In a stunning upset, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was ousted in the Virginia Republican primary. Mr. Cantor was defeated by a Tea Party candidate who spent only a fraction of the amount of money that the Majority Leader spent on his campaign.
In other news, insurgents seized Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, and freed 1,200 convicts from the prison there. Meanwhile, thirty-one mourners were killed by a bomb at a funeral for an assassinated Sunni leader in Diyala.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Fjordman, Insubria, JP, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Italian-German Bond Spread Falls to 134 Basis Points
(AGI) Rome, June 9 — The spread between Italian and German 10-year government bonds fell to 134 basis points on Monday, the lowest level since April 2011. The yield was 2.71 percent.
The spread between Spanish and German bonds narrowed to 123 basis points. The yield was 2.59 percent, below the 2.6 percent yield on U.S. 10-year bonds.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Southern EU Debt ‘May Block Recovery for Years’ — S&P
Rome’s 71.6% rise lowest after Slovenia
(ANSA) — Rome, June 10 — The public and private debt of Italy and other southern European countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia “could block the recovery for years,” Standard & poor’s said Tuesday.
Their debt doubled from 2006 to 2013, the ratings agency said.
Rome’s 71.6% rise was the lowest after Slovenia’s.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
About 100,000 U.S. Veterans Experiencing Long Waits for Health Care: Audit Report
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) — A system-wide audit of scheduling and access management practices at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities found that roughly 100,000 veterans are currently experiencing long wait times for receipt of their health care.
The audit on 700 VA facilities, released on Monday, found that more than 57,000 veterans have been waiting 90 days or more to attend their initial VA medical appointments, and that nearly 64, 000 others who have requested appointments have not yet been scheduled…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: Pragmatism, Obama and the Bergdahl Swap
For nearly six years, Obama and his supporters have managed to fend off allegations that his foreign policy is even more ideological — and far more radical — than Bush’s by channeling the public’s aversion to pie-in-the-sky rhetoric and obfuscating facts.
US President Barack Obama is an artist of political propaganda. Both his greatest admirers and his most vociferous opponents agree that his ability to manipulate public opinion has no peer in American politics today.
So how can we explain the fiasco that is his decision not only to swap five senior Taliban terror masters for US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, but to take ownership over the decision by presenting it to the American people in a ceremony with Bergdahl’s parents at the White House Rose Garden? Clearly Obama overreached. He misread the public’s disposition.
This much is made clear by the immediate criticism his actions received from the liberal media. It wasn’t just Fox News and National Review that said Obama broke the law when he failed to notify Congress of the swap 30 days prior to its implementation.
It was CNN and NBC News.
MSNBC commentators criticized the swap. And CNN interviewed Bergdahl’s platoon mates who to a man accused him of desertion, with many alleging as well that he collaborated with the enemy. It was CNN that gave the names of the six American soldiers who died trying to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban.
What was it about the Bergdahl trade tipped the scales? Why is this decision different from Obama’s other foreign policy decisions?…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Eric Cantor Loses G.O.P. Primary, According to the A.P.
In a stunning upset, Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, has lost the Republican primary to Dave Brat, a Richmond-area college professor who ran to Mr. Cantor’s right.
Mr. Cantor was expected to cruise to victory, although he had been pushed to portray himself as a hard-liner, especially on immigration.
The results were foreshadowed at a district convention last month in Henrico County, Mr. Cantor’s home base, when conservatives ousted one of his loyalists as chairman while he looked on.
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House Majority Leader Cantor Defeated in Primary
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated Tuesday by a little-known economics professor in Virginia’s Republican primary, a stunning upset and major victory for the tea party.
Cantor is the second-most powerful member of the U.S. House and was seen by some as a possible successor to the House speaker.
His loss to Dave Brat, a political novice with little money marks a huge victory for the tea party movement, which supported Cantor just a few years ago.
Brat had been a thorn in Cantor’s side on the campaign, casting the congressman as a Washington insider who isn’t conservative enough. Last month, a feisty crowd of Brat supporters booed Cantor in front of his family at a local party convention.
His message apparently scored well with voters in the 7th District.
“There needs to be a change,” said Joe Mullins, who voted in Chesterfield County Tuesday. The engineering company employee said he has friends who tried to arrange town hall meetings with Cantor, who declined their invitations…
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Judge Rules California Teacher Tenure Laws Unconstitutional
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprive students of their constitutional right to an education, a decision that hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case that overturns several California laws that govern the way teachers are hired and fired.
“Substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and/or minority students,” Judge Rolf M. Treu wrote in the ruling. “The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.”
The ruling, which declared the laws governing how teachers are hired and fired in California to be unconstitutional, is likely to set off a slew of legal fights here and in other states, where many education reform advocates are eager to change similar laws. The ruling brings a close to the first chapter of the case, Vergara v. California, but both sides have made it clear that they plan to appeal any decision that goes against them to the State Supreme Court.
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Clouds Over French Far-Right Party as Father, Daughter Row
(PARIS) — The unity of France’s far-right National Front has cracked as founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter and party leader Marine engaged in an unprecedented public war of words, just as she is struggling to create a new EU eurosceptic group.
The crisis kicked off last week when a video was posted on the National Front (FN) website in which Le Pen made an apparent anti-Semitic pun — the latest in a series of controversial statements by the 85-year-old who has had multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred and denying crimes against humanity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Critics Say French Penal Reforms ‘Coddle Jihadists’
France may soon forbid imprisoning pregnant women and keep certain prisoners free on probation for up to a decade under a major reform bill that’s been called soft on crime. The reforms come amid a prison overcrowding crisis.
The head of the UMP parliamentary group, Georges Fenech, called Taubira’s probation plans “cuddling therapy for jihadist candidates,” noting that France needs to get tougher on crime. He noted it was especially urgent after the arrest of a French fundamentalist Muslim accused of a deadly shooting spree at a Belgian Jewish museum.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Europe’s Far-Right in Crisis as Geert Wilder Expresses ‘Disgust’ At Jean-Marie Le Pen Comments
Dutch anti-Muslim leader Geert Wilder expresses “absolute disgust” over Jean-Marie Le Pen’s alleged anti-Semitism, triggering crisis which could benefit Nigel Farage
Marine Le Pen’s hopes of building a far-Right alliance in the European Parliament are in crisis after alleged anti-Semitic comments by her father, the founder of the French Front National.
Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Muslim leader and the Front National’s most important ally, has described Mr Le Pen’s comment he would make an “oven load” of a Jewish critic as “disgusting” and has written to Miss Le Pen demanding an explanation…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
France: Le Pen Family Row Threatens National Front
The unity of France’s far-right National Front has cracked as founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter and party leader Marine exchange an unprecedented public war of words, just as she struggles to create a new EU eurosceptic group.
The crisis kicked off last week when a video was posted on the National Front (FN) website in which Le Pen made an apparent anti-Semitic pun — the latest in a series of controversial statements by the 85-year-old who has had multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred and denying crimes against humanity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hope for Man Trapped in Germany’s Deepest Cave
An injured explorer trapped one kilometre underground in Germany’s deepest cave is in a better condition than initially thought, mountain rescuers said on Tuesday morning. He could be out by the end of the week.
The 52-year-old explorer, named by Bild newspaper as Johann Westhauser, was seriously injured around 1,000 metres below ground by a rock fall in the Risending caves near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Alitalia Set for Painful Restructuring
Jobs cuts necessary for investment, says Del Torchio
(By Sandra Cordon) (ANSA) — Rome, June 9 — Italian carrier Alitalia is in for some “painful and arduous” restructuring but should see a deal with Etihad Airways in a matter of weeks, the airline’s chief executive officer said Monday.
Gabriele Del Torchio said that changes were necessary to attract essential investment from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which he said is prepared to invest 560 million euros in the cash-strapped Alitalia.
Del Torchio acknowledged that 2,200 Alitalia employees from a staff of about 14,000 will be laid off as part of the changes demanded by Etihad before it finalizes its investment, likely by July.
“There is an absolute need for Alitalia…to go through a complex, painful and arduous process of restructuring,” he said.
The job cuts are non-negotiable for Etihad, he added.
Last week, Italian Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti said that the deal could require the Italian carrier to cut as many as 2,500 jobs and restructure as much as 800 million euros in debt.
Poletti will meet on Tuesday with unions to talk about job losses related to the deal, Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said.
Del Torchio said that a tentative pact could be ready to go before the Alitalia board by the end of this week.
The negotiations, which have been going on for six months, would see Etihad take a share as large as 49% in Alitalia.
That had triggered concerns with the European Commission, which warned Italian authorities to ensure the United Arab Emirates carrier does not gain a majority holding.
EC rules require that majority ownership of European airlines remains in European hands, and last week the Italian government reassured the EC that those rules were being obeyed. Speaking at an aviation conference, Del Torchio said the deal would keep a majority of ownership “in Italy, or rather Europe, since Air France is a partner”.
“We’re not selling the airline to these potential partners in Abu Dhabi, but we want to ally with them,” he added. To survive, said Del Torchio, Alitalia must also become more operationally efficient and strengthen its “intercontinental presence” as a carrier known for serving more than Italian and European markets.
Unions have been generally supportive of the investment by Etihad, which will keep the Italian carrier a viable employer, and had said little about the job cuts when these were still rumours.
The tie-up would allow Etihad to expand its roots in the lucrative European market while giving new life to Alitalia, which was subject to a government-led bailout last fall — only the latest in a series of restructuring attempts by the carrier as it struggles to remain competitive.
Last October, the Italian government engineered a 500-million-euro Alitalia restructuring plan that included a 300-million-euro capital increase and 200 million euros in new lines of credit.
However, major investor Air France-KLM at the time rejected the restructuring plan, saying it did not go far enough to reduce Alitalia’s debt — which is also a sticking point for Etihad.
According to recent media reports, Etihad has been negotiating with banks that are the major creditors in Alitalia, including Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, in an effort to see the banks write down a sizeable amount of the Italian airline’s debt.
Those talks are at an advanced stage, said Del Torchio.
The proposed investment also triggered protests from rival European airlines, which were also upset about last fall’s bailout plan that saw Poste Italiane agree to underwrite the October capital increase to the tune of 75 million euros.
That triggered complaints from rival European carriers of State aid, an accusation that the Italian government has denied.
In February, German airline giant Lufthansa went further calling on the European Commission to halt Etihad’s proposed investment in Alitalia, alleging the use of State aid in disguise to break competition rules.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Red Tape Costs Small Businesses ‘30.9 Bn Euros a Year’
Plethora of norms creates hostile business climate, artisans say
(ANSA) — Rome, June 10 — The cost of red tape for small and medium-sized Italian enterprises stood at 30.9 billion euros in 2013, or 7,005 euros per business, the Italian artisan association said Tuesday.
Confartigianato said nearly two-thirds of the 629 new tax rules passed between 2008 and 2014 increased new red tape compliance costs, “creating a climate that is hostile to doing business”. Italy is in 23rd place among the 28 European Union countries and in 65th place globally in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking for 2014. The artisans’ association laid part of the blame at the door of online services which it said in the age of internet remained inefficient.
“Just 21% of Italians communicate with the public administration online, against an European average of 41%,” Confartigianato said in a statement. Red tape also prevents “the concrete application of regulations” and so in Italy “laws continue to be produced that remain dead letter”, the association added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Former Berlusconi Minister ‘Took Bribes at Tuscan Home’
Matteoli under investigation in Venice MOSE scandal
(see related) (ANSA) — Venice, June 10 — A former environment and transport minister under Silvio Berlusconi allegedly received bribes at his Tuscan home, statements from a key witness in an unfolding political corruption probe in Venice revealed Tuesday.
“During elections in 2010 and 2013, I recall, I gave money to (Altero) Matteoli at his home in Tuscany,” said Giovanni Mazzacurati, the former head of the consortium in charge of Venice’s MOSE flood-protection system. Last week investigators put some 100 people under investigation, including former Berlusconi minister Giancarlo Galan, and arrested 35 suspects for taking part in an alleged scheme that skimmed 25 million euros in taxpayer money off MOSE funds and channeled them to political campaigns. Matteoli, who is also under investigation, has denied any wrongdoing.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Gives Gentle Backing to Juncker
Chancellor Angela Merkel gently backed Jean-Claude Juncker as the next European Commission president on Tuesday, but appeared open to other suggestions in a summit between the leaders of Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Attack French Jewish Teens With Axes in Paris
Two Jewish teenagers told police they narrowly escaped an attack near Paris by a hatchet-wielding man and three others. The attack occurred late at night on June 4 in Romainville, a northeastern suburb of the French capital, according to a report by the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA.
While crossing the town’s Market Square, the two boys and their grandfather, all wearing kippahs, said they were followed by a tall man in his 20s wearing a long beard. They described the man as having an athletic figure and an Arab appearance.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Northern Ireland: McGuinness: Executive ‘Could Help Fund Mosque for NI Muslims’
Martin McGuiness told MLAs that public funds could help provide a mosque for Northern Ireland’s Muslim community, on 9 June 2014.
The deputy first minister said a young teacher he had met at the Belfast Islamic Centre had told him she was afraid to go to work, following recent statements made by north Belfast pastor James McConnell.
Pastor McConnell who called Islam “heathen” and “satanic” was questioned by police and subsequently apologised…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Northern Ireland: Taxpayers’ Cash ‘Could Help Fund Mosque’
Taxpayers’ money could be used to help fund a new mosque for the Muslim community in Belfast, Martin McGuinness has told the Assembly.
The Deputy First Minister was responding to what Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy called the “disgraceful diatribe of venom” from Pastor James McConnell, who described Islam as Satanic…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Confucius Institute for Business, Communication Launched in Scotland
EDINBURGH, June 10 (Xinhua) — The Scottish Confucius Institute for Business and Communication on Tuesday was officially launched at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland’s capital to enhance the cultural and business exchanges between Scotland and the Chinese side…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Books ‘Promoting Stoning’ Found at Olive Tree Primary School
A Muslim school found to have books suggesting stoning and lashing as appropriate punishments says it is the victim of “hostility”.
Ofsted said some of the library books at Olive Tree Primary School in Luton contained fundamentalist views which had “no place in British society”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ofsted Chief Backs Down After Row With Michael Gove Over ‘Trojan Horse’ Claims
Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Ofsted chief, has backtracked after he claimed that Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, had opposed his plans for “no-notice” inspections of schools
The head of Ofsted has been forced to backtrack on his claim that Michael Gove blocked plans for unannounced inspections of schools following a furious response by the Education Secretary. Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, said that he conceded Mr Gove’s “commitment” to the measures is “longstanding”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Oxfam: MPs Shocked by ‘Disgraceful’ Political Campaigning
Oxfam tweets a faux film poster, showing dark storm clouds over a broiling sea, under the words in red: “The Perfect Storm”
One of Britain’s leading aid charities is facing an inquiry by the charity watchdog after it attacked the Government’s austerity programme.
In a posting on Twitter, Oxfam tweeted a faux film poster, showing a broiling sea, under dark storm clouds, under the words in red: “The Perfect Storm” adding that it was “starring zero hours contracts, high prices, benefit cuts, unemployment, childcare costs”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Rural School Deemed ‘Too White’ By Ofsted Visits London to Mix With Ethnic Pupils
A small rural primary school has organised a sleepover to London — so the children get a chance to see people who are not white.
Payhembury Primary in Devon was criticised by Ofsted for being insufficiently ‘multicultural’.
So the 68-pupil Church of England school is asking parents to pay for their children to make a two-day trip to a school with a wide mix of ethnic backgrounds.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: So When Will Being ‘White British’ Become a Crime?
by Richard Littlejohn
Amid all the furore about Islamist infiltration of schools in Birmingham, another story involving the education watchdog Ofsted has received rather less attention.
Inspectors have criticised a rural school in Devon for being insufficiently ‘diverse’. Although they concede that Payhembury Primary is a ‘happy place’, it has been denied an ‘outstanding’ rating because all 68 pupils are of ‘white British heritage’…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tower Hamlets Council ‘Targeted in Trojan Horse-Style Islamist Infiltration Plot’
A London MP today warned of the risk of a ‘Trojan Horse’-style Islamist plot to infiltrate councils in the capital amid claims of schools being targeted in Birmingham.
As Ofsted criticised five schools at the heart of the row, Labour’s Jim Fitzpatrick said there is a risk of “race politics” taking hold after the re-election of controversial mayor Lutfur Rahman in Tower Hamlets.
He said Labour had rejected “several hundred” applications from people the party believed could be “extremists” trying to infiltrate the borough’s politics, as well as expelling party members during the past five years…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Two Jailed for Terrorism Material Urging Muslims to ‘Die for Allah’
Two men from east London have been jailed for uploading terrorist material on the worldwide web and distributing material encouraging Muslims to “die for Allah”.
Shah Jalal Hussain, 31, and Ibrahim Hassan, 28, were both sentenced at the Old Bailey to three years on Friday after admitting 12 charges between them. Jalal Hussain was arrested in Whitechapel last June, under the 2006 Terrorism Act, for disseminating terrorist publications.
It followed a raid in east London a month earlier by the Met’s SO15 Counter Terrorism Command when Ibrahim Hassan was arrested in Walthamstow for commissioning, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism.…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Victorious Kosovo PM Thaci Seeks Coalition Partners
(PRISTINA) — Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, whose PDK party won snap parliamentary elections at the weekend, began the search on Monday for coalition partners to provide him with a third mandate.
But the ex-guerilla chief, who has dominated politics since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, will need to find coalition partners to form a government after after failing to gain enough MPs in the 120-seat parliament to rule alone.
During the campaign, the three largest opposition parties had said they would not form a coalition with the PDK, following public discontent in Europe’s poorest country over high unemployment and rampant corruption.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Work Continues on Handbook on Cultural Diversity
(ANSAmed) — ALEXANDRIA (EGYPT), JUNE 10 — The draft ‘‘Handbook on Intercultural Citizenship Education in the EuroMediterranean region’’ currently being discussed by 30 experts at a two-day event in Alexandria, Egypt, vies to be a textbook for teachers and educators who will instruct youths to respect cultural diversity and become active citizens. The draft text being discussed by specialists in education and cultural training from 24 countries who are gathered for the ‘‘Third Alexandria Education Convention’’ will go through changes in the coming months to make it a more effective tool and to promote future initiatives including a website and training courses.
The handbook has been drafted by eight experts over two years at the initiative of two previous Conventions in Alexandria, a symbol of Mediterranean culture. The initiative is organized by the Anna Lindh Foundation (Alf), an intergovernmental institution of 42 countries gathering civil society representatives from the Mediterranean to foster reciprocal understanding and trust.
The book’s aim is to help teachers form youths who are active in their communities and who respect and understand people from different cultures. It is an ‘‘informal educational tool’’ used by associations and other institutions as well as ‘‘formal’’ operators like schools, as stressed by the convention’s participants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Mob Block Jewish Entry to Temple Mount
For third day running, police ‘give Muslim rioters a prize,’ close access to Jews.
Muslims visitors to the Temple Mount formed a riotous mob on Tuesday on the inner side of the Mughrabi Gate, the only point of access for Jewish visitors, prompting Israeli police to submit to their violent outbursts and ban Jewish entry.
The ban blocked Jews from visiting the holiest site in Judaism during the only hour in the afternoon when they are generally allowed access. The move follows police removing Jewish visitors on Sunday and Monday, also due to Muslim violence…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
PNA Slams Israeli Move to Force-Feed Striking Palestinian Prisoners
RAMALLAH, June 10 (Xinhua) — The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) condemned on Tuesday the Israeli Knesset’s approval to force-feed striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Zeyad Abu Ein, deputy minister of the PNA prisoners’ affairs told Xinhua that the approved Israeli law “targets the prisoners on hunger strike for a premeditated murder.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Reuven Rivlin is Elected Israel’s 10th President
Following victory, Rivlin declares: ‘I am a man of the nation — long live the State of Israel!’
MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud) was elected Israel’s 10th president on Tuesday, receiving the support of 63 Knesset members in a runoff vote against MK Meir Sheetrit (Hatnuah). Rivlin will be ceremoniously sworn in as first citizen of Israel on July 24, 2014, replacing outgoing President Shimon Peres…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
31 Killed in Bomb Attack at Mourners in Iraq’s Diyala
BAQUBA, Iraq, June 10 (Xinhua) — Up to 31 people were killed and some 28 others wounded in a bomb explosion which targeted mourners in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala on Tuesday, a provincial police source said.
The attack occurred in the morning when dozens of mourners at a cemetery near the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, were burying the coffin of Mustafa Abdul-Razzaq, a Sunni teacher in Diyala University, who was assassinated on Monday night by militiamen near his house in Baquba, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Anarchy in Iraq: Militants Seize the City of Mosul and Free 1,200 People in Prison Break
Islamic militants have captured Iraq’s northern capital, Mosul, in a devastating defeat for the Iraqi government, whose forces fled the city discarding weapons and uniforms.
The victory by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) is likely to transform the politics of the Middle East as foreign powers realise that an al-Qa’ida-type group has gained control over a large part of northern Iraq and northern Syria. The US said it supported a “strong, co-ordinated response to push back against this aggression”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Germany and Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks
German officials will visit Tehran on Sunday for talks on Iran’s nuclear drive, top Iranian negotiator and deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday.
The meeting will follow similar discussions with American, Russian and French negotiators this week ahead of the resumption of political talks between Iran and the main P5+1 group of world powers on Monday in Vienna.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Insurgents Seize More Towns in Northern Iraq
KIRKUK, Iraq, June 10 (Xinhua) — Armed militant groups on Tuesday took control of more towns in Iraq’s oil-rich province of Kikruk after they seized the country’s second largest city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, a provincial police source said on Tuesday.
Hundreds of gunmen stormed the predominantly Arab towns of Hawijah, Zab, Riyadh, Abbasi and Rashad in south and west of the city of Kikruk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Insurgents Seize Iraqi City of Mosul as Troops Flee
Insurgents seized control of most of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul including the provincial government headquarters early Tuesday, offering a powerful demonstration of the mounting threat posed by extremists to Iraq’s teetering stability.
Fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an al Qaeda offshoot, overran the entire western bank of the city overnight after Iraqi soldiers and police apparently fled their posts, in some instances discarding their uniforms as they sought to escape the advance of the militants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq Loses Second-Largest City to Islamic Militants
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq’s troubled government lost its grip on the country’s second-largest city, Mosul in the northwest, after radical Islamic militants made huge advances on Tuesday and seized control of key positions such as the airport and municipality…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: U.S. Condemns ISIL Assault on Mosul
The United States is deeply concerned about the events that have transpired in Mosul over the last 48 hours where elements of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) have taken over significant parts of the city. The situation remains extremely serious. Senior U.S. officials in both Washington and Baghdad are tracking events closely in coordination with the Government of Iraq, as well as Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and support a strong, coordinated response to push back against this aggression. We also commend efforts by the KRG to respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The United States will provide all appropriate assistance to the Government of Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement to help ensure that these efforts succeed…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque — a Symbol of Splendour in Oman
When instructions were given by Sultan Qaboos of Oman in 1992 to build the Grand Mosque, it took six years to complete.
In the year of 1993, the Diwan of Royal Court held an international competition to find the best design for the Grand Mosque. The construction commenced in 1995, headed by the master architect Mohamed Saleh Makiya and Quad Design of London and Muscat. The long years that went into the construction of the Mosque complex are testimony to the effort and dedication that has gone into making it a true piece of marvel in marble, sand, stone and wood…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Jihadis Display ‘Power of Islam’ On Donkey Victims
Very graphic videos recently appeared on Arabic-language media portraying Islamic jihadis in Syria slaughtering donkeys in order to consume them…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Cleansing of Iraq’s Christians is Entering Its End Game
by Nina Shea
The government of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, fell overnight to the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, also called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Mosul’s panic-stricken Christians, along with many others, are now fleeing en masse to the rural Nineveh Plain, according to the Vatican publication Fides. The border crossings into Kurdistan, too, are jammed with the cars of the estimated 150,000 desperate escapees…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Two Saudi Shiites Sentenced to Death for 2012 Anti-Government Demonstrations
In 2011 and 2012, in the wake of the Arab Spring, Saudi Shias (between 15 and 20% of the population) took to the streets to demand reforms and equal rights. Compared to Sunni majority they suffer higher unemployment and poverty than the national average. They also demanded greater religious freedom, in some areas they are banned from building mosques.
Riyadh (AsiaNews) — Two Shiites have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, accused of committing acts of violence during anti-government demonstrations of 2011 and 2012 when, in the wake of the Arab Spring, Saudi Shias (between 15 and 20% of the population) took to the streets (pictured) asking for reforms and equal rights. Compared to the Sunni majority they suffer higher unemployment and poverty than the national average. They also demanded greater religious freedom, in some areas they are banned from building mosques.
Dozens of Shiites in Saudi Arabia are on trial for the protests that took place in the eastern provinces, in conjunction with those of fellow Shias in neighboring Bahrain. Of the 950 arrested, 217 are still being held.
The official news agency SPA reports that the death sentence handed down yesterday by the court in Jeddah refers to, “participation in the formation of terrorist groups” and “attacks against security forces and against public and private property.” One of the two was also found guilty of having led and incited protests in the turbulent Shiite village of Awamiya, of having shot at police and he writing anti-regime graffiti on the walls. The two, along with a third person sentenced to 30 years in prison, were also found guilty of throwing petrol bombs at police vehicles. It is not clear if any police were injured in the attack.
It is possible to appeal the sentence within 30 days.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
World Cup Sponsors’ Ire Over Bribery Allegations Overshadow FIFA Congress
Global soccer leaders head to Sao Paulo on Tuesday for FIFA’s annual congress, but the event is being eclipsed by bribery allegations against a former Qatari soccer boss and sponsors’ calls for a full investigation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Children Die From Fragmentation Wounds in Slavyansk
(AGI) Kiev, June 10 — A boy and a girl, aged 12 and 6, died in clashes between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces in the city of Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, on Tuesday. They died from fragmentation wounds, Donetsk region administration spokesman Ilya Suzdalev said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
8 Afghan Deminers Killed by Taliban in Logar
KABUL, June 10 (Xinhua) — Eight Afghan deminers were killed and three others injured as they were attacked by Taliban in eastern province of Logar on Tuesday, the presidential palace said in a statement.
“On Tuesday morning, personnel of MDC (Mine Detection Center) were working at a site in Tobagi area near Aynak (copper mine project). They came under terrorists’ attack, with eight personnel killed and three others injured,” the statement said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Five U.S. Troops Killed During Security Operation in Afghanistan: Pentagon
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) — Five service members of U.S. troops were killed on Monday in a possible friendly fire during a security operation in southern Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Investigators were looking into the likelihood that friendly fire was the cause, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these fallen.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Flights Suspended Following Attack Near Pakistan’s Karachi Airport
ISLAMABAD, June 10 (Xinhua) — Flight operation at Jinnah International Airport was suspended following an attack by unknown gunmen at an airport security forces’ camp in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday afternoon, local media reported…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Japan: Work Starts on ‘Ice Wall’ To Halt Fukushima Leaks
The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima hopes revolutionary underground freezing technique will stop contaminated water escaping into the Pacific Ocean, but critics say it’s too little, too late.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Convoy of Civilians Attacked in Central Mozambique — Military Use Civilians as Human Shields
The war continues in the central part of Mozambique. At approximately 2PM this past Saturday, another convoy of civilian vehicles was attacked on the National Road 1, while driving northbound. We have unofficial reports that two Mozambican Defense Force (FADM) soldiers were killed and others were wounded. According to witness reports, rather than protecting the convoy, FADM soldiers used civilians as human shields, deeming that the alleged Renamo gunmen would not shoot at defenseless citizens…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: Muslim Cleric Shot Dead in Mombasa
Police are investigating the murder of a Muslim cleric in the Coastal city of Mombasa. Mohammed Idris 64 , chairman of the Council of Imam and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) was shot dead on this morning outside his house in Likoni area .
Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa said three assailants riding a motorbike confronted the Imam and shot him at close range as he was heading to the Mosque for morning prayers…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Gunmen Kidnap 20 Women in Borno
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have reportedly kidnapped 20 women from a nomadic settlement in Borno State near the town of Chibok, where the Islamic militants abducted more than 300 schoolgirls and young women on April 15…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Luis Fleischman: Elections in Colombia, The FARC and Obama’s Speech at West Point
The political direction of Colombia and the fate of many Colombians will be decided in run-off elections this coming Sunday, June 15th. Who becomes president of Colombia matters because the man elected will determine whether or not to continue what some consider to be the misguided negotiations with the narco-guerilla group known as the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Colombian president, Jose Manuel Santos began negotiations with the FARC approximately eighteen months ago. His opponent, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga won in the first round of elections that took place in Colombia on May 25th. Santos’ second place finish was not necessarily the result of economic failure nor was it about violations of civil rights or attacks on democracy.
Santos’ loss was most likely the result of his initiation and continued investment in his peace dialogue with the FARC.
The FARC is not only a guerrilla group. As time went by, the FARC turned into a dangerous and murderous group that killed thousands of innocent Colombians and kidnapped hundreds more. The FARC grew into one of the largest drug cartels, threatening the stability of Colombia and converting it into a lawless country…
| [Return to headlines] |
Eight Italian Soldiers Test Positive for TB After Rescues
Navy chief says infected military members not sick with disease
(ANSA) — Rome, June 10 — Eight members of the Italian Navy involved in migrant rescue operations have tested positive for tuberculosis, but not are ill, the Navy Chief of Staff Giuseppe De Giorgi said Tuesday.
The eight have been involved in the Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) rescue operations that began last October after about 400 migrants were killed trying to make the perilous sea journey from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe via Italy. Italy is having trouble managing after a massive increase this year in the already large flow of migrants who attempt the crossing, often at the hands of human smugglers.
At the end of last month, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said almost 40,000 migrants landed on Italy’s shores in the first five months of this year — almost as many as the total for all of last year.
The government has come under fire over the Mare Nostrum Operation, which some opposition parties say is encouraging human traffickers who know that migrants will be rescued by Italian forces.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
In Sweden and the West, What Message Are We Muslims Sending?
by Mudar Zahran
“I just want to make a living but those Islamist crazies won’t leave us alone. They say they support jihad, they deal drugs, they get drunk and harass women. I swear to Allah, sometimes I feel I am not living in Malmö but in Afghanistan.” — Mr. S., Palestinian refugee from Jordan living in Sweden.
“I am religious, but I cannot accept what the Muslim fundamentalists have been doing to this country. I have had job offers to teach at major Swedish cities, but instead chose to go to a remote town where I would not have to see those fundamentalist immigrants.” — Muslim College Professor, northern Sweden.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Maltese Rescuers Cleared of Responsibility in Refugee Drowning
VALLETTA, June 10 (Xinhua) — An Italian judge Monday cleared a Maltese sea patrol rescue crew of responsibility for the drowning of five migrants after a failed rescue at sea.
The fatal accident occurred Saturday when an inflatable dinghy carrying 112 migrants overturned as they were being transferred to a merchant ship summoned to the area by search and rescue officials, Maltese reports said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Smugglers Involved in Double Migrant Boat Disaster Held
Three die, six missing in rescue operations gone wrong
(ANSA) — Ragusa, June 10 — Police on Tuesday were holding two alleged smugglers from Senegal at the centre of Monday’s double migrant boat tragedy in the Sicilian channel that took place just as rescue operations were being carried out. Babacar Gueye, 25, and Sekou Sara Elhadji, 29, both from Senegal, were at the helm of two dinghies respectively holding 107 and 111 migrants that had been intercepted off the southern coast of Sicily when the latest in a long string of boat disasters occurred.
Gueye’s boat was intercepted by the Maltese petrol tanker Norient Star but suffered a puncture and deflated during berthing, flipping the migrants on board — who were all reportedly wearing life jackets — into the water.
Three people died as a result of the incident and a further two were still missing. Separately, four people fell from Elhadji’s boat while trying to climb a rope ladder to safety after being rescued by the motorboat Peruvian Refeer and were pulled underwater by strong currents.
Their bodies have not been found. Gueye and Elhadji both reprtedly offered to drive the boats on behalf of traffickers as they didn’t have the resources to pay for their own crossing. Italy is struggling to cope with a massive increase this year in the already big flow of migrants who attempt the hazardous crossing from North Africa.
Almost 40,000 migrants landed on Italy’s shores in the first five months of this year — almost as many as the total for all of 2013.
Many thousands more have arrived so far in June after being rescued by Italian authorities as part of the Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) Operation launched after around 400 people were killed on two migrant-boat disasters in October.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland: Raunchy Nuns Diet Coke Jesus Parody Banned by RTE
The Republic of Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE has banned a comedy sketch featuring a crucified Jesus — leading to claims that it has engaged in “dictatorial” censorship…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Frozen-Food Company Woos Gays With ‘Coming Out’ Advert
Findus steals march on Italian market
(ANSA) — Rome, June 10 — Italy’s gay community leaders heaped praise on Findus Tuesday after the frozen-food giant produced the first commercial on the peninsula aimed overtly at homosexuals.
The advert introduces Luca, who invites his mamma to the apartment he shares with flatmate Gianni. After surprising her with his skill at whipping up frozen food, Luca quips “Mamma, there is another little surprise: Gianni is not just my flatmate, he is my partner.” Mamma rises to the occasion, replying fondly “Darling, I already understood” and touches her son’s hand.
“This should set an example for how Italian companies should communicate,” Fabrizio Marrazzo, spokesperson for Italy’s Gay Centre association, cooed.
“The advert clearly demonstrates the simplicity of a gay couple’s daily life,” he claimed.
In September Italian pasta giant Barilla set off a storm when its head Guido Barilla said the company would never feature homosexuals or lesbians in its adverts. He quickly backtracked.
While advertisers in the UK and USA have been quick to solicit trade from high-income gay singles, overwhelmingly Catholic Italian TV has stopped short of pursuing gay business in the past.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Great Fear — Why Do Whites Fear Their Own Ethnicity?
I encourage readers to watch “The Great Debate — Xenophobia: why do we fear others?” This debate, which took place at Arizona State University, March 31, 2012, was about the human instinct to form in-groups and out-groups particularly along ethnic lines.
Because this is a panel of Western scientists committed to the idea that diversity is a strength and that Western societies must be open to mass immigration. Why? Because these scientists are members of a European-created culture that has come to believe that European ethnocentrism, and only this ethnocentrism, is harmful to humanity. Therefore, Europeans, and only Europeans, must work towards universal forms of community and human solidarity without outside-ness and without fear of the other.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Just thought you’d like to know, the item entitled “Rural School deemed too white by Ofsted” and Richard Littlejohn’s critique of the same issue have been censored by the Thai military government. When I clicked on both, a green “test card” came up saying that the item had been removed by the Government. What was it they did not want us to see?
A comment on the Cantor catastrophe from another web site:
“Now Cantor sleeps with the weasels.”
the MSM is dismissing this defeat of Cantor as “merely the sentiment of the rural South”. They claim it will not be repeated anywhere in the more populous (read “smarter”) northeast or in any of the big cities or California. Obviously not California since large swathes of it are already Mexifornia…
Oh, and don’t forget Dems in Virginia can cross over in primaries and vote in Republican contests. Skews the reality.
I watched Fox news this morning and they claimed Cantor went down due to his stance on immigration (illegal, that is). They pointed to the huge influx of illegal minors that have flooded the south west recently, 60-100 thousand, that are being dropped off at bus stops with no support. Essentially foisted on American communities.
I doubt it… I don’t think voters in unaffected areas are paying all that much attention to the refugee crisis taking place on our southern border. I don’t think anyone cares all that much just so long as their grass gets mowed and their hotel room is clean.
What is the US going to do with all these children? And, if you can’t stop children from coming into the country, how secure is the border? The politicians have been telling me for most my adult life that the border is secure… What a lie!
In a related thought, I watch Sun News Canada regularly. Recently Canada has been soul searching about why children’s test scores are in a steep decline. I’m just throwing it out there but… could it be because of the mass immigration from 3rd world countries?
The west is importing poverty and stupidity.