The elusive and reclusive Caliph of the newly-declared Islamic State has finally showed himself in a video from Mosul. Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi insists that all Muslims must obey him. Meanwhile, ISIS forces have begun the process of destroying Shia shrines and mosques within the territories they control.
In other news, five people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in northern Nigeria. Five people were also killed by gunfire and mortars when Islamic militants launched an attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, RM, RR, 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.
Expropriation is Back (They Are Planning to Steal Your Future)
I have gone on record that the most dangerous organization is the now French led IMF with Christine Lagarde at the helm, which has presented a concept report that debt cuts for over-indebted states are uncompromising and are to be performed more effectively in the future by defaulting on retirement accounts held in life insurance, mutual funds and other types of pension schemes, or arbitrarily extending debt perpetually so you cannot redeem. Yes you read correctly, The new IMF paper is described in great detail exactly how to now allow the private sector, which has invested in government bonds, to be expropriated to pay for the national debts of the socialist governments.
I have been warning that there is an idea that has been running around behind the curtain that the national debt of the USA could be settled by usurping all pension funds in the country. Here is a remarkable blueprint that throws all previous considerations concerning the purchase of government bonds over the cliff. The IMF working paper from December 2013 states boldly:
“The distinction between external debt and domestic debt can be quite important. Domestic debt issued in domestic currency typically offers a far wider range of partial default options than does foreign currency-denominated external debt. Financial repression has already been mentioned; governments can stuff debt into local pension funds and insurance companies, forcing them through regulation to accept far lower rates of return than they might otherwise demand..”
Already in October 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), suggested the Euro Crisis should be handled by raising taxes. The IMF lobbied for a property tax in Europe that should be imposed where there are no such taxes. The IMF has advocated for a general “debt tax” in the amount of 10 percent for each household in the Eurozone, which also has only modest savings.
People are blind. They think this is authorization to go get the rich. They are going after everyone for the “rich” are tiny players in the game. People do not want to hear that. They want to think the rich can pay the bills for everyone else. That is not practical and even Julius Caesar [19] recognized that they may be a small group, but they are the engine of the economy that creates jobs. It would have been popular for him to wipe out all the rich who he was against. But in the end, he had to solve the debt crisis by simply retroactively attribute all interest to capital in order to solve the debt crisis that led to the first civil war…
| — Hat tip: RM | [Return to headlines] |
CAIR Steals my (Intellectual) Property
by Daniel Pipes
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, founded by Hamas supporters and seeking to overthrow Constitutional government in the United States, has engaged in so many morally dubious activities that there’s a bibliography of my writings on not trusting CAIR; also, America’s self-styled “Largest Civil Rights and Advocacy Organization” has played so many dirty tricks on me that I finally had to document these in both an article and then a follow-up blog…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Obama Years: ‘The Trailers Were Great, The Movie Was Horrible’
As a poll of American voters ranks Barack Obama as the worst president of all time, Matt Lewis says his presidency has been a disastrous flop — talented and much-hyped but ultimately unsatisfying
The trailers were great, but the movie was horrible.
Six years in, that’s the general consensus on the Obama presidency. Having ridden a wave of “hope and change” to the White House, President Barack Obama has failed to deliver on his huge box office, err, ballot box expectations.
Just how bad is it?…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Violent Palestinians Beat Jews in Canada
The Palestinian riots in Jerusalem have made their way to Canada, where a violent crowd was taped beating Jews. One man is seen bleeding and being taken away by paramedics. As TV anchor Ezra Levant points out, “Never Again” is written across his sleeve. Never again — and here we go again…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Britain Freezes Assets of Three ‘ISIS Members’
The assets of three British citizens reported to have been involved in terrorism-related activities in Syria were frozen by the British government on Friday.
Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan, both from Cardiff, and Ruhul Amin, from Aberdeen, were added to the Treasury’s list of people targeted for financial sanctions, according to the list posted on its website…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Police: Explosion Which Killed PA Ambassador ‘An Accident’
Police end investigation into Jamal al-Jamal’s death in a mysterious explosion, say blast the result of explosives ‘hidden in a book’.
Czech Police have announced their decision to shelve the investigation into the blast that killed the Palestinian Authority ambassador to the Czech Republic, Jamal al-Jamal, after the investigators concluded that no crime or deliberated assassination was committed.
The decision to call off the investigation was made in a joint statement issued by the Czech Police Spokeswoman, Andrea Zoulova, and the state attorney Jindra Janacova…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Considered Too Expensive for Shooting Films
‘Incredible bureaucracy’ also part of the problem
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JULY 1 — The Greek Tourism Ministry recently announced its intention to get Greece into more films to receive further promotion abroad and attract more visitors.
However, as GTP website reports, the high value added tax (VAT), the cost of filming at an archaeological site and all the red tape and paperwork involved, are the main reasons why major Hollywood productions are being filmed elsewhere. The cost to make a film in Greece includes 1,600 euros per day for filming at archaeological sites and museums and 800 euros per day for aerial or underwater filming. Reports also said that the “incredible bureaucracy” involved to film in Greece is reason enough for producers to select other destinations. Among filmmakers and Hollywood actors that have expressed their interest to participate in movies filmed in Greece are Richard Linklater, Costas Gavras, Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, Daniel Day Lewis and Sarah Jessica Parker. Greek filmmaker Yiannis Smaragdis told the press that while trying to film “El Greco” he encountered many difficulties and almost switched the film’s location to Spain where he could shoot for free. “But I love my country and ran around for six months from office to office,” he stressed. The reports mentioned that the Greek ministries involved in the matter are considering to make changes that will make Greece more attractive for foreign blockbusters to be filmed there.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian PM Calls for a Less Technocratic Europe
(AGI) Rome, July 5 — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called for Europe to be less technocratic and not only the home of bankers and bureaucrats. “If we want to build our future we cannot be crushed by our present,” Mr Renzi said at a meeting on Saturday in Fie allo Sciliar, a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. “I am called ‘The Scrapper’ , but I believe this is not about erasing the past, it has more to do with some politicians in Rome.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mini Skirts, Plunging Necklines Banned in Brindisi Court
‘Must preserve decorum in summer’
(ANSA) — Brindisi, June 30 — Mini skirts and plunging necklines have been banned in a bid to preserve “some semblance of decorum during the summer months” in the main courtroom of the Puglia city of Brindisi.
Court President Francesco Giardino has also prohibited shorts, unless they are part of soldiers’ or police uniform, flip-flop beach sandals and “transparent clothing”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mogherini Says Has Chance of Becoming EU Foreign Chief
‘For now doing my work with great passion’ says Italy FM
(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini on Friday acknowledged she was in with a chance of replacing Catherine Ashton as the EU’s new high representative for foreign affairs.
“It’s one possibility,” she said, adding that “for now I’m doing my work with great passion”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Carabinieri Swoop on Farmer Paying Chinese 3 Euros Per Hour
Farmer and a Chinese middle man fined 15,000 euros
(ANSA) — Siena, July 4 — A Tuscan farmer and a Chinese resident in Italy have been handed fines of 15,000 euros for exploiting Chinese agricultural labourers working illegally for pay of less than 3 euros an hour, police said.
Three Chinese who had been working on the farm in the idyllic Valdichiana area near Siena for the pittance for 11 hours a day were expelled from Italy following an investigation by Carabinieri paramilitary police.
The farmer sold fruit and vegetables cultivated by the Chinese workers in markets in Florence and Prato, according to the Carabinieri.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘False Foreign Companies’ Discovered in Gorizia Province
Naval carpentry firms eluded tax to a value of 44 million euros
(ANSA) — Gorizia, July 3 — Finance police said Thursday they had uncovered 10 companies falsely claiming to be foreign operating in northern Italy.
The firms were implicated in alleged tax evasion to the tune of over 44 million euros, police said.
The companies, operating largely in the naval carpentry sector, were registered abroad but operated in the province of Gorizia in the northern Friuli Venezia Giulia region without declaring their income to either Italian or foreign tax authorities.
They were also found to employ over 500 people without legal job contracts. Eleven people have been placed under investigation in connection with the fraud, which was discovered during routine checks on companies operating in the ship-building sector in the Gorizia area.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mogherini, Padoan Deny Crisis With Germany
Talks on growth pact continuing, they say
(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini and Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan on Friday denied there was a crisis with Germany over differing views on how much growth spending was allowed in EU treaties.
The two minister spoke after a long-distance spat between the Bundesbank and Premier Matteo Renzi late Thursday.
There is no crisis with Germany over interpretations of the EU’s stability and growth pact, Mogherini said. “There is no diplomatic crisis but a political discussion, with other countries too, on how to interpret the stability pact,” she said amid continuing tensions on balancing fiscal discipline with expansionary spending.
Italy, Mogherini said on Italian radio, “is exercising a new European clout, which opens interesting possibilities”. The important thing, she said, is to have “a direct line” with Berlin.
Padoan echoed his colleague.
There is “no problem” between Italy and Germany over how much growth spending can be allowed in the EU, he said, adding that he sees eye-to-eye with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble.
“There is no problem with Germany. I had a long conversation with my friend (German Finance Minister Wolfgang) Schaeuble yesterday. “There is no problem,” Padoan repeated.
The exchange between the Bundesbank and Renzi came late Thursday.
Renzi said he was not afraid of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann after the German called for “fewer words and more deeds” on Italian reforms.
“If he thinks he can scare us he’s got the wrong country and in any case the wrong government,” sources at Renzi’s office said. Weidmann had criticised Renzi for “announcing” rather than implementing reforms.
The sparring highlighted different perceptions in Rome and Berlin about how far EU budget constraints can be eased to allow for growth-stoking spending.
Renzi told the European Parliament in a speech inaugurating Italy’s EU duty presidency Wednesday that Europe must “change and grow” if it is to survive.
The caucus leader of the centre-right European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, replied that countries like Italy could not afford more debt — to which Renzi’s Democratic Party responded by stressing that a deal had been done at last month’s EU summit to trade greater budgetary flexibility for backing Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Most Funding for European Spallation Source Completed: Swedish Minister
STOCKHOLM, July 4 (Xinhua) — Most funding for the European Spallation Source (ESS) has completed, said Swedish Education Minister Jan Bjorklund at Visby, Sweden, on Friday.
“Today is a big day for Swedish research,” Bjorklund said at a press conference, adding that “97.5 percent of funding” was completed for the ESS. And he was optimistic that the remaining funding would be raised…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Petra Kvitova Routs Eugenie Bouchard for Wimbledon Title
Petra Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title in emphatic fashion, beating Eugenie Bouchard, 6-3, 6-0, on Saturday.
Kvitova, who also won in 2011, displayed both overwhelming power and uncharacteristically impenetrable defense. A 24-year-old Czech seeded sixth, she will rise to No. 4 in next week’s WTA rankings.
Bouchard, a 20-year-old Canadian, was making her first appearance in a Grand Slam final. She had made the semifinals at both the Australian Open and the French Open this year and was the 2012 junior champion at Wimbledon.
| [Return to headlines] |
Polish-Nigerian Consultations Take Place in Warsaw
WARSAW, July 4 (Xinhua) — Launching a strategic dialogue between Poland and Nigeria is an important step towards expanding Poland’s activity in Africa, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Katarzyna Kacperczyk said Friday.
Kacperczyk made the remarks while meeting Nigeria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Uhomoibhi as the Polish-Nigerian consultations took place here…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: The “Handshake” Problem: Muslim Mixed-Gender Greeting Provokes Huge Reaction
This article follows on from a previous one, in which a female reporter and male photographer from Nyheter (news site) travelled to Norrköping, Sweden to visit a large gathering of Muslim men…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘None of Our Business’ is No Answer to Islamist Terror
by Matthew d’Ancona
Syria is now a bloodstained souk for terrorist tradecraft — a steady stream of young British Muslims head to the Levant to train as holy warriors
Tomorrow marks the ninth anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London, in which 52 civilians were killed and more than 700 injured. I vividly recall the first reports of a “power surge” on the Tube reaching The Sunday Telegraph newsroom — and then the sickening reality dawning upon us by stages that the capital, still celebrating the previous day’s news that it was to host the 2012 Olympics, had been struck by a serious atrocity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Angry Protesters Shout Abuse as They Storm Out of Astley Bridge Mosque Planning Meeting
ANGRY protesters had to be escorted from a planning meeting by security staff as it descended into chaos after plans for a mosque were approved. Councillors sitting on the planning committee had to leave the room while campaigners against the application were led out…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Amir Khan Arrested After Allegedly Attacking Two Teenagers as They Left a Mosque
World Champion and Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan is arrested over an incident in Bolton in the early hours of the morning
Amir Khan, the boxer, has been arrested after allegedly attacking two teenagers in a street assault.
The 27-year-old former World Champion and Olympic silver medallist was arrested in the early hours following an incident in Russell Street, Bolton, as his alleged victims were returning from a nearby mosque…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Four Arrests After Man Stabbed to Death in Birmingham
Four men being held over disorder in which a man was stabbed to death have been re-arrested on suspicion of murder. The suspects, aged between 24 and 27, were initially detained on suspicion of violent disorder after a man was fatally stabbed in Sparkbrook, Birmingham.
The victim, named by a local councillor as 32-year-old Ikram Elahi, was believed to have been shot but a post-mortem examination has established that he died from a stab wound to the neck…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Families Urged to be Extra Careful This Ramadan
A Safety Road show has been urging families to take extra care during the month of Ramadan.
The Road Show was organised by Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service who have been showcasing the work they do around ‘loose clothing’, ‘Cooking Safely’ and ‘Road Safety’. It aimed to raise awareness of fire safety during the month of Ramadan, a time when there is an apparent increase in fire related incidents in Muslim homes…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A man killed when a street battled erupted in Birmingham this week died from a stab wound to the neck, it has emerged. Ikram Ullah Khan, 28, known locally as Ikram Elahi, died in hospital after the violence which involved up to 300 youths…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Who Cares About ‘Islamophobic’ Tweets? Muslim Orgs Should Round on Extremism Instead
by Milo Yiannopoulos
I’ve always had Muslim housekeepers. They’re clean and they don’t steal things. But do I worry about coming home one day to discover bomb-making equipment alongside the prayer mat and Koran that are now permanent fixtures in my living room? Yes, if I’m being completely honest. I do…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican Recognizes International Association of Exorcists
Roman Catholic group has 250 members in 30 countries
(ANSA) — Vatican City, July 2 — The Holy See has officially recognized the International Association of Exorcists (IAE), Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano reported Wednesday.
A Roman Catholic organization, the IAE was founded in 1990 by six priests including the world-famous exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth.
Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1954 and a member of the Society of St. Paul, Amorth became an official exorcist in June 1986.
He co-founded the IAE in hopes of increasing the number of official exorcists worldwide and to alert more dioceses to the problem, which he believed has been ignored or suppressed within the church.
Amorth is reported to have performed 160,000 exorcisms by May 2013. The IAE, which meets biannually, now has 250 members in 30 countries.
Within the Roman Catholic Church, a priest is allowed to perform an exorcism only with the consent of his bishop and after an examination by doctors and psychologists to determine whether the affliction has a natural origin. “The approval by the Holy See is a joy not only for our association but for the church as a whole”, Rome exorcist Father Francesco Bamonte told L’Osservatore Romano.
“We hope more priests will realize the existence of this dramatic reality, which is often ignored or underestimated.
Exorcism benefits people who are suffering, and is doubtless a work of bodily and spiritual mercy”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
CAIRO — An Egyptian court has handed down death sentences to 10 defendants and ordered life imprisonment for 37 others, including three top leaders of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Defense lawyers are appealing the court’s ruling…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Technician Feared Kidnapped in Libya
(AGI) Rome, July 5 — An Italian technician working in Libya went missing on Saturday morning, Libya International Channel reported. The agency said on its Facebook page that the man may have been kidnapped alongside two foreign colleagues, and published a picture of the suspected victims: Marco Vallisa, the technician; Bosnian Petar Matic; and Macedonian Emilio Gafuri. The three men, who all work for a construction company based in Modena, went missing in Zuwara, in western Libya.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry only confirmed that an Italian has gone missing.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
IAF Strikes Gaza Terror Operative as Deluge of Rockets Continues
After Iron Dome intercepts rockets over Beersheba and Asheklon, Israeli aircraft target Gaza terrorist preparing to launch rocket at Israel; IDF says terrorist had fired rockets at Ofakim in recent days.
The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted four rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Saturday night. Three rockets were shot down over Ashkelon after the rocket defense system intercepted a projectile fired at Beersheba.
Another rocket fell in an open area near Ashkelon, and a second one exploded in Sha’ar Hanegev…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
More Riots Erupt in Eastern Jerusalem Over Youth’s Slaying
Israeli police prevented dozens of Palestinian rioters from breaking through a gate into Jerusalem’s Temple Mount compound in violence connected to the slaying of a Palestinian youth.
The attempt to break into the compound through the Old City Chain Gate was one of a number of violent clashes on Friday between police and Palestinians expressing outrage over the murder of a Palestinian boy earlier this week, Army Radio reported…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The policeman died at dawn this morning, following severe injuries sustained in the explosion which took place yesterday evening. The attack took place in a predominantly Shiite area, not far from the capital. In Saudi Arabia, two al-Qaeda suicide bombers detonate explosives near a government compound.
Manama (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The police officer injured in an “terrorist” bombing in a Shiite majority village in Bahrain yesterday evening died this morning just before dawn . In an official statement, General Tariq al-Hassan, head of national security in the small Persian Gulf emirate, reported that “the policeman Mahmoud Farid died from the injuries” sustained in the attack that hit the village of Ekar-East, a predominantly Shiite area a short distance from the capital Manama. The authorities have opened an investigation to identify and punish those responsible, even if there are no further news on the authors of the attack or reasons behind incident.
Bahrain, an ally of Washington and supported by Riyadh, has been swept by continuous protests — and repeated episodes of violence — since the beginning of 2011, when the first wave of Arab Spring protests crossed many countries of North Africa and the Middle East. The main agitators of dissent are the Shiite majority, victims of exploitation and abuse, who are calling for more freedom and recognition from the government elite (Sunnis).
In recent months attacks against the police considered close to the regime have intensified in Bahrain. These include bomb attacks and explosions which left several people dead and injured; the country is experiencing a political stalemate, with the opposition calling for the birth of a true constitutional monarchy, while those in power refuse any concessions or opening. To stop the protests, in 2013 the authorities increased the penalties against protesters by introducing the death penalty or life imprisonment in the case of deaths or injuries.
Meanwhile, neighboring Saudi Arabia is facing internal drifts linked to Islamic terrorism: This morning two members of al Qaeda blew themselves up near a government compound, after being surrounded by security forces. So far, there are no details on this story, however, it confirms the problems related to domestic terrorism that Saudi Arabia is facing.
The Saudi government, in fact, is pursuing an ambivalent policy regards its battle against domestic terrorism, but is one of the major financers of the international jihadist fighters and groups linked to al Qaeda as has long been the case in Syria.
Indeed, a recent study published by the Pew Research Center, a prestigious American center of studies, conducted between April 10 and May 25, shows that the fear of Islamic extremism is growing in countries with a majority Muslim population, particularly in the Middle East.
The study also reveals that groups like Boko Haram and al-Qaeda but also Hamas and Hezbollah are seeing a drop in support, as well as a significantly decrease in support for suicide bombings that target civilians.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bahraini Policeman Killed in Blast
MANAMA, July 5 (Xinhua) — A policeman died on Saturday of wounds sustained in a bombing near East Eker village, south of the capital Manama, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced. The ministry said the policeman was on duty when the explosion occurred on Friday night.
The Chief of Public Security Major General Tariq Al Hassan said the policeman, Mahmood Fareed, died in the early hours of Saturday after he was transferred to a hospital…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Concern About Religious Extremism is Growing Even in Muslim Countries
A survey by the Pew Research Center, based on interviews with 14,200 people in 14 countries, shows that fear of Islamic extremism is growing almost everywhere. About 92 per cent of Lebanese, 62 per cent of Jordanians and half of Turks are worried. Strong majorities in Bangladesh (69 per cent), Pakistan (66 per cent) and Malaysia (63 per cent) share that fear. More than half of the Palestinians have an unfavorable opinion of Hamas.
Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The fear of Islamic extremism is growing in mostly Muslim countries from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, this according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, a well-respected US-based think tank, that interviewed 14,200 people in 14 countries between 10 April and 25 May, that is before the latest events in Iraq.
The research shows that groups like Boko Haram and al-Qaeda but also Hamas and Hezbollah are losing support. The same applies to suicide bombings against civilians.
Thus, in Lebanon, a country bordering Syria, 92 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about Islamic extremism. The figure is 11 per cent higher than last year and is equal among Sunnis, Shias and Christians.
Concern has also grown in Jordan and Turkey, countries that share borders with Syria. Among Jordanians, 62 per cent are worried about extremism — an increase of 13 points compared to 2012. The same trend is found among Turks, where concern grew by 18 per cent compared with two years ago.
Outside of the Middle East, “strong majorities in Bangladesh (69 per cent), Pakistan (66 per cent) and Malaysia (63 per cent) are concerned about Islamic extremism.” However, in Indonesia, only about four in ten (39 per cent) share this view.
As for attitudes towards Islamist groups, a large majority of Nigerians (79 per cent) is against Boko Haram, whilst 59 per cent of Pakistanis says they have no lost love for the Taliban.
Among Palestinians, just over half (53 per cent) have a favorable opinion of Hamas, a percentage that rises to 63 per cent in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas rules.
Only 46 per cent of Palestinians justifies suicide bombings against civilians, sharply down from 70 per cent in 2007.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Expert: Al Qaeda and ISIS May Try to ‘Out-Jihad’ Each Other With Attacks on West
Islamist terrorist groups may try to “out-jihad” each other with spectacular attacks on the West, according to an article by Quilliam think-tank member Charlie Cooper.
Writing for the Left Foot Forward website, Cooper — who works for the counter-extremism think tank Quilliam — said that the leaders of Al Qaeda and ISIS respectively may enter into a dangerous game of terrorism oneupmanship to be played out in the form of attacks on Western targets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
In a note to AsiaNews, Mar Sako highlights the country’s terrible situation: millions of refugees and no news about the two nuns and three children kidnapped in Mosul. Civil war and partition are increasingly possible. Too concerned about oil, politicians have failed to provide an answer. The patriarch calls on Christians to pray.
Baghdad (AsiaNews) — “It is with deep sorrow” that “I am going to explain the situation” in Iraq, in order to raise awareness “about the current situation” and foster an atmosphere of “mindful solidarity,” said Mar Louis Raphael I Sako, Chaldean Patriarch, in a message about what has been happening in Iraq in the past few weeks, perhaps the darkest and most difficult period in its recent history.
The leaders of the al Qaeda-linked ISIS group, which is sowing terror not only among Christians but also among Muslims, have launched an appeal to all the faithful to come to fight in Iraq and Syria and contribute to the “building of an Islamic state.”
Indeed, fighting is raging in many parts of the country whilst yesterday’s first session of the new parliament in Baghdad was marked by further rifts, ending in a deadlock that included the failure to elect a new speaker.
Against this background of war and devastation, Chaldean Patriarch Mar Sako speaks out. Last week, he led the Synod of the Chaldean bishops in the north of the country.
AsiaNews received and is publishing his note, in which His Beatitude reminds us that “the situation is very fragile” and that “no one is safe.” In it, he confirms the danger of the country’s partition and urges Christians not to despair. He also renews his call for prayers “at this particularly difficult time.
The Chaldean Patriarch’s message about Iraq’s recent tragic events follows:
It is with deep sorrow that I am going to explain the situation in Iraq, with the aim of raising awareness about the current situation and foster an atmosphere of mindful solidarity.
It is no mystery that the situation is very fragile and that therefore no one is safe. De facto, the militias of the (al-Qaeda-linked Sunni jihadist group) Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) still occupy, for now, Mosul and the entire surrounding region. Kurds control Kirkuk. The Baghdad government no longer controls the main Sunni cities whilst the new cabinet has not yet been set up.
On the horizon, we do not see any sign that might give hope for a political solution that can ensure greater security. The risk of a general collapse is great and no one can predict what future developments will be. Meanwhile, as the winds of war grow stronger across the country, ISIS militias reign in Mosul and in most of western Iraq.
The day before yesterday, two Chaldean nuns, along with two orphan girls and a 12-year-old boy were abducted in broad daylight in Mosul. So far, we have no official and firm information about their fate.
There are millions of refugees.
Are we heading towards a civil war? God forbid, but everything seems to be pointing in that direction. It might take a year, two years or more. Everyone expects that the most likely and tragic outcome to this crisis will be the partition of the country into cantons along ethnic and radicalised confessional lines. However, if the ultimate goal is division, one wonders why we should get there through war, and not through dialogue and (political) agreement?
We Christians, who are inspired by the events of the Gospel, feel we are living the mystery of Christ asleep in the boat (Mark 4:35-41), because in front of the alarming indifference and sad neglect of the international community, waves are rising and becoming more menacing!
Despite everything, we do not despair. We are therefore invited and pressed to awake Christ, to take advantage of our faith and continue our journey on a calm sea. Unfortunately, I cannot see to what extent we can rely on politicians and the governing class. In the vast majority, they appear to be concerned only with their own interests, in particular oil!
We welcome with joy the return of families to their homes. They have just gone through the experience of a new exodus, after fleeing the great Christian city of Qaraqosh a few days ago. Today they are back and we hope that events like this do not happen again.
We take this opportunity to renew our heartfelt thanks to all the people of good will, who are working on our behalf, and to all the faithful who are praying for us and who are close to us at this particularly difficult time.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Islamic State Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Addresses Muslims in Mosul
Notoriously secretive head of the organisation formerly known as Isis comes out of hiding to lead Friday prayers as “Caliph Ibrahim
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, emerged from the shadows to lead Friday prayers at Mosul’s Great Mosque, calling on the world’s Muslims to “obey” him as the head of the caliphate declared by the Sunni jihadist group…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: ‘Caliph Ibrahim’ Demands Obedience From Muslims
BAGHDAD: Self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi made an unprecedented appearance in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which his forces captured last month, ordering Muslims to obey him, according to a video posted Saturday.
That marks a significant change for the shadowy jihadist whose Islamic State (IS) group led a lighting offensive that has overrun swathes of five provinces north and west of Baghdad…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Alleged Baghdadi Appears in Video as ‘Caliph’
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) published on Saturday a video that purports to show its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who declared himself recently as the “caliph” of all Muslims around the world.
The hitherto elusive Baghdadi made his appeal in a sermon delivered on Friday in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: ISIS Allegedly Issues ‘Caliphate’ Passport
Militant members and sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have circulated pictures of what they said was the passport of the so-called “caliphate” declared last week by the militant group.
The “State of the Islamic Caliphate” appears to be inscribed at the top of the purported passport. At the bottom, it says: “The holder of the passport if harmed we will deploy armies for his service.”
ISIS reportedly said the new document will be distributed to 11,000 citizens living in cities bordering Iraq and Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIL Militia Destroy Holy Venues in Mosul
(AGI) Baghdad, July 5 — The militia of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) destroyed four tombs and six Mosques in the Niniveh region in Iraq, on Saturday. The Jihadist organisation published some pictures showing the demolition of the sacred venues in the region and in Mosul, captured on June 10. The local people said that the ISIL militia have also occupied the Chaldean Cathedral and the Syrian Orthodox cathedral in the city, removing the crosses and replacing them with their own flags.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State’s Caliph Al-Baghdadi Said to be Severely Injured, Flees to Syria
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Sunni militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), is said to have been severely injured in the raging battle forcing him to flee to neighbouring Syria.
According to a report in the Iraqi news network Al Sumaria, the insurgent leader was injured during a raid led by Iraq’s Shiite-led security forces in the west of Anbar.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
By Hanan Al-Saadoun
Three arms dealers were arrested yesterday with possession of a large number of unlicensed firearms in addition to drugs. The weapons found with the suspects include 1 bazooka, 26 pistols, 19 machine guns, 5 hunting rifles, and 1 shotgun, in addition to live ammunition. Police also found 150 grams of shabu (methamphetamine) and 150 drug pills in the suspects’ possession.
The arrest happened following investigations about a Kuwaiti man with possession of an assortment of weapons. Drug Control General Department detectives moved to the man’s house in Riqqa with a warrant based on information that he was in possession of drugs. They raided the house and found 2 machine guns, 3 pistols, 4 rifles and 1 shotgun, in addition to the drugs.
The man gave information of a Gulf national that he said provided him with the contrabands. Police raided the second suspect’s house and found 15 pistols, 6 machine guns and a large number of live ammunition. Police then raided the house of a third suspect, a Kuwaiti man, after the second suspect gave his identity. A bazooka, 11 machine guns, 1 rifle, 8 pistols and a large number of live ammunition were found inside. The detainees were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.
| — Hat tip: RR | [Return to headlines] |
Postings believed to be from Welsh-born 17-year-old Aseel Muthana on ask.fm tell how ‘excited’ he felt before heading to Syria
One of the three young Welsh jihadists who joined terror group Isis in Syria has urged others to join the fight in a series of new online postings.
Aseel Muthana, a 17-year-old Cardiff militant, made worldwide headlines last month when it emerged how he, brother Nasser, 20, and friend Reyaad Khan, 20, had joined the Islamist extremist group, which has taken over large swathes of Syria and Iraq…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Western Radicals Tapped to be Bombers
Airport security in Britain, America and other countries has been ramped up amid fears al-Qaida plans to use Western jihadists as suicide bombers.
Terrorist masterminds are believed to be targeting young radicals fighting in Syria and Iraq to convince them to be suicide bombers.
It is feared that the master bomb-maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has developed a new explosive that could evade current security checks…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Fugitive Russian Tycoon Yuriy Megel Nabbed on Ligurian Coast
Former Naftogaz MD arrested in Cinque Terre hotel
(ANSA) La Spezia, July 4 — Fugitive Russian magnate Yuriy Megul was arrested by Italian police on the Ligurian coast Friday on charges of fraud and tax evasion, ending a five year hunt by Interpol, police said. Megul, aged 41, had been managing director of numerous companies including the Ukrainian energy concern Naftogaz before he went on the run.
Police arrested the Russian at his hotel in the resort of Levanto in the tourist-famed Cinque Terre district as he was about to go to the beach together with an Austrian girlfriend, police sources said.
Megul was taken to the Villa Andreino prison where he was being held pending a formal extradition request from Russian authorities.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Moscow Attacks U. S. Sanctions on New Weapons
(AGI) Moscow, July 4 — Moscow has attacked the U.S. for placing sanctions on new weapons it has introduced. Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Srgei Riabkov, said Russia would not be involved in a new arms race, but had the right to defend itself. “We have the impression that Washington has come to the conclusion that it is at times simpler and less expensive to apply sanctions, rather than using military force. We are facing a new type of offensive weapon,” he told the newspaper Kommersant.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Russian Rebels Flee Slavyansk
(AGI) Kiev, July 5 — A substantial number of pro-Russian separatists have left Slavyansk, one of their main strongholds in eastern Ukraine, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. The rebels took control of the city on April 6. Their leader, Ivan Girkin, alias Ivan Strelkov, also fled Slavyansk, the minister added, citing intelligence sources.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Regains Control of Rebel Stronghold
Defence minister says national flag is flying over Slovyansk after the retreat of outnumbered pro-Russian separatists.
Ukrainian forces have raised the national flag over the pro-Russian rebels’ main stronghold of Slovyansk after flushing them out of the eastern industrial city, the country’s defence minister has said.
“The Ukrainian national flag was raised over the Slovyansk city council before a lineup of Ukrainian soldiers,” Ukraine’s defence minister, Valery Heletey, said on Saturday in a statement posted on the president’s official website…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
46 Indian Nurses Trapped in Iraq Return Home as Modi Gov’t Scores Diplomatic Victory
NEW DELHI, July 5 (Xinhua) — After being stranded for over three weeks in the war-torn Iraqi city of Tikrit, 46 Indian nurses Saturday returned to their home town of Kochi in the southern state of Kerala where they were greeted with flowers and given a grand welcome.
The nurses, along with 100 other Indians, mostly from Kerala, flew back to their home state by a special flight, after the para-medics were freed Friday evening by their captors — Sunni insurgent group ISIS — who had forcibly taken them on buses to the city of Mosul Thursday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Battle Leaves 6 Taliban Dead in Badakhshan
FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, July 5 (Xinhua) — Six Taliban militants were killed and 10 others sustained injuries as clash erupted in Jarm district of Badakhshan province 315 km northeast of Kabul on Friday night, spokesman of provincial government Ahmad Naved Frutan said Saturday.
“A group of armed Taliban rebels attacked police checkpoints outside Jarm city on Friday night and police returned fire killing six militants on the spot and injuring 10 others,” Frutan told Xinhua…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Hundreds of Oil Tankers Torched in Kabul, Taliban Claim Responsibility
by Haleem
KABUL, July 5 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of oil tankers were burned down in Arghandi area on the outskirts of Afghan capital city Kabul on Friday night, inflicting damages worth millions of dollars.Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power in the conflict-ridden country have claimed responsibility for the attack.
“It was 11:00 p.m. Friday night when three rockets hit the parking lot in Arghandi area on the outskirts of Kabul city burning several oil tankers,” a driver, Tawab Khan, told Xinhua at the site of the incident…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of Women Raped Every Day in India
(AGI)- New Delhi, July 3 — According to recent figures published by India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 93 women are raped every day in the Asian country, with a total of 33,707 in 2013. Figures indicate an increase in violence compared to 2012, when 24,923 women were raped. According to these statistics, the most dangerous city in new New Delhi, where 1,441 cases of rape were reported in 2013 compared to the 585 in 2012, followed by Mumbai (391, Jaipur (192) and Pune (171).
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
By Neil Chatterjee
Indonesia has been plundered since the Dutch collected nutmeg and cloves from the archipelago they called the East Indies 400 years ago. With treasures strung across 17,000 islands, it’s home to the world’s largest gold mine and exports the most power-station coal, palm oil and tin. Indonesia’s identity was forged by a half-century of sometimes savage dictatorship that sold its riches overseas.
Now the country is taking steps to keep more of that wealth at home as the 10-year rule of its first freely elected president comes to an end. A rising tide of economic nationalism threatens to undo the formula that helped bring much-needed investment to the world’s fourth-most-populous nation and its 250 million people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Militant Killed, Trooper Wounded in Ongoing Gunfight in Indian-Controlled Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 5 (Xinhua) — A militant of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit was killed and an Indian army trooper wounded Saturday in an ongoing gunfight between Indian troops and the militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.
The gunfight broke out early Saturday when a joint contingents of Indian army and police cordoned off village Aaripal in Tral area, about 60 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Fighter Jets Bomb Militants’ Positions After Ground Resistance
ISLAMABAD, July 5 (Xinhua) — The Pakistani army said that security forces sought air support after militants showed resistance during the ongoing major ground offensive in North Waziristan on Saturday.
The security forces have launched a major operation against the Pakistani and foreign militants after a rare peace dialogue collapsed and the Taliban increased attacks on forces and sensitive installations.
Ground forces started action two weeks after the airstrikes that had killed over 300 local and foreign militants…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
15 in Critical Condition After China Bus Fire, No Terror Clue
HANGZHOU, July 5 (Xinhua) — Thirty-two passengers were injured after a bus caught fire on Saturday afternoon in downtown Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province. The fire broke out at around 5 p.m. Saturday when the bus with about 80 people aboard was on the Qingchun Road in the downtown of Hangzhou.
Fifteen of the injured were in critical condition, said Yang Jianhua, spokesman for the Hangzhou Health Bureau…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Hong Kong: Hundreds of Arrests in Aftermath of Great March for Democracy
Yesterday more than 500 thousand people lined the streets of the Territory in protest against the government headed by CY Leung, considered too close to Beijing, and to demand mainland China “respect its promises” and grant universal suffrage for the General election in 2017. Police respond by arresting over 500 people including three members of the legislative Council. Anson Chan, former Secretary General of Hong Kong states: “Britain has sold us out for money”.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) — The July 1 Great March for democracy and universal suffrage in Hong Kong, which was attended by more than 500 thousand people, ended this morning with more than 500 arrests. This is confirmed by the police of the Territory after a series of overnight raids: a small group of demonstrators who had decided to carry out a sit-in protest outside the local government offices were targeted. Those arrested included great champions of Hong Kong’s freedom such as Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho Chun-yan and Leung Yiu-chung, all members of the Legislative Council, the small “parliament” in the Territory.
Although the majority of those arrested was released later in the day, mostly with a warning and on bail, in the evening a police spokesman confirmed that 129 people are still detained for “inquiries” with local officials. These include three young people found in possession of a screwdriver, deemed “a dangerous weapon”, and a 21 year old woman who allegedly assaulted an officer during the march. It is not clear if the three deputies are still in custody: a source for AsiaNews in Hong Kong said they will be available for talks “in a couple of days,” but did not specify the reason why.
The 1 July march traditionally sets off from Victoria Park and runs to Beijing’s Liaison Office in the autonomous region. The event has become a tradition after Britain handed over Hong Kong to mainland China on 1 July 1997, as pro-democracy activists began to take action to show their dissatisfaction with regards to local social and political issues.
In 2003, more than 500,000 people joined the march in order to stop a proposed security law under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and demand the resignation of certain senior public officials.
Since then, turnout has declined but never dipped below 150,000. Yet, for Beijing, the march is even more worrisome than the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre because it traditionally comes with demands to change the territory along democratic lines.
Organised by the Civil Human Rights Front, a coalition of various groups that include Catholic organisations, the march has sought greater independence from the mainland as well as an end to functional constituencies, which have led to a widening socioeconomic gap, in favour of the direct election of the territory’s legislative council and chief executive.
This year’s rally comes two days after an unofficial vote was held among Hong Kongers on universal suffrage. Almost 800,000 people voted in what for organisers was a way to vet what people think.
The referendum was supposed to be held on 20-22 June, but the most sophisticated and powerful hacker attack according to the authorities against Occupy Central’s server forced organisers to extend voting to 29 June.
Hong Kong’s Bishop Emeritus Card Joseph Zen on 20 June ended an 84-km march across Hong Kong to encourage citizens to participate in the referendum. Card John Tong, the current bishop, also expressed his support for the right of the people to give their views on democracy.
There was even an 87 year old man, Tang, among protesters. He remained all night in front of the office of the Chief Executive CY Leung to express his disapproval: “I came because I find Hong Kong increasingly ‘mainlandised’ since Leung Chun-ying took office. The white paper further sidelined ‘one country, two systems’ and I feel Hongkongers’ freedom is under threat”.
But not only Beijing and the local government are being blamed by protesters for the “turbulence” that is shaking up the political scene in Hong Kong, “Great Britain is also involved, by keeping silent even though Beijing has broken its promises made in 1997. But on the other hand money commands, it seems: Has anyone from Britain commented on the situation? No”, said Anson Chan Fang On-sang, former Secretary General of Hong Kong with both under the British and the Chinese, a Catholic and representative of the democratic movement.
The politician, who also held the role of a member of the Legislative Council, marched all night. At the end of the demonstration she also spoke with some journalists, explained: “The whole international community should closely follow the Chinese attempts to re-interpret the Basic Law. If China chooses to move away from what it has promised, what will happen to international treaties it has with all the other nations of the world? “.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Attack on Somalia Parliament Kills 5
Somali police say a suicide car bombing outside the country’s parliament has killed at least five people, including at least two soldiers guarding the building.
The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast in the capital, Mogadishu, and says such attacks will continue…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Five Killed and a Dozen Wounded in Bomb and Gun Attacks by Islamist Militants in Somalia
Five soldiers and police have been killed in the Somali capital and a dozen others were wounded by mortar and gun attacks by Islamist militants. The Al Qaeda-linked militants responsible for the carnage have threatened to step up attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Suicide Bomber Kills Five Outside Northeast Nigeria Mosque
MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) — A suicide bomber targeting worshippers in a mosque in a remote village in northeast Nigeria killed five people and wounded dozens, a security source said on Saturday, in an area where Islamist insurgents are mounting near daily attacks…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Five Arrested, Four Wanted for Lampedusa Disaster
Migrants ‘tortured, gang-raped’ before shipwreck
(By Denis Greenan) (ANSAmed) — PALERMO — Italian police on Tuesday detained five people in an operation in Agrigento, Catania, Milano, Rome and Turin in a probe into the October 3, 2013 migrant boat disaster off Lampedusa that killed 366 people.
Another four arrest warrants were issued but the persons were declared fugitives: two in Africa, one in Sweden and the fourth in Rome.
Police said they had seized large sums of money including money transfers from migrants.
Migrants aboard the boat underwent “continuous physical violence and reiterated torture as well as repeated rape, including gang rape,” police said after arresting the five traffickers Tuesday.
The arrests came the same day as statements from Palermo prosecutors saying anti-immigration policies adopted by the majority of host countries are a boon for human traffickers.
“Policies aiming to contain the flow of immigrants adopted by practically all countries of destination have had the side effect of prompting organised crime to invest ever more resources in the illegal management of these flows,” wrote the prosecutors in detention orders issued Tuesday against alleged human traffickers in connection with a probe into the migrant boat disaster off Lampedusa that killed 366 people in October 2013.
“The ban on legal entry beyond a certain number prompted an immediate solution to that obstacle,” continued the magistrates.
“Transnational criminal organisations act like a firm or, better still, like a service company able to arrange the journey to Italy or to another European country on receipt of adequate payment,” wrote the prosecutors. However, they went one step further, saying for would-be migrants such organisations had become “dispensers of hope”, setting themselves up as the main tool for fulfilling the dream of a better life elsewhere. The October 3 Lampedusa disaster, quickly followed by another that killed 34, prompted Italy to launch a huge search-and-rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, which is still going on, with Rome vainly and repeatedly asking the EU for more help.
The arrests came a day after a fresh migrant disaster that shook Italy and put renewed pressure on the EU to do more to help out.
Roughly 30 bodies, suffocated or drowned, were found aboard a migrant boat crammed with nearly 600 passengers as it was escorted to safety.
More than 5,000 migrants were rescued off the coast of Italy last weekend alone in the government’s Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue programme launched after the October disaster.
It has saved some 65,000 migrants since the start of the year, more than 2011’s record 63,000 rescues, government data revealed Monday. But it is straining to cope and migrant centers are overflowing. Italy has repeatedly asked the EU for more help in dealing with the influx. Reciprocity on asylum seekers and migrants was scratched from the EU summit conclusions last week under strong pressures from northern European countries. On Monday, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said that the EU is looking for ways “to contribute more” financially to rescues in Italy, but only “with respect to existing resources,” thus ruling out new funds. Italy’s right-wing parties seized the moment to up pressure either to reform or abandon Mare Nostrum.
“Stop crossing, help them at home now!” said Matteo Salvini, the head of the anti-immigrant Northern League on Facebook. “The shirts of (Premier Matteo) Renzi and (Interior Minister Angelino) Alfano are stained with blood”. The rescue program has come under increasing fire from the League as well as the center-right Forza Italia party of Silvio Berlusconi for its cost and for allegedly facilitating human trafficking. “With Mare Nostrum we’ve incentivized, with grave consequences, an influx of illegal migrants that seems unstoppable. Our country must put an end to the operation and force the EU to confront this problem which is a European one rather than an Italian one,” said FI Senator Vincenzo Gibiino from Sicily. He was echoed by Lombardi Governor Roberto Maroni of the Northern League.
“I hear a lot of talk but the Commission isn’t doing a thing. It’s dumping the problem on Italy,” he said. “Real measures must be put in place, something loud, otherwise we run the risk of only talking about it”. Meanwhile members of Italy’s left also upped pressure on the EU to help it on the front lines.
“We’re truly at the limit,” said Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia, adding that Milan accepts on average 1,000 refugees per day. “This is really Europe’s responsibility. It’s leaving Italy all by itself”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Says Mare Nostrum Needs EU Reinforcement
Jurisdiction quibbles ‘not possible in 2014’
(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said at a Friday press conference in Rome that Italy’s Mediterranean search-and-rescue operation Mare Nostrum will continue but will require European support.
Speaking at a press conference with European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso, Renzi said “Mare Nostrum continues because a civilized population does not set adrift a boat with children, but saves them”, Renzi said, adding that Italy needs “reinforcement” from Frontex, the EU border-control agency.
“It’s not possible that in 2014 a ship full of children is allowed to capsize because we don’t know whose jurisdiction it is”, the premier said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: MEP Asks Brussels to Appoint Commissioner for Migrant Crisis
Italy ‘should not have to face up to migratory emergency alone’
(ANSA) Naples, July 3 — European Parliament member Nicola Caputo formally tabled a question asking the European Commission Thursday to appoint an ad hoc commissioner to tackle the continent’s mushrooming illegal immigration crisis.
“The images of those children, alone and exhausted on the benches in the port of Salerno do not permit us to look away,” said Caputo, a member of Premier Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party.
“I presented a question to the European Commission asking that a commissioner for immigration be named and that Frontex … be transformed into a European frontier guard corps, so that Italy is no longer alone in facing up to the migration emergencies,” the MEP said.
“Naming a European commissioner for immigration would be positive signal by the EU. We are faced with a real humanitarian emergency that can’t be dealt with by our country alone”.
“The work of our Navy busy plucking as many lives from the sea as possible is no longer enough,” Caputo said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Terrorists Crossing US/Mexican Border Leave Their Prayer Rug Behind
A local news station found Border Patrol documents that indicated that thousands of OTMs — “Other Than Mexicans” — have been caught crossing the Mexican border into the U.S., including some known terrorists.
But since that report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has DENIED that there is any “credible evidence” that any terrorists have crossed over.
So the reporter took another look — and the evidence he found is even worse than originally revealed.
He found that 300 terrorists from the Somali Al Queda group Al-Shabaab — the group behind the terror attack at the Kenyan shopping mall last September — have entered the U.S. and are unaccounted for.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Not All Passports Are Created Equal, As This Map Will Tell You
A passport from the United States allows its citizens free access to 172 other countries.
But not all travelers have such an overwhelming spread of choices: Residents of Iraq, for example, can access only 31 countries with their passport. Venturing away from Afghanistan? Your options dwindle to 28 countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
While I find the world news compelling, I am mostly focused on what is happening in Israel and our southern border here in the US.
While Sderot is being plagued by missiles from Gaza, the politicians in the US are trying to underplay, on both sides of the isle, the tremendous fallout of letting tens of thousands of uneducated, non English speaking, disease ridden people free on our country…
Why they are doing this is up for debate. I can only tell you that when they flood our communities, services for American citizens will diminish.
After all, there is only so much money to go around…
Murietta CA need only look a bit west to see what havoc a flood of illegals will do to a community.
As I have said before, I lived through this. The first thing to go is the school system. Native English students are employed as free teacher’s aids… My 2nd grader was taken out of class every Tues. afternoon to teach reading to an illegal until I got wind of it. My son was not being taught to his ability rather, he was being used as a free tutor to his non English classmates. This was done under the guise of “enrichment” for my child… I responded that if I wanted my son to be “enriched” we would do that through community organizations, not during classroom time.
The second thing to go is the public health system. It becomes flooded with non English speaking patients. This carries on to clinics where an American, English speaking patient finds themselves in a totally Spanish speaking venue. I recall going into my Drs office and having the TV in the waiting room be in Spanish. Also, every magazine in the waiting room was in Spanish… My oldest child was maybe 2 years old when I realized that he had to be fluent in Spanish. So, I used the time in the Drs waiting room to support their Spanish though the magazines and TV that was on offer. I have always known that the dollar speaks in English and that it is very sad that those that wish to portray themselves as compassionate are anything but……BTW, both my sons are fluent in Spanish…
The next thing to go is the library and the parks. Extreme pressure is placed on these services to pay for the social impact of the flood of illegals. I recall that our parks turned into something resembling garbage dumps. I couldn’t believe the trash left behind by the “3rd worlders” after their weekends in the parks. While I understand that they probably lived in apartments and a bit of fresh air was needed, I never understood the toll they took on our parks and the cost of cleaning up after them.
The library, a service that I found beneficial to my family had its budget cut to the point that the roof was leaking with no funds to repair it, all periodicals were suspended and the computer system didn’t work. In short, if you wanted to use the library it was restricted to those volumes that weren’t water damaged, no computer and no current periodicals… An interesting thing about our library is that based on my observation the vast majority of those using the library were Asian. I can’t remember an Hispanic or a Latino using the library. (I am sure there might be some, I just never saw them on my weekly visits.)
The next thing to go is the police and fire dept. The police dept come under attack for “targeting illegals” and the fire dept is attacked for responding to fires. I think people in Europe will be able to relate to this. While the society is totally degraded we still want to look for reasons why police are called in to put down riots that are destroying property and fire is vilified for stopping the destruction. Does this sound crazy to you?
In response, we have police busting down doors and shooting people, killing their pets when they have the wrong address; beating mentally ill women into a coma on the side of a highway as did a CHP officer recently.
In short, our western society is coming apart. We no longer have societal controls on our population, anything goes… Religious and cultural norms used to regulate our behavior They have gone to the wayside and now gov’t is the savior, willing to paw through our trash cans and issue warnings or fines for what we throw out and when (as has happened to me because I put the cardboard box from a new washer out on the wrong day.). This is now a crime… We have little people driving around in fuel efficient cars regulating what citizens can and cannot do while western countries are flooded with people that don’t give a damn..
Something has to give. I applaud the people of Muietta CA for standing up to the powers that be and saying NO! You will not destroy my community.
While blowhards like Bill O’Reilly pull their chins in and say that the people of Murietta could solve this through their legislators rather than blocking roads…
Really?
For two decades the people of the United States have asked their Federal Gov’t to secure the border. It seems that a 6 year old can walk across… It seems that taking to the streets is the only resolve at this point. Please remember that this admin told us that the border was secure… In fact, they vilified anyone that dared to say other…
I have seen the local high school closed down by TB, I have had my children used as unpaid tutors to illegals, I paid my way out of it…
This is a crisis that deserves the full resolve of the border states and the national guard. This will effect every community in which the Federal Gov’t decides to land these illegals. Everyone will pay in dollars the degradation of their community and the relinquishment of their liberty. After all, if you cannot decide who gets public services, you are not free. You are merely a slave to the federal gov’t being forced to pay for services that you never agreed to.
Here is the real Bill O’Reilly:
“The talk host has justifiably been widely criticized for arranging to help two American citizens – who were kidnapped by their Saudi national father in 1986 – temporarily leave Saudi Arabia at the very time a congressional delegation was arriving there to negotiate their release.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/joelmowbray/2002/09/06/oreilly_the_wrong_factor_in_saudi_abduction_case
I think the advance of ISIS is very positive news. It means that there will be no Iran-Iraq Shiite super-state. I hope ISIS advances into Iran against the Raffidite dogs there. Woof.