More than two hundred Nigerian schoolgirls are still missing after being enslaved by the Islamic terror group Boko Haram. Meanwhile, Boko Haram have abducted at least three more people, including two children, and driven an estimated 3,000 people from their homes in the town of Liman Kara.
In other news, a bearded Austrian drag queen won first prize in the Eurovision song contest in Copenhagen.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, 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.
Italian Approval Rating of Institutions Tumbles in Recession
Only 40 % of Italians ‘very satisfied’ with lives, OECD says
(ANSA) — Paris, May 7 — Italians’ confidence in their institutions tumbled due to the economic crisis, with as few as 15% saying they had faith in the national government in 2013 compared to 30% in 2007, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday.
Italians were also feeling less satisfaction with their lives in general during the recession years, with only 40% last year claiming they felt “very satisfied” compared with 58% in 2007, according to the latest figures in the Paris-based OECD’s Better Life Index.
On average, Italian women were less satisfied in 2013 with their lives than men, with an average of 5.9 in 10 women saying they were satisfied compared with 6.2 in 10 men.
An average of 62% of Italian women said they were satisfied with their health compared to 68% of Italian men, according to the OECD report.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Dangers of “Global Wealth Distribution”
Alex dials in to talk with David discussing the topics of the Pope calling for global redistribution of wealth and the globalist take over of the global economic system and the plan to eliminate the middle class.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Authentic Naples Pizza ‘Sweeps the United States’
With ovens made from Mt Vesuvius ash, top-quality ingredients
(ANSA) — Rome, May 8 — Certified-authentic Neapolitan pizza is taking off in the United States, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal. The financial daily cites a “growing wave of culinary entrepreneurs” who have been granted the seal of approval from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN), a nonprofit organization, founded in Naples three decades ago, whose mission is to “promote and protect…true Neapolitan pizza”.
Justin Piazza, the 40-year-old Italian-American owner of two pizzerias in Phoenix, Arizona, says to get his certification he purchased about $25,000 in specialty equipment, including a dome-shaped wood-burning oven which features bricks made from the ashes of Mount Vesuvius.
Piazza also must abide by strict quality standards, including using certain ingredients such as a flour the association describes as having “an almost talcum powder-like appearance, and proper dough-handling techniques.
Other pizza certification programs exist in addition to the VPN program, with 76 restaurants in the US having earned the certification, the WSJ reports.
Internationally, there are nearly 500 certified.
Italy has the most, the report adds.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Maher Feels Guilt Over Monica Lewinsky Jokes
Liberal comedian Bill Maher has some remorse for one of his former punchlines—Monica Lewinsky—after reading her essay in Vanity Fair.
“I was moved by it. I gotta tell you, I literally felt guilty,” Maher said Friday on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Maher said he was moved after reading what Lewinsky described in the pages of the magazine as a time in which she was suicidal.
“I remember doing a million Monica Lewinsky blow job jokes, and I kinda feel bad,” the late-night host said.
Maher said he understands why Lewinsky is coming out now after ten years of silence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton Islamic Center Announces President
Dr. Anis Ansari, a nephrologist at Medical Associates, Clinton, was elected president of the Clinton Islamic Center. This is his fourth presidency in the past 12 years. Ansari is one of the founding members of the Islamic Society of Clinton County, which was formed after his arrival in 1999…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Agents Seek to Loosen Rules on Hacking Computers
A U.S. proposal to expand the U.S. Justice Department’s ability to hack into computers during criminal investigations is furthering tension in the debate over how to balance privacy rights with the need to keep the country safe.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fragmentary Remains of New York World Trade Center 9/11 Victims Taken to Memorial
Unidentified remains of those killed in the September 2001 attack have been returned to the World Trade Center site in a solemn procession. A thousand victims have yet to be identified.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Government Using Race to Further Divide & Conquer the American Public
Alex takes the microphone and is joined in studio by David Knight, covering the authoritarian take over of government as well as the plan to turn our country into a socialist society.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Utah ATV Riders in Showdown With BLM
Recapture Canyon is a calm place of cottonwood shade, sinuous streams, beaver ponds and bird song. Ancient cliffside dwellings and ground dotted with potsherds lend it an aura of quiet mystery.
But this canyon — so close to Blanding, Utah, that locals there consider it their wild backyard — is also the site of a long-standing but escalating anti-federal government, Cliven Bundyesque furor.
On Saturday, protesters plan to drive their ATVs past a “closed to motorized use” sign and into the 11-mile-long canyon to show their disdain for the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to keep that area off-limits to vehicles.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Yellowstone Volcano Eruption: Report Claims US Has Contingency Deal With Brazil, Australia
If the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts then millions of U.S. citizens could end up in Brazil, Australia, or Argentina.
That’s according to the South African news website Praag, which said that the African National Congress was offered $10 billion a year for 10 years if it would build temporary housing for Americans in case of an eruption.
The potential eruption of the supervolcano, one of the biggest in the world, has been a hot topic ever since videos of animals allegedly fleeing the area before an earthquake were posted online. Although the veracity of the claims haven’t been backed up, dozens of bloggers and others have been trying to figure out what, if anything, is going on.
One of the latest theories is that the U.S. Geological Service and its partners, which keep an eye on the caldera, are hiding data from the public.
The Praag article says that the South African government fears that placing so many Americans in South Africa could dramatically change the country.
“South Africa will not be part of the plan, because there is a risk that millions of white Americans could be sent to South Africa in an emergency situation and that this would pose a risk to black national culture identity,” Dr. Siph Matwetwe, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, is quoted as saying.
“We have our own challenges, even if there is enough housing and infrastructure available, it will destabilize the country and may even bring back apartheid.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Police Raid Muslim Centers Over Syria War Ties
Prayer houses in city of Graz suspected of recruitment and financing of Syrian rebels.
Two Muslim houses of prayer were raided by police in the Austrian city of Graz because of alleged recruitment and financing to support rebels fighting in Syria, prosecutors said Thursday.
The raids were carried out this week as part of an ongoing terrorism investigation against ultraconservative Salafist Muslim groups in Graz, a prosecution spokesman was quoted as saying by the Austrian press agency APA.
No one was arrested, but documents and electronic files were seized.
The police action at the prayer houses was triggered after four young Chechen asylum seekers died in the Syrian civil war, the daily Kleine Zeitung reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Exorcism Conference Underway in Rome
‘Pope Francis knows demons exist in the 21st century’
(ANSA) — Vatican City, May 7 — Catholic prelates from 33 countries are in Italy for the ninth annual conference on exorcism. ‘Exorcism and Prayer for Liberation’ is on through May 10 and is expected to draw 200 participants from countries as far afield as Australia and South Korea. Events are spread between Rome and Bologna. “It’s devoted mostly to priests who are the first to learn the ministry of exorcism, but not only to them,” said Father Cesare Truqui, an exorcist from the Legionaries of Christ, which is organizing the conference together with Catholic organization GRIS. “A priest is usually side by side with a group of laypeople who help,” he told Vatican Radio.
“They can include psychologists, psychiatrists or doctors, but also regular people like professionals and housekeepers, even during preliminary consultations to see if it’s indeed a case of possession or not”. “Exploring the theme of demonic possession does not mean causing general paranoia, but to creating awareness of the existence of the devil and of the possibility of possession…You can fight it with God, with prayer, with Marian devotion”.
Truqui noted that Pope Francis in his April 11 homily admonished the faithful to “learn to fight the devil…who exists even in the 21st century”. “The pope reminds us,” added the exorcist, “that speaking of demons doesn’t mean creating a new theology outside the Gospels, but rather staying within Jesus Christ’s teachings”. Last May, many wondered if Francis had performed what appeared to be an exorcism in St Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, after the pontiff placed his hands on a man’s head and recited a prayer.
The Vatican denied the pope “intended to perform an exorcism”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Has Islam-Bashing Tarnished ‘Tolerant Britain?’
by Chris Doyle
Islam is evil. Muslims are scum. Ban Islam and knock down all the mosques. Muslims are “devil’s kids”. Islam is Satanic. Islam reminds one of the third reich. Muslims have been carrying out ‘ethnic cleansing’ against the English. “Islam is organized crime under religious camouflage.”
With apologies to readers but these are just some of the welter of charming online utterances and posts by various United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) candidates for national and local elections in Britain…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ikea to Turn First Swedish Store Into a Museum
The furniture giant has announced plans to turn its first ever shop, which opened in 1943, into a museum in southern Sweden.
The museum should open in 2015.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Mafia Suspected in Shooting of Monaco Heiress
No suspect found, investigators finger ‘Ndrangheta
(ANSA) — Paris, May 7 — The elderly heiress of a real-estate dynasty based in Monaco on Wednesday remained in serious condition after being ambushed by gunfire outside a hospital in Nice late Tuesday.
Investigators suspect Italy’s powerful ‘Ndrangheta mafia, the country’s most lucrative and international organized-crime group, may be behind the attack. “Even if for the moment the investigators are not favoring one lead over another, the Italian mafia could be at the root of this attack,” wrote French news site LeFigaro.it.
“Counterintelligence deems the ‘threat’ serious, evoking suspicions of infiltration by the Calabrian mafia from Ventimiglia,” the news source wrote, speaking of a town that lies on the coastal border between France and Italy.
Helene Pastor, 77, was shot in her car at the exit of the parking lot of the L’Archet Hospital in Nice, where she had gone to visit her hospitalized son.
Pastor and her driver were both seriously injured in the shooting.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Turin Mayor Give’s ‘Up Yours’ Gesture to Soccer Fans
Former foreign minister Fassino says hooliganism unacceptable
(ANSA) Turin, May 5 — Mayor of Turin Pietro Fassino, a well-known Juventus soccer fan, set off a furore after he gave the finger to a group of Torino supporters Sunday.
Fassino, a former communist and former Italian foreign minister, lost patience after being insulted at length by fans while attending a ceremony at the northern city’s Filadelfia stadium recalling the 1949 Superga air disaster in which 31 people died, including almost all of Torino’s team of the day.
The mayor’s gesture was videoed by a city councillor from the opposition M5S party who put the footage on the Internet.
Fassino said Monday that he regretted the ‘up yours’ gesture but added that it was intolerable to be threatened gratuitously.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s ‘Madness’ Part of Its Greatness Says Renzi
Premier gives first interview to non-Italian outlet, Time
Rome — Italy’s “madness” is part of what makes it great, Premier Matteo Renzi said in a Time magazine article released Thursday. “Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy,” said Renzi in his first interview with a non-Italian outlet since becoming premier in February.
“If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice. There is in the DNA of the Italians a bit of madness, which in the overwhelming majority of cases is positive”. The former mayor of Florence did criticize an “appalling” political system and “complicated” bureaucracy, insisting those things were in need of a dose of normalcy. Renzi said he sees his efforts to reform both systems through a series of ambitious measures is what sets him apart from his predecessors such as Enrico Letta, his fellow member of the Democratic Party whom he unseated in a party coup. Since then he has built a reputation as a reformer, willing to reach across the aisle and work with opposition figures.
Renzi’s willingness to work with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi is a chief example, enraging much of the center left especially since his binding conviction for tax fraud last year, his subsequent expulsion from public office, and an ongoing trial into allegations of bribing Senators to switch parties. “Berlusconi is the head of the main opposition party. In many other institutional systems, it would be illogical or unnatural that the head of a party could have (such) problems with the justice system,” said Renzi. “But in Italy, the state of affairs is that Berlusconi still represents a significant slice of the population.
“I’m not forming a government with Silvio Berlusconi. I’m not making secret agreements with Silvio Berlusconi. I want to make an agreement with him, because you shouldn’t write the rules of the game by yourself. The rules of the game should be written together”.
Renzi, who at 39 is Italy’s youngest premier in history, also said he hoped to see the country become Europe’s leader within the next 10 years, possibly as part of a ‘United States of Europe’. “I believe that Europe needs to be given back to the people, to families,” he said. “(That) means having a vision of the European Union, in which you go towards a United States of Europe”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Dear Departed’ Scam Stopped
Three Viterbo mortuary attendants arrested
Viterbo — Italian police on Friday arrested three mortuary attendants in a Viterbo hospital for taking bribes from funeral companies to direct business their way.
It was the latest in a long string of cases which the Italian media call ‘dear departed’.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel and Hollande Discuss Ukraine, Alstom
The German and French leaders say Russia could face more EU sanctions if Ukrainian elections do not go ahead as planned. They also discussed a possible partial merger of engineering giants Siemens and Alstom.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A growing number of Swedes are applying for permits to use drones, with the police planning to make greater use of them, too.
For just a couple of thousand krona, you can get your own camera-fitted drone, or Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as the devices are referred to in the United States. In recent years the number of drone permits issued in Sweden has grown drastically.
In 2013, the Swedish Transport Agency issued 275 such permits, compared to just 31 in 2010. Today, there are even more permits out there and the number of applications is growing, with most Swedes wanting to use the drones for aerial photography. Many real estate agents, for instance, want to use aerial photographs in their adds, Anna Ahlberg of the Swedish Transport Agency told Swedish Television News.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pedophile Priest Victims Send Pope a Video Message
Asking for ‘justice and compensation’ for adult survivors
Rome — An organization of survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests has sent Pope Francis a videotaped appeal for justice and compensation, La Repubblica newspaper reported Friday.
The organization called Rete l’Abuso (Abuse Network) made the video featuring dozens of adult survivors of child sexual abuse in religious institutions. Among them are eight deaf-mute people who were enrolled at the Antonio Provolo religious institute for disabled children in the northern city of Verona, where some 25 priests abused at least 100 victims from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. In a 2011 letter, an association of adult survivors of the abuse at Provolo wrote to then-pope Benedict XVI, asking him to deconsecrate three churches they said they were sexually assaulted in as children.
In their video message, the victims call on Francis for compensation, because the crimes committed against them have long since timed out under Italian law.
In a Wednesday hearing in Geneva, Vatican UN Ambassador Silvano Tomasi told the UN Committee on the Convention against Torture that since 1950, the Holy See has paid sex-abuse victims a total of $2.5 billion in damages and $78 million to pay for therapy. The Abuse Network in February called on the Vatican to declassify its archives on pedophile priests so they can be turned over to public prosecutors.
On its website, it has published a list of 148 convicted child-molesting priests, as well as a map of Italy detailing all the parishes where child abuse allegations have surfaced.
“We believe the list to be useful to all parents who want to protect their children from these priests, but there is still a lot of work to do”, Network organizers said. “We’re still here, and we’re asking the pope to hear our call”.
Pope Francis in April issued his strongest apology yet for the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests.
“I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil wrought by some priests… and to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children,” said the pontiff.
Francis promised members of the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE) that there would be no “step backwards” in punishing sex-abuse culprits and fighting such abuse, one of his priorities amid a sweeping reform drive.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Stonehenge Dig: Latest Findings
History will have to be rewritten — astonishing new findings reveal Amesbury is now the oldest place in the country, where history began, and is also the longest continuous settlement in the UK. Previously it was thought that Stonehenge was conceived by European immigrants but this shows that British settlers were behind its construction.
Carbon dating from an archaeological dig by the University of Buckingham shows that the parish of Amesbury, which includes Stonehenge, has been continually occupied for every millennia since 8820BC.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BNP Protest Against Speculative Mosque Plans is Countered by Two Opposition Groups
A demonstration by the British National Party against speculative pre-application plans for a new mosque in Hemel Hempstead was countered by two other groups today.
The Unite Against Fascism group and a members of the local Muslim community staged oppositions to the protest in Barnacres Road, where it was suggested the former Nash Mills Methodist Church site could house a mosque in unofficial proposals leaked by Dacorum Borough Council last August…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Council Expects ‘Bloody Firestorm’ From Trojan Horse Probe
By Andrew Gilligan
Senior officials at Birmingham City Council tell school heads that they expect a ‘bloody firestorm’ when Ofsted’s reports on the “Trojan Horse” plot are published
Birmingham City Council expects a “bloody firestorm” and a “knockout blow” when official inspection reports on the “Trojan Horse” plot in the city’s schools are published next month.
In a secret meeting last week with heads of the schools affected, Mark Rogers, the council’s chief executive, launched personal attacks on both the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, and the chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw and claimed that they were looking at the issue through the wrong lens of the telescope…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Halalhysteria: Prejudice or Animal Welfare?
Netizens clash over The Sun’s alarm on halal policy at Pizza Express.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamophobia: Why Do So Many Young Men Hate Muslim Women?
After Ava Vidal wrote an article about Islamophobic attacks on British women, she found herself on the receiving end of a heck of a lot of abuse. Here she shares the worst of it (mainly from young men) and explains what she’s learned
Earlier this week I wrote about the rise of Islamophobic attacks against Muslim women in the UK. Many Muslim women bravely shared their experiences with me for my piece. Some were too scared to be named for fear of further reprisals. However, one thing they all agreed on, was that their lives had changed irrevocably since the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Islamic Society Praised for Community Work
A HAMPSHIRE Islamic Society has been praised for its hard work in fostering excellent relations across Southampton’s student community.
In a year when they have been raising thousands of pounds for poverty-stricken people across the world, the Islamic Society of Southampton was rewarded by the Federation of Southern Islamic Students (FOSIS) for its community work in the south…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police Keep the Peace as UKIP Leader Returns to Edinburgh
NIGEL Farage’s return to Edinburgh wasn’t quite as chaotic as the Ukip leader’s last campaigning visit a year ago — but not by much.
By the time he and his supporters were safely ensconced in the Corn Exchange for a Euro election rally yesterday, a noisy group of about 300 protesters were making their voices heard inside. “Don’t believe Ukip racist lies,” read one banner. “Gandhi would have smacked you in the head,” suggested another, slightly more subversive, poster…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP Drains Support From Rivals, With Gains in Latest Observer/Opinium Poll
Ukip’s score of 20% suggests voters have not been deterred by gaffes or claims some of its members are racists
Ukip has maintained its recent surge and now commands 20% of the national vote, according to the latest Observer/Opinium poll. Nigel Farage’s party is now just nine points behind the Conservatives with less than a fortnight to go before council and European elections…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Subotica Synagogue Among Europe’s 7 Most Endangered
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE 5 MAY — The Subotica Synagogue has been included in the list of seven most endangered monuments in Europe, Belgrade press wrote quoting the leading European organisation for heritage protection Europa Nostra. According to the statement made at the organisation’s annual congress in Vienna, also listed as most endangered are the historic stage machinery of the Bourla theatre in Antwerp in Belgium, the neighbourhoods of Dolcho and Apozari in Kastoria in Greece, the citadel of Alessandria in Italy, the carillons of the Mafra National Palace in Portugal, the wooden churches in southern Transylvania and northern Oltenia in Romania and the Colour Row Settlement in Chernyakhovsk in Russia. The monuments are in serious danger, some due to lack of resources or expertise, others due to neglect or inadequate planning, officials of the Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute (EIB-I) stated at the congress. The Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica (Northern Serbia) is one of the finest surviving pieces of religious architecture in the art nouveau style. It was built in 1901-1902 during the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary (part of Austria-Hungary) according the plans of Marcell Komor and Deszo Jakab.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Belmokhtar, Droukdel Spar Over Sahel
One notorious Algerian terrorist set up shop in Libya, the other operates closer to home. But their biggest battle is now against each other, as they vie to be the favoured son in the Maghreb for “al-Qaeda Central”. Their blood feud even involves attempts to win the most press. The Maghreb’s most-wanted terrorist used the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death to swear allegiance to his successor…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt to Try 200 ‘Jihadists’ Suspected of Terrorist Attacks
Mass trial will be first for country since coup ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi
Egypt’s prosecutor general Saturday referred to trial 200 alleged members of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, accusing them of “terrorism” for launching deadly attacks against security forces, judicial sources said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Derna Bombs Target Mosque, University
A bomb blast rocked Derna’s historic Sahaba mosque during Fajr prayers on Thursday (May 8th), Libya Herald reported. Two years ago, a bomb destroyed the tomb of Zuhayr Ibn Qais Al-Balawi in the same mosque.
Another bomb exploded Thursday at Omar Mukhtar University. A student said it was placed inside the auditorium, which was empty at the time of the blast…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Assails Latest Allegations of Brazen Spying on US
In response to Newsweek report, Strategic Affairs Minister Steinitz accused “someone of trying to maliciously harm relations between Israel and the United States.”
A top government minister on Saturday angrily rejected claims of Israeli spying on the United States for the second time in a week after the American newsmagazine Newsweek once again quoted unnamed US intelligence officials as decrying what they believe to be overly aggressive espionage on the part of the Jewish state.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Hamas Newspaper Back on Sale in West Bank in New Unity Step
Islamist tabloid “Falasteen”, Arabic for Palestine, returns to the West Bank three days after Hamas allowed a leading West Bank daily to be sold in Gaza.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — A pro-Islamist newspaper was sold in the West Bank on Saturday for the first time in seven years, another sign of a Palestinian unity pact that prompted Israel to suspend peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas rejects Israel’s existence and both the Jewish state and United States regard the group as a terrorist organization. It seized Gaza from Fatah forces in a brief 2007 civil war.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
28 Killed in Separate Attacks Across Iraq
BAGHDAD, May 10 (Xinhua) — A total of 28 people were killed and 55 others injured in separate shootings and bombings across Iraq, including a suicide tanker bomb attack on Saturday, police and medical sources said.
In Salahudin province, seven security members were killed and some 20 others wounded around noon when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden tanker into an army checkpoint and blew it up on a main road in south of the city of Dujail, some 60 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon, U.N. Consider Settlements for Syrian Refugees
The United Nations and Lebanese authorities are looking into establishing settlements for refugee camps in Lebanon for refugees who have fled the violent war in neighboring Syria, Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported Saturday.
There are 1,056,089 Syrian refugees based in Lebanon, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) data. The actual number of refugees, including those unregistered in official data, is estimated to be much higher.
Syria’s civil conflict, now well into its third year, has killed hundreds of thousands, and forced millions to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. Other countries housing Syrian refugees include Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, among other.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish PM Erdogan Storms Out of Council of State Speech Over ‘Rudeness’
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed out of a speech delivered by Turkish Union of Bars head Metin Feyzioglu, accusing Feyzioglu of being “rude” in a speech criticizing the government’s performance.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: Al-Qaeda Gunmen Kill 5 Guards at Sanaa Presidential Palace
Yemeni president was not in building during attack
Al-Qaeda gunmen attacked the presidential palace in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing five guards and capturing several others, security sources said Friday.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi was not in the building at the time, the sources said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
CIA Death Squads Revealed in the Ukraine
David Knight covers the unconstitutional actions of the secret FISA court, the laws that allow hidden control of our government as well as the issues facing the West in the Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Interim Ukraine President: Referendum a ‘Step Into the Abyss’ For Eastern Ukraine
In a last ditch attempt to sway the Sunday referendum, Ukraine interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has warned the east that voting yes will destroy the country. He’s called for negotiations, but not with “terrorists.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thailand: Counter Rallies in Bangkok Surge After Prime Minister’s Ouster
Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s removal from power has prompted mass counter rallies. The opposing sides agree the government hasn’t handled the situation well, but they differ on how to fix the problem.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UFO Blasting Terrorist Base in Afghanistan Debunked
Straight out of a sci-fi movie, we recently reported on a video shot by U.S. Marines of an apparent UFO destroying a Taliban base in Afghanistan.
The weapon being used is a JDAM according to Staff Sgt Biggs and Rob slowed the video down to show that the UFO was set in post-production.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Batty Proposal for an Under-Sea Train to the United States
A lone report in China’s state-run Beijing Times claims the nation is already in discussions to build an 8,000+ mile railroad connecting China, Russia, Canada, and the U.S.—including a 125 mile undersea tunnel spanning the Bering Strait. Forget taking this with a grain of salt, you’re gonna need the whole shaker.
Yes, according to Wang Mengshu, a railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the only person cited in the report, China has already discussed the plan with Russia, and Russia’s on board. Never mind that the proposed undersea route would be more than five times longer than the current longest underwater tunnel, the one under the English Channel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Japan’s Keio University Plans All-English Courses
Japan’s Keio University will in fall 2016 enable students in the economics department to take all classes in English. Students will be able to take a wide range of business-related courses, and serve internships at numerous companies and institutions once the program is launched.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tensions Increase Between Vietnam and China Over Oil Rig
Vietnamese anger toward China is running at its highest level in years after Beijing deployed an oil rig in disputed waters as naval ships from both countries engage in a tense standoff near the rig off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of Protesters Arrested After South African Election Results
(CNN) — South African police arrested 59 people in Johannesburg overnight following postelection protests, authorities said Saturday. Police used rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, who burned tires in the township of Alexandria.
The African National Congress won the general election, holding on to power despite economic woes and corruption allegations. Provisional results show the ruling party got 62.2% of the vote.
The ANC has governed for 20 years and still enjoys widespread support after the defeat of the apartheid system and the beginning of democracy in South Africa.
But its popularity has taken a hit amid various scandals, including allegations of President Jacob Zuma misusing more than $20 million of public money in improvements to his sprawling rural homestead in Nkandla. He has denied any wrongdoing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jacob Zuma Dedicates His South African Election Win to Nelson Mandela
South African President Jacob Zuma has dedicated his electoral victory to the late Nelson Mandela. Meanwhile, workers at the country’s platinum mines are heading back to work after a 15-week strike.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Boko Haram Abduct More People and Force 3,000 From Their Homes
The wife and two children of a retired police officer have been abducted by Boko Haram, and 3,000 people have fled the town of Liman Kara, after yet another attack
Three thousand people have fled their homes in northern Nigeria, and the wife and two children of a retired policeman have been abducted, as Islamist militants launch another attack on the embattled region.
As the hunt for the missing 276 schoolgirls taken on April 14 continued, suspected Boko Haram militants continued their campaign of terror unabated…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Senegal: Chelsea Player Funds Construction of Mosque
Demba Ba, a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League side Chelsea and the Senegal national team, provided the money for building the Nasrallah Mosque in the town of Doondu sen24heures website reported.
Senegalese media have reported his contribution ahead of the inauguration of the mosque in the coming weeks…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Truth About Boko Haram & #bringbackourgirls (Video)
What they’re not telling you about the kidnapping of 200 schoolgirls
The Obama administration was responsible for the spread of Al-Qaeda throughout Africa which led to the rise of Boko Haram, the terrorist group responsible for the kidnap of over 200 schoolgirls.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Mexico to Legalize Vigilantes Fighting Drug Cartel
Mexico’s government plans on Saturday to begin demobilizing a vigilante movement of assault rifle-wielding ranchers and farmers that formed in the western state of Michoacan and succeeded in largely expelling the Knights Templar cartel when state and local authorities couldn’t. Police take a suspected drug trafficker off a helicopter in the state of Sonora.
The ceremony in the town of Tepalcatepec, where the movement began in February 2013, will involve the registration of thousands of guns by the federal government and an agreement that the so-called “self-defense” groups will either join a new official rural police force or return to their normal lives and acts as voluntary reserves when called on.
The government will go town by town to organize and recruit the new rural forces.
[Comment: They were not vigilante’s — they were a citizen militia — fed up up corruption of police and local authorities. They stepped up as men to root out corruption in their communities.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Bank Foundation Offers 3.5 Mn Euros for Immigrant Projects
To fight trafficking and exploitation, find legal work
A foundation run by the Cuneo Savings Bank has put up 3.5 million euros to fund non-profit projects to better the plight of immigrants in Italy’s six struggling southern regions, sources said Friday.
The “Foundation with the South” will make up to 1.5 million euros available to fight human trafficking and sexual or labor exploitation, and up to two million euros for projects to help immigrants enter the legal workforce.
Immigrant non-profits with innovative and realistically feasible ideas for “exemplary” projects that will help Italy’s newcomers integrate into society while acting as models for policymakers can apply online through July 3. Applicants must focus on immigrant situations in the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Sardinia and/or Sicily.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Shameful Criticism of Migrant Rescue Op Says Renzi
Mare Nostrum has averted ‘100 Lampedusas’ says PM
(ANSA) Rome — There has been “shameful” criticism by anti-immigrant parties like the Northern League of Italy’s Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) search-and-rescue operation to avert migrant disasters in the Mediterranean, Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday. He said the op that picks up all comers off rickety boats sailing from North Africa had averted “100” possible recurrences of last year’s twin wrecks at the stepping-stone island of Lampedusa that took 400 lives.
The Navy said Friday some 4,000 migrants have been rescued in the last six days as good weather and increased work by people traffickers swell the flow.
On Wednesday Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti defended the humanitarian operation patrolling Italy’s southernmost borders, saying 27,790 illegal immigrants have been rescued and more than 200 human traffickers arrested.
Among the thousands the Mare Nostrum task force has rescued while trying to reach Italy by sea from Africa were 3,034 minors, the minister told the Lower House in response to criticism from the Northern League party, which said the funds would be better spent on encouraging businesses.
The Mare Nostrum operation was set up in October 2013 spearheaded by 782 Italian Navy personnel aboard a flotilla of vessels supported by Carabinieri, Coast Guard, police and Air Force units.
An increasing proportion of the illegal immigrants to Italy are political refugees, Pinotti added.
“Two thirds of them qualify to ask for political asylum,” she said.
In all 93% of illegal immigrants pass through Libya on their way to Italy.
Mare Nostrum is a short-term operation and the EU should do more to help Italy, Pinotto said, adding that Rome will underline that position when Italy takes over the rotating chairmanship of the EU.
“After the European elections the interlocutors will change since the (European) Parliament and the Commission will be renewed,” Pinotti said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Migrants in Italy Send a Message “Don’t Come”
ROME — Immigrants living in Italy have released a series of videos in a campaign to tell people thinking about making the same migration not to come due to the country’s economic problems.
The video campaign — which features five immigrants from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Angola and North Africa — was ironically launched by the anti-immigration right-wing Northern League politician and European Parliament election candidate Angelo Ciocca.
“This is a country that is going through a very serious crisis. Things have been going badly for years. And even immigrants are feeling the effects,” one of the immigrants says in the video.
“Italy, along with Spain and Greece, is one of the poorest countries in Europe. So don’t delude yourselves: now Italy can’t offer anything to anyone. Don’t come here because you will be sentenced to hunger,” said another.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Some 40 Romanian Kids Committed Suicide After Moms Emigrated
‘Italy Syndrome’ affects mothers forced to leave kids behind
Rome — Since 2008, some 40 Romanian minors have committed suicide after their mothers emigrated in search of work, a Romanian women’s group told a Lower House conference on Friday.
Currently there are two million immigrant families living in Italy, and 75% of the women have left their children in their home country for economic reasons, according to the Romanian Women in Italy Association (ADRI). The suffering that separation causes what psychologists have dubbed “Italy Syndrome”, a severe form of depression affecting both the mothers, many of whom work as nannies or caring for elderly people, and the children, the so-called “white orphans” of emigrant mothers.
“Taking care of other people’s children while one’s own child is thousands of miles away tears away at you,” said ADRI President Silvia Dimitrache.
“This issue needs to be talked about more,” said conference organizer Khalid Chaouki, an MP from the ruling Democratic Party who is an outspoken defender of immigrants’ rights.
Soleterre, a humanitarian NGO that works with immigrants, called on the government to set up an observatory on family reunions.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bearded Austrian Drag Queen Wins European Song Contest 2014
It was a party like no other in the Danish capital Copenhagen with Austria’s Conchita winning the final of the European Song Contest. ESC, a kitchy fusion of pop and politics, was broadcast to millions around the world.
A bearded Austrian drag queen has won Eurovision 2014 in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Six Homosexuals Tried in Egypt for Organising Gay Party
(AGI) Cairo, May 10 — The Court of Nasr City, in the suburbs of Cairo, has decided to try six young Egyptian homosexuals for organising a gay party in the eastern district of the Egyptian capital. The first hearing is scheduled for May 12, when the six young men will appear before the court. Several Egyptian human rights organisations stepped in to defend them on Facebook and Twitter although homosexuality is considered to be a crime in Egypt.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘Killer Robots’ To be Debated at UN
Killer robots will be debated during an informal meeting of experts at the United Nations in Geneva.
Two robotics experts, Prof Ronald Arkin and Prof Noel Sharkey, will debate the efficacy and necessity of killer robots.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lifting the Veil of “Islamophobia”
A Conversation with Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Hirsi Ali: Some moderate Muslims hate me—and yes, that’s a strong word, but I think what they’ve said supports it—because I make them feel uncomfortable. The things I talk about put them in a state of dissonance that they can’t live with. Many of them seem to hate me more than they hate al-Qaida.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
1.I will follow Shariawatch UK. It will be interesting to see whether they are smeared by the legacy media like other islam critical sites.
2.I see the Commy left are still smearing UKIP. Unite Against Fascism are in fact the paramilitary wing of the Socialist Workers Party and are the natural successors of the so-called Anti Nazi league.
3. More accusations of Waycism against UKIP, this time from an apparatchik from Al Arabiya. I actually like the term that “islam is a criminal organisation under religious camouflage. Many a true word…
“Two thirds of them qualify to ask for political asylum,”
Radical thought: deny entry to people seeking “political asylum.” Illegals are economic migrants. Political asylum is a scam to destroy European nations.
Only in today’s collectivist utopia would that thought be considered radical.
No doubt about it Baron. After reading many of these ‘News Feeds’ it soon becomes apparent that Italy is the real basket case of Europe. It’s no longer a wonder to me now why so many feeds contain Italian, for want of some better words, political comedy.
Kid in Kindergarten have far more common sense!
The girls have been forcibly converted to Islam from Christianity. A video of them in full Islamic Hijab, and singing verses from the demonic Kuran, has been released. They have been forced to adopt muslim names.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/video-released-by-boko-haram-claims-to-show-missing-nigerian-schoolgirls-20140512-3860d.html
This is very educational, because Boko Haram is re-enacting the spread of Islam for all those who are ignorant of how Islam spread. In India (where I am from), it is estimated that a large number of muslims are simply descendants of such enslaved and forcibly Islamized Hindu women.
This demonic cult must be stopped at all costs. NO cost is too high to rid the world of Islam.
Baron, please give a dedicated story to this abduction and forcible conversion to Islam. More people need to see how Islam works, how it spreads, how innocent people are simply picked up and “Islamized”. Soon, these girls (who were christian a month ago) will be distributed (in accordance to Kuranic laws) to Boko Haram soldiers. They will be used as sex slaves and breeding machines for new muslims. That is how Islam spreads.