics such as Lord Lawson of Blaby, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, should be accompanied by “health warnings”.
Mr Miller likened climate sceptics to the Monster Raving Loony Party and said that the BBC should limit interviews with them just as it restricted the coverage it gave to fringe political parties.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Plan for ‘Sharia-Compliant’ Student Loans to Get More Muslims Into University
The Universities Minister unveils plans for ‘Sharia-compliant’ student loans amid fears Muslims are being put off degree courses by the higher education finance system.
A new system of “Sharia-compliant” student loans is to be launched to allow more Muslim students to go to university, it has been announced.
David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said an alternative financial model was being created to satisfy Islamic law that forbids Muslims taking out loans that make interest.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The British Muslim is Truly One Among Us — And Proud to be So
By Fraser Nelson
The integration of mainstream Islam in the UK is one of our great success stories
Those who believe in a clash of civilisations, in which British values are pitted against those of the Muslim world, have not been short of examples in the past few days. The BBC reports on an “Islamic takeover plot” by hardliners to seize control of several Birmingham state schools…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Young Sweden Dems in ‘Ultra-Nationalist’ Tie-Up
While mother party the Sweden Democrats has yet to announce any official allegiance with European partners, youth wing SDU on Friday announced its new collaboration with France’s National Front and Belgium’s Vlams Belang.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Story of a President and Prime Minister Who Turned Out to be Spies!
Cairo- Egypt — When more than five Arab countries take the same position against one little state and accuse Qatar and the Al-Jazeera channel of being the sponsors and protectors of terrorism and extremism in the region, and also playing the role of a spy, it isn’t exaggerations or illusion.
– — From the highest security officials in Egypt, the proof came strong and clear.
And President Barack Obama’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia brought no hope and change.
At a shocking press conference, Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim revealed new details in the case of spying of which the ousted president Mohamed Morsi is accused. He broadcasted the recorded confessions of the defendants in video and documents, and thus, new clues began to unfold regarding Qatar and its role to threaten the national security of the Arab countries, and new information surfaced to help explain the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia’s, UAE’s and Bahrain’s ambassadors from Qatar.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: A Chance to Move on
On Monday, former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s career ended.
Earlier this month, former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Gabi Ashkenazi’s career ended.
And on Tuesday, the phony peace process ended.
In the lead-up to last year’s elections, the media and key political figures were yearning for Olmert’s return to politics.
In July 2008, Olmert was forced to cede leadership of the Kadima party, and so opt out of running for reelection, when then-attorney-general Menahem Mazuz announced he was indicting the premier on corruption charges. Olmert left office in March 2009 when his government was replaced by Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
The public abandoned its support for Olmert in the summer of 2006 as a result of his incompetent leadership of the Second Lebanon War. By the end of the summer, Olmert’s approval rating stood at 3 percent. But with the able assistance of the media, and of Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman who saved Olmert’s government by joining it, Olmert was able to weather the storm and keep going despite the public’s lack of faith in his leadership and ardent desire to force him from office…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Former Israeli Ambassador Pins Dead Peace Process on American Wishful Thinking …
Yoram Ettinger, the former Israeli Ambassador for U.S. Congressional Affairs, on Thursday had harsh words for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who he said has ignored the lessons of history in favor of “wishful thinking.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
10 Yemeni Policemen Killed in Gunmen Attack on Checkpoint
ADEN, Yemen, April 4 (Xinhua) — About ten policemen were killed following a terrorist armed attack by al-Qaida militants on a security checkpoint in Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramout on Friday afternoon, a military official told Xinhua.
“Masked terrorists numbered 12 or 15 raided a security outpost of the special forces unit in the entrance of Qatan region in Hadramout province, leaving ten policemen killed and two others wounded,” the military official said on condition of anonymity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide
For Derya, a waiflike girl of 17, the order to kill herself came from an uncle and was delivered in a text message to her cellphone. “You have blackened our name,” it read. “Kill yourself and clean our shame or we will kill you first.”
Derya said her crime was to fall for a boy she had met at school last spring. She knew the risks: her aunt had been killed by her grandfather for seeing a boy. But after being cloistered and veiled for most of her life, she said, she felt free for the first time and wanted to express her independence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
More Evidence U.S. Funds Al-Qaeda Terrorists in Syria
As it turns out, the war against ISIS is not what the establishment media in the West make it out to be. On Wednesday, Maarouf told The Independent the fight against al-Qaeda was “not our problem” and admitted the mercenaries he leads with U.S., Saudi and Qatari help conduct joint operations with Jabhat al-Nusra, seen as the de facto al-Qaeda branch in Syria. Maarouf told the newspaper he does not have a problem working with al-Qaeda so long as the objective is the ouster of the al-Assad government.
In fact, according to Maarouf, his benefactors told him to provide al-Nusra with weapons despite the aforementioned propaganda campaign designed to give the impression “moderates” are fighting the good fight against al-Qaeda in Syria. He said if “the people who support us [U.S., Saudis, Qataris] tell us to send weapons to another group, we send them. They asked us a month ago to send weapons to Yabroud so we sent a lot of weapons there. When they asked us to do this, we do it.”
According to Barak Barfi, a research fellow for the globalist funded New America Foundation, al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda-linked group known for summarily executing Syrian soldiers and other atrocities (including beheading Christians; see the video above), receives weapons indirectly from SRF.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: $22.5bn Riyadh Metro Work Gathers Pace
Work on the $22.5 billion Riyadh Metro project began here Thursday and Riyadh Gov. Prince Khaled bin Bandar, who launched the groundbreaking work, said the project, to be completed in 48 months, would improve the quality of life in the capital city. A high-level committee has been set up to solve all problems facing its implementation, including traffic problems, he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syrians Suffer as Al-Qaeda, Chechen Fighters Pursue Their Own Agendas
In the past year, a plethora of press reports and video clips has surfaced on Chechens, among other Caucasus fighters, fighting alongside Islamist groups in Syria.
These Chechens have fought alongside the al-Qaeda-linked “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN), al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, despites fractures and tensions with these groups, as each seeks to establish its own caliphate in the region, analysts told Al-Shorfa.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Policeman Shoots Two Foreign Journalists, One Killed
(Reuters) — A veteran Associated Press photographer was shot dead and a reporter wounded on Friday when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, the news agency said.
The attack took place on the eve of a presidential election that Taliban insurgents have pledged to disrupt through a campaign of bombings and assassinations.
The AP said photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, had been killed and reporter Kathy Gannon, 60, wounded while they were sitting in their car.
Niedringhaus, an internationally acclaimed German photographer, was killed instantly, according to an AP Television freelancer who witnessed the shooting.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Elections: Two Foreign Journalists Shot on Eve of Polls
Policeman opens fire on female reporter and photographer, killing one and wounding the other, as Afghanistan braces for wave of violence
An Afghan policeman opened fire on two female journalists on Friday, killing a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and wounding a reporter as they covered final preparations for presidential elections.
Anja Niedringhaus, 48, from Germany, died instantly after being shot in the head. Her colleague, Kathy Gannon, 60, underwent emergency surgery for two gunshot wounds before being flown from the province of Khost to the US military hospital at Bagram airbase near Kabul…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
India BJP Complaint Over Ayodhya Mosque Demolition Report
India’s main opposition BJP has complained to the election authorities about a report by an investigative website on the tearing down of a mosque in the holy town of Ayodhya in 1992.
The report claims the demolition of the mosque by Hindu extremists was planned by groups with links to the BJP.
The incident led to widespread rioting in which some 2,000 people died. It was one of the worst cases of religious violence since the partition of India in 1947. Hindus claim the site of the 16th Century Babri Masjid (mosque) is the birthplace of their deity, Ram, and want to build a temple there.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has questioned the timing of Friday’s report on the Cobrapost website ahead of the nine-phase general election beginning on Monday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Missing Plane: Malaysia ‘Concealing Information’
The Malaysian government has been deliberately concealing information about missing flight MH370, the country’s main opposition leader has claimed.
Anwar Ibrahim, who personally knew the pilot of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, called for an international committee to take over the Malaysian-led operation, saying “the integrity of the whole nation is at stake”.
“One fact remains. Clearly information critical to our understanding is deemed missing. I believe the government knows more than us,” he said.
Mr Anwar said it was “not only unacceptable but not possible, not feasible” that the plane had not been sighted by the sophisticated Marconi radar system immediately after it changed course.
He claimed the radar would have instantly detected the jet as it travelled east to west across “at least four” Malaysian provinces.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: PIA Fires 300 Employees for Having Fake Degrees
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has taken action against the fake degree holders according to the corporation’s rules and regulations and terminated services of 300 employees in this regard.
Up till now verification of more than 6,000 degrees have been received and out of which 350 degrees were found fake. In the light of these actions services of 300 employees have been terminated whereas remaining 50 cases are subjudice and court orders are waited for further action.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scrap Heap of War: Billions in Equipment Being Left Behind in Afghanistan
How much “stuff” is the United States military leaving behind as it withdraws from Afghanistan after 12 years of war? Try some $6 billion worth.
And much of it may yet end up in a junk pile.
That includes 850 MRAPS (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles which have been credited with saving countless lives from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the road, but now will either be sold whole or for scrap on the Afghan market. Each cost about $1 million to build. But it would cost an additional $100,000 to ship each home, so military officials say they are leaving the oldest and least useful behind.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Search for MH370 Goes Underwater With Black Box Locators
The search for the black box of missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 is continuing with underwater sonic detectors. Only days are left before the device stops emitting signals that could allow it to be located.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Three Sentenced to Death for Rape Under New Indian Law
An Indian court has ordered the death sentence for three men convicted of two gang-rapes. It is the first time a law carrying the death penalty for repeat offenders has been applied.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Associated Press Journalists Shot in Afghanistan
An Afghan police officer has shot dead a foreign photographer and badly injured another in the country’s violent east, as they were covering preparations for the country’s presidential election.
The man opened fire on Anja Niedringhaus and Kathy Gannon from the Associated Press in a police headquarters in Khost province, after the women arrived with a convoy of election materials on Friday.
Niedringhaus died almost immediately from wounds to her head, a health official said, and Gannon was taken to hospital with less serious injuries after being shot twice. She later underwent surgery and was described as being in stable condition and talking to medical personnel. Both were veteran correspondents with long experience covering Afghanistan.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Audi’s First-Quarter Sales in Chinese Car Market Skyrocket
When the Chinese go to buy a luxury car, they tend to turn to German brands such as Audi. The carmaker sold more vehicles in China in the first three months of this year than any previous first quarter.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
North Korean Intelligence Official Tells of Aborted Coups and Assassination Attempts
A former North Korean intelligence officer who defected to the West has given an extraordinary account of the paranoia and turmoil within the secretive regime.
The country’s notorious gulags, meanwhile, are run by a unit with the chilling cover name of “Farm Guidance Directorate” — appropriately enough, said Mr K, because the prison-camp inmates are “less than human”. In the “total control” camps, where political criminals are sent, “once you check in, you do not check out,” he said. “Even dead bodies do not leave the total control zones.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Warns China Not to Try Crimea-Style Action in Asia
China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama’s diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China’s intentions might be, but Russia’s annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hate Group Leader Blames Islam for Shooting
The leader of a hate group has blamed Islam and claimed that “Australians” are constantly under attack from Muslims in western Sydney after an alleged politically-motivated shooting last night.
The home of president of the western Sydney chapter of the anti-Islamic Australian Defence League (ADL) Nathan Abela, 24, was shot up to seven times last night in what police believe was a targeted attack…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Congo-Kinshasa: Rumble in the Belgian Bungle
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in the eastern Kivu provinces, can be traced to its convoluted history of migration, citizenship and property rights.
Four countries share borders with the Kivu provinces: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. The conflict in North and South Kivu is often described simplistically as a struggle between rebels (often supported by neighbouring countries), the national military and armed local “self-defence” forces. According to this narrative, the conflict began in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and the three groups are now vying for control of the area’s natural resources: gold, tin, tungsten and coltan (used in mobile phone chips)…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: Anti-Riot Police Disperse Youths in Mombasa
Nairobi — Anti-riot police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas at youths who attempted to stage protests in Mombasa over Tuesday night’s killing of radical preacher Sheikh Abubakar Shariff alias Makaburi.
The youths taunted the police and threw stones at them in defiance at calls from leaders to shun any violence. More security officers were deployed to Majengo area and particularly Masjid Shuhadaa mosque (formerly Masjid Musa) where the demonstrators converged…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Trinidad & Tobago: Help T&T Muslims Held in Venezuela
Chairman of the Muslim Social and Cultural Foundation Inshan Ishmael has said he is appealing to President Anthony Carmona or Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to intervene on behalf of at least eight Trinidadian Muslims who are currently in the custody of the Venezuelan intelligence service (SEBIN) Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional), under the suspicion of being terrorists…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Up to 600,000 would-be migrants are in position to set sail from North Africa, in an onslaught on Europe’s coastline, the Italian government has warned.
Italy, with its southernmost province just 80 miles from Libya, is the gateway for thousands of clandestine migrants washing up on Europe’s shores, since the Arab Spring left swathes of Northern Africa in chaos.
More than 40,000 made the crossing last year, many on overcrowded and dangerous wooden boats. Investigators estimate that 20 per cent ultimately end up in Britain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
African Migrants Stream to Spanish Enclaves
By David Román
On a recent morning, about 150 men, most hailing from West Africa, hiked down a Moroccan hillside, scaled a set of 20-foot-high fences and jumped onto the soil of Melilla, a small swath of Spanish territory on Africa’s Mediterranean coast.
Raymond Persie twisted his ankle when he hit the ground and ended up in the custody of Spanish police. Yet those stumbles didn’t cripple his dream of working in Europe and sending money home to his father and younger brother.
That is because under EU law, member states are barred from using force to keep out migrants and must allow those who gain entry to apply for political asylum. On Thursday, leaders from the European Union and Africa moved to make the process more orderly with a three-year plan aimed at facilitating legal migration from Africa while stepping up border enforcement and the fight against human trafficking.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ann Coulter: Millionaires Need Your Help!
Last Sunday, the New York Times published a front-page article about the heartfelt need of California farmers for more illegal aliens.
The first tip-off that heinous public policy ideas were coming was that the Times introduced farmer Chuck Herrin, owner of a farm-labor contracting company, as a “lifelong Republican.” That’s Times-speak for “liberal.”
Herrin admitted that he employs a lot of illegal aliens and bitterly complained that they lived in fear of “Border Patrol and deportations.” (But, apparently, he doesn’t live in fear of admitting he’s violating our immigration laws.)
Sorry that running a country inconveniences you, Chuck.
He said his illegal alien employees deserved amnesty because if “we keep them here and not do anything for them once they get old, that’s really extortion.”
As the punch line goes, “What’s this ‘we,’ paleface?”
Taxpayers have been subsidizing Chuck Herrin’s underpayment of his illegal labor force for decades, with skyrocketing taxes to pay for schools, roads, bridges, food stamps, health care and so on. Now Herrin thinks “we” are supposed to support his illegal employees in their old age, too…
According to the California Hospital Association, health care for illegal aliens is costing state taxpayers well over $1 billion a year. Eighty-four hospitals across California have already been forced to close because of unpaid bills by illegal aliens.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
From the Eyes of a 30 Year Border Patrol Officer
“Mr. Wooldridge, you nailed it with your last commentary on immigration,” said a veteran border patrol agent. “Lack of term limits allows endless corruption in our U.S. Congress. (Let’s call him Jack Hamilton to protect his identity.)
“For many years, I have not appreciated carpetbaggers in Congress from either party and have more respect for an armed smuggler than a corrupt politician,” said Hamilton. “The majority of career politicians are worthless, self-serving “wastes of human skin “ that would sell out this country in a heartbeat to add to their financial ill gotten gains.
“On military service or sending our troops to war, most of those “knuckleheads” have never served or if they have seen action, years as a career politician enabled them to sell out all principles and integrity. We also have a few Manchurian candidates in both parties that waive their veteran status like a flag and are totally worthless.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
CBS News Hits Firefox CEO’s Support of Traditional Marriage: ‘A Firestorm of Bad PR’
CBS This Morning reporter Ben Tracy offered a one-sided take on liberal outrage against an internet browser’s CEO and his support for traditional marriage. Brendan Eich is the new head of Mozilla, the company behind Firefox. Eich’s crime? Tracy informed, “Six years ago, he personally donated a thousand dollars to support Proposition 8, the California initiative banning same-sex marriage.”
The journalist brought on Peter LaMotte, a business executive to lecture that “any public statement by a corporation needs to factor in how it represents the firm as a whole and how it’s going to affect the brand for years to come.” This prompted Tracy to chide, “Which is why Firefox is now in a firestorm of bad PR.” The reporter featured no clips of anyone supporting Eich or questioning whether the suppression of dissenting ideas is a good thing.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
CU-Boulder Faculty Accuse Lone Conservative Member of Hate Speech
The chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly at the University of Colorado said he feels a blog post written by Steven Hayward, the school’s first-ever visiting scholar of conservative thought, borders on hate speech.
The day after CU Student Government leaders spoke out against Hayward’s “oppressive and discriminatory” ideas, the Boulder Faculty Assembly discussed statements made by the professor and whether it should respond officially as a faculty group…
In the post, Hayward poked fun at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — referring to the community as “LGBTQRSTUW (or whatever letters have been added lately)” — and expressed his discomfort and confusion with university training about how to respect a student’s gender identity.
Hayward, who was not present at the meeting Thursday, has said that he did not feel he has ever made a student feel uncomfortable or unsafe in his classroom.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
High Court Rules Against Biology — And Redefines Reality to Boot
Humpty Dumpty: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.
Alice: The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.
Humpty Dumpty: The question is: which is to be master — that’s all.
— Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
If you thought the judicial activists were a brazen and reckless bunch, you ain’t seen anything yet. There are no limits to the progressives on our court benches who think they can just make things up as they go along. Now they are even making rulings on biology, and in a new case, informing us that they can also trump reality.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
If You Do Not Conform, The Thought Nazis Will Get You
If you do not conform to the new politically correct moral code in America, you cannot be a CEO of a major corporation. If you think that I am joking, just read on. I am actually deadly serious. If you are a young person in America today, what you believe about certain issues is going to determine how high you can climb the ladder in your professional life. In fact, a day is rapidly approaching when anyone that wants to have any measure of professional success in our society is going to have to conform to the moral code. If you choose not to conform, the thought Nazis WILL get you.
Just check out what happened to Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich this week. He was forced out after it was discovered that he had donated $1,000 to support Proposition 8 back in 2008.
Mozilla Chief Executive Brendan Eich has stepped down, the company said on Thursday, after an online dating service urged a boycott of the company’s web browser because of a donation Eich made to opponents of gay marriage.
He broke the politically-correct moral code of the thought Nazis, so he must pay.
It doesn’t matter that 52 percent of the voters in California actually voted in favor of Proposition 8.
It doesn’t matter that this is something that happened six years ago.
It doesn’t even matter that he was really good at his job…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jesus Already Defined Marriage for His Creation
Being that Apprising Ministries functions as an online apologetics and discernment ministry (OADM) we generally do not involve ourselves in political issues per se. However, there are those times when these kinds of issues will cross over into the theological arena.
By now you likely know World Vision to hire “Gay Christians in Same-Sex Marriages” as World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns first announced:…
Then the next day Dr Al Mohler would weigh in on the subject with his op ed piece Pointing to Disaster — The Flawed Moral Vision of World Vision. While I find myself disagreeing with Mohler more than I used to, here he got it right when he said:
Like all revolutions, moral revolutions are marked by events that signal major turning points in social transformation. Yesterday, March 24, 2014, will be remembered as one of those days. (source)
Well, not quite; because the day after Mohler wrote the above, it happened that World Vision Reversed Decision to Hire Gay Christians in Same-Sex Marriages. In its official statement obtained by Apprising Ministries we read:…
Now, I happen to be one who has long been tracking the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church with its postmodern Progressive Christian theology — a Liberalism 2.0 — that they often refer now as “big tent” Emergence Christianity (EC).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Official Policy: Male Federal Workers Can Use Women’s Restrooms, Locker Rooms
When an expectant mother visits her doctor for an ultrasound, the doctor invariably asks: Do you want to know the sex of your child?
The Obama administration, however, does not believe an unborn child has a sex — even when a doctor sees indisputable physical evidence.
Obama’s Office of Personnel Management has published what it calls “Guidance Regarding the Employment of Transgender Individuals in the Workplace.” This document speaks of “sex” as something a person has “assigned” to them only after they make it through the birth canal.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
It doesn’t get much more Orwellian than trying to pressure an independent organization to disinvite a speaker — in the name of “anti-bullying” and “tolerance”! Yet that is precisely what’s occurring and this time I am the target. Next week, April 11-12, I am scheduled to speak at a pro-life, pro-family conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada put on by the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association (SPLA) [see flier HERE]. But on Monday, I learned that a pro-homosexual group, Intolerance Free Weyburn, is working with the leftist petition site Change.org, to get me knocked off the dais as a speaker at the conference.
You can read about this in this pretty fair article in today’s Regina Leader Post. Following is the language in the Change.org petition targeting yours truly:…
Behold the fruits of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s nefarious campaign to demonize AFTAH and other opponents of organized “gay” activism as “hate groups.” THIS is exactly what the SPLC sought to achieve with its spurious “hate” designation against AFTAH [see our listing on the SPLC’s bogus “Hate Map” HERE], Family Research Council, AFA, Mission America, Mass Resistance and many other noble pro-family groups. As the saying goes, “Those who hate the Truth call Truth hate.” Hopefully, the SPLC’s influence will wane as Americans learn about its hard-left bias and hack political nature, and come to perceive it at the malicious tool of the Left that it is.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Christian Street Preacher in Manchester Awarded Damages After False Arrest
Manchester, England — the unofficial capital of the north. John Craven, a fifty-seven-year-old street preacher was doing just that — preaching the gospel — in Manchester city centre in September 2011 when he was approached by two teenage boys who asked him to explain his opinion about homosexuals.
Cavern responded by quoting from the Bible, adding that “whilst God hates sin, He loves the sinner”. The boys, according to the Christian Institute, then kissed in front of him and taunted him with suggestive sexual acts before complaining about his comments to Police Constable Alistair McKittrick.
Cavern was subsequently arrested and investigated by Greater Manchester Police for allegedly using insulting words with the intention of causing harassment, alarm or distress. It doesn’t matter that he may have found the boys kissing offensive.
He was held and denied access to medication for his rheumatoid arthritis and not offered food until, after almost 15 hours, he was given a bowl of cereal and a microwave meal following a complaint to the police from his friend.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Britain, Islam is the death of your history.
And you embraced it all.
No we didn’t. Out government did. As did that if the USA. As did those of most of Europe. We the people didn’t.
Have you the stomach for the resistance you will have to mount?
Because “defence,” I think, is out of the question.
From here on out the word is resistance.
And resistance is hard. It requires sacrifice of the type the English have not made in more than half a century.
I’ve been noticing the escalating accounts of incidents involving American police. I’ve counted five outstanding incidents involving American police officers, albeit one is from 2009, in just this News Feed alone. That tells me something is drastically wrong with who police forces employ, how they train their recruits and then try to cover up their unlawful actions when committed.
Maybe a national police force inspector – general is warranted?
Our experience with inspectors general would not give you joy. The ones that are honest are hounded out and crippled with law suits. Just part of the reason Ben Ghazi hasn’t gone forward.
Our “police” forces are increasingly and deliberately being militarized. What use has a police force for a tank?? But some have them – courtesy of Obama’s downsizing of the military.
Your five incidents of rogue police are more like five a day. One of these rogue cops ordered some young boys out of their tree houses at gunpoint. He had them lying on the ground spread-eagled in their own “safe” neighborhood. The stories are sad and unrelenting and everyone breathes a sigh of relief it wasn’t *themselves*, it wasn’t their kid.
Gives a whole new meaning to Protect and Serve. Just who are they protecting and serving if not the hand that feeds them.
I note too, that Connecticut does not seem to have gone forward with its threat to confiscate the citizens firearms as yet.
The lid on the boiling pot has almost fallen off.
”We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded”
Barack Obama 2008.