Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/6/2014

Islamic terrorists staged more attacks in the coastal region of Kenya, killing at least twenty-nine people. Further south, a foreign tourist was shot dead, and a Russian tourist in Mombasa was shot and wounded.

In other news, Norway’s justice minister warned that there is a potential danger posed by “Norwegian” mujahideen who return “home” from the jihad in Syria and Iraq.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, MC, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Greece: Some 130,000 Firms Shut Down in Six Years
» Italy: Renzi Tells Bundesbank to Butt Out, All Well With Merkel
» What is Fiat Currency? What is Money?
» What is Capitalism?
 
USA
» Bill Ayers, Political Right, Political Left and “Choice”
» Bloomberg’s Puppet Moms ‘Stroller Jam’ Target Into Requesting Customers Disarm
» How Global Policy Becomes Local
» Independence Day: Now a Day of Mourning
» Most Online Accounts Investigated by NSA Belong to Ordinary Internet Users, Report Claims
» New 9/11 Records Offer Tantalizing Puzzle Pieces
» Press Says NSA Mostly Spied on Ordinary People
» Red Cross Refuses to Disclose How it Spent Hurricane Sandy Money, Says it’s a ‘Trade Secret’
» Sucralose vs. Aspartame: Which of These Top Two Artificial Sweeteners is the Better Choice?
» Train Derailment Near Superior Closes River
» U.S. Seen as Biggest Oil Producer After Overtaking Saudi Arabia
 
Canada
» Zarqa Nawaz of Little Mosque Fame Proves Muslims Can be Funny
 
Europe and the EU
» ‘A Simpler Italy is a Stronger Italy’ Says Renzi
» About 40 Politicians on UK Pedophile Ring: Report
» Cameron’s EU Problem Isn’t Going Away
» Clinton on Merkel: The Greatest Leader in Europe
» East German Secret Police Files Still Relevant
» Fallout Continues From German/US Double Agent
» Italian Former MP Arrested in Corruption Inquiry
» Italian Govt May Find New Jobs for Redundant Alitalia Staff
» Italy: Financial Police Commander to Remain in Prison
» Italy: No Row With German Govt Says Renzi
» Italy: ‘A United Europe Cannot Do Without the UK’ Says Renzi
» Italy Foreign Minister Understands Frustration for Marines
» Italy: Six-Year Jail Term Requested for Ex-Finmeccanica Chief Orsi
» Merkel is Greatest Leader in Europe, Says Hillary Clinton
» Norway: Returning Jihadists Pose Terror Threat: Minister
» Novak Djokovic Defeats Roger Federer for Wimbledon Title
» Soccer: Pavia to be Italy’s First Chinese-Controlled Club
» UK: ‘Unbreakable’ London Unites in Tribute to 7/7 Victims Ahead of Ninth Anniversary
» UK: Executions ‘Will Take Place in Trafalgar Square’, Brit Fighting in Syria Claims
» UK: Trojan Horse: Birmingham Council ‘Ignored Warnings for 12 Years’
» Vatican Detects Cash Shortage in Roman Basilica
» Whooping Cough Affects Vaccinated Children at Nearly the Same Rate as Rest of Population
 
Balkans
» Macedonia: Ethnic Albanians Protest Court Ruling on Slayings
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sentenced to Death
» Egypt President Raises Cigarette Prices by 50 Percent, Beer 200 Percent
» Three Europeans Abducted in Libya
» Three Foreigners Kidnapped in Libya Town, Security Official Says
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Cholent Saves Diaspora Yeshiva From Arab Attack
» Israeli Ambassador: Killers of Arab Palestinian Teen ‘Will Not be Hailed as Heroes’
» Israel Arrests Suspects in Palestinian Teen Murder
» Jordan Slams Israel for Banning Palestinians From Entering Al-Aqsa Mosque
» Op-Ed: The Light Rail Destruction is More Than Meets the Eye
» Six Arrested in Palestinian Teenager Murder Investigation
 
Middle East
» 6 Soldiers Killed in Ambush by Al-Qaida Gunmen in Yemen
» Dubai Plans Pedestrian City Featuring World’s Largest Mall, Theme Park
» In Pictures: ISIS Destroys Iraq Shrines
» Iranian Killed in Iraq in Battling Sunni Militants
» ISIS-Declared ‘Caliph’ Al-Baghdadi Makes Video Appearance
» Surviving Yemen-Saudi Border Attackers Commit Suicide
» Syria: Number of Refugees in Turkey to Reach 1.5 Million
» Syria and Iraq: Ramadan Plea to British Muslims
» The Big and Lethal Lies — Coming at us Faster Than Ever
» The Man Who Would be Caliph
» Turkish Firms Seek Way Out of USD 12 Bln Iraq Market
» US Company Signs Billion-Dollar Energy Deal With Iran
» Why the White House Ignored All Those Warnings About ISIS
 
Russia
» Kyiv Forces Retake Ukraine Rebel Stronghold
» Pro-Russian Forces Entrench in Donetsk
» Ukraine Rebels Regroup After Losing Sloviansk
 
South Asia
» 200 More Indians Flown Home From Iraq
» India: “Military Training” For Civilians Living on Border, To Counter China
» India Sends Five Foreign Satellites Into Orbit
» Pakistan Registers 572,529 Displaced People From North Waziristan
» Pakistan: 5 Indicted in Woman’s Stoning Death
 
Far East
» China: Xi Jinping Signs Strategic Anti-Japanese Trade Agreements With Seoul
» Trade Tops Agenda for Germany’s Angela Merkel on China Trip
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Deadly Attacks in the Kenyan Coast Leave at Least 29 Dead
» Dozens Killed in Uganda as Army Clashes With Militants
» Fresh Al-Shabaab Raids Near Kenya’s Coast Kill 29 as Foreign Tourist Shot Dead
» Gunmen Kill at Least 29 in Two Attacks on Kenyan Coast
» Kenya Attacks: Over 20 Dead as Militants Gun Down Non-Muslims
» Nigeria: 53 Insurgents, 6 Soldiers Die as Troops Clash With Boko Haram
» Nigeria: Soldiers Go on Rampage, Burn, Vandalise BRT Buses Over Colleague’s Death in Lagos
» Russian Tourist Badly Hurt in Mombasa Shooting
» Somalia: Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility for Mogadishu Attack
 
Immigration
» Children on the Run
» Greece Seeks EU Help for Refugee Crisis
» Italy: The Gruesome Truth Behind an Idyllic Scene
» Medical Police State at U.S. Immigration Camps as Doctors Threatened With Arrest for Talking About Infectious Disease
» Stop the Illegal Invasion of Our Nation
» We Can’t Keep Taking on the World’s Children
 
Culture Wars
» Canadian City Bans Events “Associated” With Christians
» Common Core Face-Off: Hiding the Truth About Choice and Charter Schools
 

Greece: Some 130,000 Firms Shut Down in Six Years

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JULY 3 — As many as 130,000 commercial enterprises shut down during Greece’s six-year economic recession while no more than 45,000 new ones opened, which translates into a net loss of some 85,000 businesses. At the same time — as Kathimerini online reports — an estimated 575,000 small and medium-sized enterprises were forced to stop operating, while 265,000 new ones were started. At least 230,000 employment posts, including traders-employers, self-employed and salary workers disappeared from the sector, while total employment in commerce has dropped to levels unseen since 1999.

These were the key points in data submitted on Wednesday by the National Confederation of Greek Commerce (Esee) to new Development Minister Nikos Dendias at their first meeting. “We have to try in every way we can to save the enterprises that can be saved. This is the way to prevent unemployment from increasing and to achieve its reduction soon, to the benefit of the young generation,” said Dendias.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Renzi Tells Bundesbank to Butt Out, All Well With Merkel

Barroso says EC fully supports Rome’s reforms

(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Premier Matteo Renzi on Friday told the Bundesbank to butt out of Italian politics while stressing that he had “excellent” relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Renzi sounded the warning after meeting European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso in Rome Friday for talks on Italy’s six-month duty presidency of the EU.

The premier launched the presidency in a speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday in which he reiterated his call for the union to focus on promoting growth and fighting unemployment after years of painful austerity.

The speech drew criticism from members of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and from the Bundesbank, which are against Renzi’s drive for greater flexibility in the implementation of the EU’s budget rules. On Thursday Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann called for “fewer words and more deeds” on Italian reforms.

“The Bundesbank’s job is assure that its statute goals are achieved, not to take part in the Italian political debate,” Renzi, whose centre-left Democratic Party (PD) won over 40% of the vote in Italy in May’s European elections, told a news conference. “The EU belongs to its citizens, not the bankers, neither Italian nor German ones”.

The sparring was seen by some as highlighting different perceptions in Rome and Berlin about how far EU budget constraints can be eased to allow for growth-stoking spending.

On Friday Berlin moved to play down the row, with a spokesman saying that the Bundesbank’s position was not the same as the German government’s. Barroso said the EC fully supported Renzi’s drive and said the EU needed his “enthusiasm” and “passion”. “We need a strong Italy for a strong Europe,” he added. But Barroso also said that the EU was not imposing reforms as Italy needed these anyway.

He also stressed that Italy had not won any changes on fiscal rules at last week’s EU summit, just clarification that all the existing scope for flexibility in the budget regulations should be used.

“Flexibility was increased when we revised the Growth and Stability pact. The reform is already there but within full respect of the pact, as sanctioned by our treaties,” Barroso said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

What is Fiat Currency? What is Money?

[NOTE: For those who will react to this article by commenting on alternative currencies like Bit Coin, please read my News With Views article on that topic here. Almost everything I predicted about how Bit Coin could be brought down or controlled by the federal government has occurred since the article was written.]

It’s important for you to know these things because as long as you don’t know them, you can be manipulated by those who do not have your interest — or that of America — at heart.

Hopefully, you realize the reason the United States is in such dire economic straits is largely because the people of America have enabled corruption at high levels. We, the people, did not take our responsibilities as a free society seriously and preferred television and other forms of entertainment to learning what we need to know to make sure those we elect to represent them are doing their job — rather than stealing from them.

First, the traditional definition of fiat currency — a paper currency with no value unless backed by something with a defined value, like precious metals. Paper currency that is not backed by something of value is… worthless. I disagree with the traditional definition because the currency of the United States (and other nations, too) is backed by the taxpayers. As long as taxpayers can be put in prison for not paying their taxes, paper currency is backed by the tyrannical threat of government actions against taxpayers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

What is Capitalism?

Why should you care about understanding the economic philosophy of capitalism?

The biggest reason is because our current situation of debt is rapidly leading America and Americans to bankruptcy. If American voters (and Pope Francis) understood capitalism, it is very probable we would not have had a negative GDP the first quarter of 2014. We wouldn’t have 50 million people out of work. Had people understood how capitalism is supposed to work, the corruption that is so effectively leading our nation into third world status would have been stopped in its tracks long ago. Whether people like the idea of understanding capitalism or not, every American has an obligation to know how the system that is supposed to fuel the economy of our nation works. With citizenship comes responsibility.

It’s not hard and it won’t bore you too much. It might even give you the ammunition you need to ask intelligent questions of candidates running for office to represent you and your interests next November. And that is what real capitalism is all about: You and your interests.

Basically, capitalism is an economic system where private individuals control the means of production and provide the capital to fund production. In a capitalist economy, parties to a transaction, not government, control and determine prices of assets, goods and services.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Bill Ayers, Political Right, Political Left and “Choice”

Part 1: The Carnegie Corporation is Behind the School “Choice”/Charter Agenda

John Ayers, brother of Bill Ayers (“Weatherman”) orchestrating “choice.” The political Left and the political Right have the same “Trojan Horse” so-called “choice” agenda. Congress must resume investigation of tax-exempt foundations including so-called conservative foundations.

I recently did a radio interview (Weds., June 18) with Dr. Stan Monteith. I spilled all the beans regarding the neoconservative Trotskyite pro-school choice/charter school agenda during the interview — one hour of complete exposure covering tax-exempt Heritage, Eagle Forum, Freedom Works, Pioneer, et al, and the Carnegie Corporation. I called for resumption of the 1953-1954 Congressional Investigation of the Tax-Exempt Foundations that was abruptly shut down during the Eisenhower Administration. The late Senator Jesse Helms, in 1986 at a ceremony we held to honor the late Norman Dodd (I was present) promised Dodd, the principal investigator during the congressional investigation, that he, Jesse Helms, would see that the investigation would be resumed. He did NOT follow through. The 3000-page transcript of the Reece Committee Investigation can be accessed here. See my report at my blog.

This interview with Dr. Stanley Monteith took place two days before I found out that my call for a resumption of the investigation was indeed even more important than I had ever dreamed.

Yesterday I came across a 3-page document which proves that the present charter school movement is spearheaded by no less than Chicago Communist Bill Ayers’ brother, John Ayers, who up until a few years ago was Vice President and Treasurer of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Stanford, California. Read on…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Bloomberg’s Puppet Moms ‘Stroller Jam’ Target Into Requesting Customers Disarm

Less than one month after it was targeted by the most recent front group in former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s employ, Target has executed an artful cave with its July 2 plea for its customers to disarm.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

How Global Policy Becomes Local

I first issued the following article in 2005. Since that time, planning groups like the American Planning Association and other Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are involved in implementing sustainable development across the nation, vigorously deny that their programs have anything to do with the United Nations or Agenda 21. And they have gone on the attack through a variety of hit pieces and articles in major news magazines to label those of us fighting Agenda 21 as just kooky conspiracy theorists. Their main argument is that Agenda 21 is a “soft law” policy that has no enforcement capability. “It’s just voluntary,” they insist over and over again. “There are no blue helmeted troops at city hall,” they sarcastically proclaim. But who needs UN troops when they have the NGO shock troops? The following article clearly shows how they target and enlist local mayors to “voluntarily” thrust their agenda on the hapless, voiceless citizens of their communities. Of course, once the mayors “voluntarily” signed these agreements, the NGO storm troopers were there to assure they kept their promise. This is how it’s done. TAD

In June 2005, the city of San Francisco was the site of an international conference called “World Environment Day.” But the agenda of this conference was much bigger than just another “hippy dance” in the park. This meeting of the global elite had a specific target and an agenda with teeth. The goal was the full implementation of the U.N.’s Agenda 21 policy and Sustainable Development. This time, the target audience was our nation’s mayors. The U.N.’s new tactics on full display at this conference is to ignore federal and state governments and go straight to the roots of American society. Think globally — act locally…

Here’s a quick look at a few of the 21 agenda actions called for. Under the topic of energy, action item number one calls for mayors to implement a policy to increase the use of “renewable” energy by 10% within seven years. Renewable energy includes solar and wind power.

Not stated in the U.N. documents is the fact that in order to meet the goal, a community would have to reserve thousands of acres of land to set up expensive solar panels or even more land for windmills. Consider that it takes a current 50 megawatt gas-fired generating plant about 2-5 acres of land to produce its power. To create that same amount of power through the use of solar panels would require at least 1,000 acres. Using windmills to generate 50 megawatts would require over 4,000 acres of land, while chopping up birds and creating a deafening roar. The cost of such “alternative” energy to the community would be vastly prohibitive. Yet, such unworkable ideas are the environmentally-correct orders of the days that the mayors were being urged to follow.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Independence Day: Now a Day of Mourning

“We, like those in all emergent totalitarian states, have been mentally damaged by a carefully orchestrated historical amnesia, a state-induced stupidity. We increasingly do not remember what it means to be free. And because we do not remember, we do not react with appropriate ferocity when it is revealed that our freedom has been taken from us. The structures of the corporate state must be torn down. Its security apparatus must be destroyed. And those who defend corporate totalitarianism, including the leaders of the two major political parties, fatuous academics, pundits and a bankrupt press, must be driven from the temples of power. Mass street protests and prolonged civil disobedience are our only hope. A failure to rise up — which is what the corporate state is counting upon — will see us enslaved.”…Chris Hedges

In July of 2011, I wrote an article entitled, Real Americans. At the time, I saw my country in death throes, and knew that the America I grew up in was quickly disappearing. Three years later, I’m absolutely sure of it. We have a Marxist Muslim dictator in our White House. We have the neo-con Trotskyite corporate fascists in the Republican party doing absolutely nothing to stem the unconstitutional actions of this illegal president. And why would they when they’re complicit in the agenda to destroy America?

Those of you who read articles by Devvy Kidd, Publius Huldah, Dennis Cuddy, Charlotte Iserbyt, etc. already know the many horrible laws which have been passed, the traitorous actions by Congress and the White House, and what our country is becoming. The plan was executed 150 years ago or more, and each traitor has played his/her part in the destruction of the greatest nation on earth. The nation who gave people hope of living in freedom and liberty, is now becoming a third world nation, and the North American Union is alive and well with the influx of millions and millions of illegal aliens. They bring destruction to our once great Judeo Christian culture, and they bring disease. FBI statistics state that 10,000 American citizens die per year at the hand of illegals, but the federal and state governments do nothing to stop the influx or protect the American citizen.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Most Online Accounts Investigated by NSA Belong to Ordinary Internet Users, Report Claims

Conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency are far more likely to have taken place between ordinary Internet users than legally targeted terror suspects, according to a published report.

The Washington Post reported late Saturday that while some intercepted messages were a source of valuable intelligence, many more missives contained nothing more than intensely personal details of people’s lives, including more than 5,000 private photos. In most cases, the information was retained despite being marked as useless by NSA analysts.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

New 9/11 Records Offer Tantalizing Puzzle Pieces

An ongoing lawsuit has pried loose new records linked to a family of Sarasota Saudis who left home in a hurry just before 9/11.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Press Says NSA Mostly Spied on Ordinary People

(AGI) Washington DC, July 6 — According to the newspaper Washington Post, nine out of ten of those spied on by the U.S.

National Security Agency (NSA) were ordinary people, both American nationals and foreigners. For four months the newspaper analysed the documents disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, and concluded that only 11 percent of those under surveillance were legitimate targets of the NSA espionage programme.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Red Cross Refuses to Disclose How it Spent Hurricane Sandy Money, Says it’s a ‘Trade Secret’

(NaturalNews) One of the most well-known charities in the world is being intentionally elusive about how it spent more than $300 million in donations it received following Hurricane Sandy. The independent news group ProPublica says the American Red Cross has repeatedly denied requests to disclose details about how the Sandy money was spent, claiming that this information is a protected “trade secret.”

The Red Cross is so insistent about keeping this information private that it has reportedly hired posh New York law firm Gibson Dunn to fend off anyone who might try to hold the charity responsible for its donation spending. The Red Cross did, according to ProPublica, release some information about Sandy donations to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. But the charity has thus far withheld this information from the public.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sucralose vs. Aspartame: Which of These Top Two Artificial Sweeteners is the Better Choice?

(NaturalNews) Junk food manufacturers are constantly developing new tactics to capture the public’s dollar. The low-fat, sugar-free craze, for instance, has generated a profusion of “diet” junk foods laced with artificial sweetener chemicals like sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), both of which are marketed as safe alternatives to refined sugar. So between sucralose and aspartame, which one is safer and more beneficial for health?

The answer to this question is neither, of course, as both sucralose and aspartame are neurotoxic poisons, by definition. The former is a synthetic organochlorine compound with endocrine disrupting properties, and the latter is a mash-up of isolated amino acids (the damaging kind) and wood alcohol. Both sweeteners have been shown in the laboratory setting to damage gut microbiota and harm brain cells. Sucralose and aspartame have both been linked to cancer as well…

Newer to the artificial sweetener scene, Splenda has long been marketed as a derivative of sugar, with the implication that it is somehow safer and more versatile than other artificial sweeteners on the market. But in reality, Splenda is an organochlorine pesticide compound similar to DDT, PCBs, and other harmful substances that nobody would ever willingly consume as food.

When heated, Splenda undergoes a thermal degradation process that results in the formation of cancer-causing dioxin and dioxin-like compounds. During the process of this breakdown, certain chlorine compounds are released that possess genotoxic, carcinogenic, and tumorigenic characteristics. When heated alongside other foods, Splenda can also degrade into other toxic compounds known as persistent organic pollutants, or POPs…

What about aspartame? Surely it is safer than sucralose because it has been around longer, right? Not exactly. Like sucralose, aspartame triggers an unhealthy metabolic response that tells the brain it is receiving sugar when it actually is not. The body responds by secreting hormones, potentially leading to chemical imbalance, weight gain, and other symptoms.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Train Derailment Near Superior Closes River

A train derailment east of Superior has many agencies working overtime this holiday weekend. Transporting major supplies via the railroad is typically considered a more efficient way of moving cargo, however accidents can still occur.

It was quite the scene off of Fish Creek Road this afternoon as many agencies fled to the site to assess the situation.

Considerable damage could be seen to many Boeing Aircraft components after 19 cars derailed around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Seen as Biggest Oil Producer After Overtaking Saudi Arabia

The U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery, Bank of America Corp. said.

U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries this year with daily output exceeding 11 million barrels in the first quarter, the bank said in a report today. The country became the world’s largest natural gas producer in 2010. The International Energy Agency said in June that the U.S. was the biggest producer of oil and natural gas liquids.

“The U.S. increase in supply is a very meaningful chunk of oil,” Francisco Blanch, the bank’s head of commodities research, said by phone from New York. “The shale boom is playing a key role in the U.S. recovery. If the U.S. didn’t have this energy supply, prices at the pump would be completely unaffordable.”

Oil extraction is soaring at shale formations in Texas and North Dakota as companies split rocks using high-pressure liquid, a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Zarqa Nawaz of Little Mosque Fame Proves Muslims Can be Funny

Zarqa Nawaz went to journalism school and then realized that telling factual stories really wasn’t her thing. She wanted to have fun and so she began writing comedy, first for films and then with a lauded television series, Little Mosque on the Prairie, which aired on CBC until 2012. Nawaz has just finished a memoir, Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, which is as hilarious as her television show…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

‘A Simpler Italy is a Stronger Italy’ Says Renzi

Premier’s comments after meeting with European Commission chief

(see related)(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Italy is in a process of “deep change”, Premier Matteo Renzi said after meeting European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso in Rome.

“The more Italy simplifies itself, the stronger it will be.

This may seem like a banal thing to say, but it is absolutely sacrosanct,” Renzi added.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

About 40 Politicians on UK Pedophile Ring: Report

UK police have opened an investigation into claims of a Westminster pedophile ring, saying they have a list of about 40 alleged child abusers, including over 10 current and former British politicians.

Whistleblower Peter McKelvie, whose claims prompted Operation Fernbridge, disclosed in his latest report that up to 40 members of parliament and peers knew about or took part in the child abuse network.

Operation Fernbridge is a Scotland Yard investigation into allegations of a pedophile network with links to Downing Street.

Lawmakers — including former ministers and household names — from all three main political parties are included on the list.

Some of the alleged child abusers remain active in the UK parliament, while several others, including Cyril Smith and Peter Morrison, have already died.

“I believe there are sufficient grounds to carry out a formal investigation into allegations of up to 20 MPs and Lords over the last three to four decades, some still alive and some dead. The list is there,” McKelvie said.

At least one witness has told police that he was abused by a Tory MP when he was under 10 years old in the 1980s.

Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered Mark Sedwill, the permanent secretary for the UK’s Home Office, to conduct an internal investigation into what happened to the dossier.

Other cases of child sexual abuse have been reported in the country.

Several high-profile figures have been arrested in connection with the multiple investigations into the abuse scandal surrounding Jimmy Savile, a disgraced former TV host with the state-funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He died in 2011, but, following his death, hundreds of allegations of sex abuse and rape of minors became public.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Cameron’s EU Problem Isn’t Going Away

David Cameron’s European diplomacy looks disastrous under scrutiny. Apparently, it is just as bad when Westminster’s attention is elsewhere. The spotlight has moved away from the mishandling of Jean-Claude Juncker’s nomination as European commission president, but the cack-handedness continues behind closed doors.

A diplomatic source tells me that the message briefed from the Foreign Office to other EU member states in the aftermath of last week’s Brussels summit is that Britain feels mistreated and that compensation should be forthcoming. The tone from London is querulous — a veiled threat along the lines of: “You shafted us, now you help us, otherwise how can we stay in your club?” Recipients of this ultimatum were stunned. They had expected conciliation.

Politicians and ambassadors from fellow member states know that Cameron has a problem with his party’s fanatical Eurosceptics and are not unsympathetic. Every prime minister has to balance the demands of a domestic audience, often fomented by partisan newspapers, with the practical need to compromise in Brussels. Indeed, it was Angela Merkel’s own experience of just such pressures that led her to accept Juncker as the least worst option. The surprising thing is that Downing Street was surprised at the defeat. More astonishing still is that whispers of German betrayal wafted out of the back door of No 10 in disgruntled briefings; as if no one in Berlin reads British newspapers. Was the idea of a political leader putting domestic considerations ahead of European business really so hard for a UK prime minister to get his head around?

It isn’t the substance of British objections to Juncker that other EU member states found hard to fathom. As was widely reported, many agreed in private with Cameron’s reservations. The problem was the failure to play the European game by its rules. It is normal for one member state to object to a commission nominee, but the way to express that view is to propose someone else. Cameron tried to block Juncker with no one else in mind, as if everyone else should scurry off and find a suitable replacement to suit His Highness’s tastes.

A second blunder was to think that the whole thing could be sewn up between London and Berlin. The fact that Juncker hails from Luxembourg was treated in Britain as a sign of his second-rate status. But Europe has many small states and they are sensitive to signs of bullying by mightier neighbours. It doesn’t pay in European alliance-building to be beastly to the Benelux. And, of course, there is the remarkable forfeiture of relationships in the east. The Tories have sabotaged friendships in Bucharest and Warsaw by endorsing an Ukip view of Romanians and Poles in the UK as criminals and benefit-gobblers.

Above all, however, the problem appears to be Cameron’s long-standing aversion to detail. The prime minister has great confidence in his capacity to perform under exam conditions; to let others get on with the boring technical stuff and put on a bravura display at the last minute if problems arise. He doesn’t do patient slog. But that is the stuff of which European partnerships are made. It isn’t enough to roll out the red carpet for Merkel, fix up a date for her to have tea with the Queen and then wait for the favors to come in. It isn’t enough to ignore European affairs except when British tabloids take an interest or backbench rebellion looms. And it isn’t enough to only start swotting up on the issues when the Eurostar is pulling out of St Pancras.

There is every reason to suppose Cameron will now revert to that pattern. He survived the summit. His party’s appetite for anti-Brussels defiance is temporarily sated. The media caravan has moved on. Westminster’s attention is elsewhere. But the European diplomacy doesn’t stop. Cameron must now find a suitable candidate to serve as a commissioner, and he must secure him or her good portfolio with plenty of economic clout. Before the Juncker debacle the name being circulated was Andrew Lansley — a man famously lacking in diplomatic finesse and who, it is widely rumored, was promised the gig by Cameron as part of a deal for accepting cabinet demotion in 2012. Fellow Europeans look at this prospect in disbelief. Is Cameron really going to try to persuade Juncker to give a plum commissioner job to this also-ran loser?

One final point, apparently lost on No 10, is that the rest of the EU has things on its mind other than placating British Eurosceptics. Thinking up concessions to keep the UK on board is on the agenda but not ahead of finalizing the financial reforms necessary to put the eurozone on a more stable footing, or measures to address chronic continent-wide youth unemployment. But there isn’t any sign Cameron wants to engage on that level. He knows what he needs to get out of Brussels but he has no idea how to go about getting it. He lurches from insouciance to demand to defiance. His default setting for relationships with most continental leaders is neglect. And while they understand why it is so, they don’t have to like it. After a while, systematic neglect looks like abuse.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Clinton on Merkel: The Greatest Leader in Europe

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton called Angela Merkel “the greatest leader in Europe” during a visit to Berlin. She also said that she admired how the chancellor handled the eurozone crisis.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

East German Secret Police Files Still Relevant

Germany plans to revamp the archives holding former communist East Germany’s Stasi secret police files. Although procedures may change, they will remain accessible to the public for research.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Fallout Continues From German/US Double Agent

The fallout from the arrest of a German “double agent,” who was allegedly filtering information to the NSA, continues to create a stir. Germany’s foreign minister and interior minister are the latest to have spoken out.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Former MP Arrested in Corruption Inquiry

(AGI) Venice, July 4 — A former parliamentary member of Forza Italy, Marco Milanese, was arrested on Friday in the investigation into the Venice flood barrier bribery scandal.

His dossier was handed over to a Milanese court, which has jurisdiction because the alleged transfer of money to the former MP took place in Milan, according to investigators.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Govt May Find New Jobs for Redundant Alitalia Staff

Cash-strapped flag carrier sacking 2,251 people in Etihad deal

(By Emily Backus) (ANSAmed) — ROME, JUNE 27 — Cash-strapped Alitalia on Friday confirmed it will lay off 2,251 employees as part of an expected 560-million-euro investment deal with Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad, but the government said it was considering measures that would provide new jobs for some of them. Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said the government of Premier Matteo Renzi was meeting next week with union leaders with the hope to reach a deal by July 15 on what to do with redundancies from the Italian flag carrier, whose contracts fall under the transport ministry.

A deal could include putting laid-off employees back to work as outsource service providers, as well as relocation packages within Italy, Lupi said after meeting with Labor Minister Giuliano Poletti. Pending regulatory approval, Etihad’s investment to buy 49% of Alitalia is expected to close “in the coming months,” Etihad said in a statement Thursday. So far unions have refused to accept the job losses, which would take a large chunk out of the current workforce of 14,000 employees at Alitalia, which has been struggling for years to restructure and remain competitive.

The deal also requires restructuring Alitalia’s debt, reported to be 813 million euros at September 30, 2013.

The Financial Times reported that about a third of the company’s short-term debt would be written off with the remaining two-thirds swapped with equity, citing a person close to the deal. The FT said Alitalia’s two largest creditors, Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, would not confirm the report. The large stake to be taken by Etihad had triggered concerns with the European Commission, which warned Italian authorities to ensure the United Arab Emirates carrier does not gain a majority holding.

“In Europe we are considered dangerous competitors because we are allowing entry to the Arabs. Alitalia holds 47% of the national market,” said Vito Riggio, chairman of the Italian civil aviation authority ENAC. EU rules require that majority ownership of European airlines remains in European hands, and the Italian government has reassured the EC that those rules were being obeyed.

Italy “respects all the laws on air transport,” said Lupi.

The transport minister also countered accusations that government financial assistance was involved in the deal.

“There is no help from the State”. 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 over many years to salvage the struggling carrier.

The government spearheaded a 500-million-euro bailout that included a 75-million-euro investment by Poste Italiane while code-share partner KLM-Air France declined to sink any further money into Alitalia.

A chorus of European airlines have complained to regulators that the deal contravenes European Union rules also because Etihad is government-owned.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Financial Police Commander to Remain in Prison

(AGI) Naples, July 5 — A Naples court has decided that the local commander of the Italian financial police, Fabio Massimo Mendella, is to remain in prison. Mandella is accused of bribery and revealing secret information after collecting 30,000 euros a month from a businessman to help him avoid tax audits. The judges also decided that Pietro De Riu, an accountant, is to remain in prison.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: No Row With German Govt Says Renzi

Bundesbank should stick to statute, Italy PM says

(see previous). (ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — There is “no row” between the Italian and German governments on EU flexibility for growth but the Bundesbank should not take any part in Italian politics, Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday. “The Bundesbank is tasked with upholding its statutory goals, not taking part in the Italian political debate,” he said after Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann accused him of not delivering reforms.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘A United Europe Cannot Do Without the UK’ Says Renzi

‘I don’t always agree with Cameron, but UK essential to EU’

(see related)(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — A united Europe cannot do without the United Kingdom, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday after meeting with outgoing European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in Rome.

“It is essential for Europe that the UK remain a part of the great European challenge,” said Renzi, adding that he “respects but does not share” Prime Minister David Cameron’s opinion of Jean-Claude Juncker, whose candidacy to replace Barroso he opposed. Cameron may not agree on Juncker but he does agree with the European Council’s strategic document, which was voted on in a June summit in Brussels, the Italian premier said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Foreign Minister Understands Frustration for Marines

‘Will communicate as soon as we know more’ says Mogherini

(ANSA) — Rome, July 4 — Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said Friday she “understands the frustration” regarding the case of two Italian marines detained in India and will be sharing all information “once there are steps to be communicated”.

“In these five months, the government has left its mark a little differently that points to the result” of bringing international visibility to the case, said Mogherini, adding that as recently as Thursday, “ yesterday we worked with international lawyers and in the moment in which there are concrete steps to communicate, we will do so”.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone have been held in New Delhi after allegedly shooting fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki during an anti-piracy mission in February 2012. In April, Italy’s government announced a new strategy, replacing its special envoy and sending its ambassador back to New Delhi to help steer the case towards arbitration by an international organization such as the UN. In May, a team of international legal experts began working on the case.

In June, Mogherini said the cabinet changed strategy “starting an internationalization phase” in close cooperation with parliament and the marines’ families.

Rome is seeking international arbitration in the case, arguing it is not under Indian jurisdiction as the incident occurred outside the country’s territorial waters, and says the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India because they are servicemen who were working on a mission.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Six-Year Jail Term Requested for Ex-Finmeccanica Chief Orsi

Suspected of international corruption in Indian helicopter deal

(ANSA) — Busto Arsizio, July 3 — Prosecutors on Thursday requested a court in the northern Italian city of Busto Arsizio sentence former Finmeccanica CEO and president Giuseppe Orsi to six years in prison for alleged international corruption.

Orsi is suspected of involvement in bribes allegedly paid to secure a 560-million-euro contract to sell 12 helicopters made by Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland to India. Orsi resigned from the helm of the State-controlled aerospace and defence giant last year after being arrested in relation to the probe.

He denies any wrongdoing and told a preliminary investigations judge last year that his actions “had always been motivated by the exclusive interest of Finmeccanica and all its subsidiaries”.

Orsi told the judge he had no knowledge of illegal manoeuvres concerning the 12-helicopter deal.

Nor did he know the Indian Tyagi family, he said, members of which prosecutors say received bribes paid by Finmeccanica to secure the contract.

Prosecutors also requested a five-year jail term for Bruno Spagnolini, the former CEO of AgustaWestland.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Merkel is Greatest Leader in Europe, Says Hillary Clinton

(AGI) Berlin, July 6 — Angela Merkel is the greatest leader in Europe, Hillary Clinton said during her trip in Germany to promote her book Hard Choices. The former U.S. Secretary of State, who many believe will run for the presidency in 2016, said it is also time for the U.S. to have a female leader. “I think we are ready for a woman to break through the glass ceiling”, she said.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Returning Jihadists Pose Terror Threat: Minister

Norway’s justice minister Anders Anundsen has warned that Norway faces the threat of terrorist attack from fighters returning from conflicts abroad.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Novak Djokovic Defeats Roger Federer for Wimbledon Title

Novak Djokovic won his second Wimbledon title Sunday afternoon, beating the seven-time champion Roger Federer, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4.

With the victory, Djokovic moved past Rafael Nadal to claim the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings, which he lost to Rafael Nadal last October.

It was Djokovic’s seventh Grand Slam title, but his first since the 2013 Australian Open. Djokovic, 27, had lost his previous three Grand Slam finals, including last year at Wimbledon against Andy Murray. But this win improved his record in Grand Slam finals to 7-7. It was his 45th singles title overall.

[Return to headlines]
 

Soccer: Pavia to be Italy’s First Chinese-Controlled Club

Third-tier outfit to be bought by Pingy Shanghai Investment

(ANSA) — Pavia, July 4 — Third-tier Pavia Calcio are set to become Italy’s first Chinese controlled professional soccer club.

The Zanchi family, which holds 90.5% of the shares of the northern Italian side, reached an agreement overnight to sell their stake to a Chinese investment fund, Pingy Shanghai Investment, after weeks of negotiations.

Two of the clubs in the Italian top flight, Serie A, are controlled by overseas investors.

They are AS Roma, which was taken over by a Boston-based consortium in 2011, and Inter Milan, who saw a group led by Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir assume control last year.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: ‘Unbreakable’ London Unites in Tribute to 7/7 Victims Ahead of Ninth Anniversary

Party leaders today united in memory of the July 7 bombing victims and the “indomitable spirit” that London showed in the face of terror.

Monday is the ninth anniversary of the 2005 attacks in which 52 people were murdered and 770 injured. David Cameron said: “We will always remember the victims of that terrible day. But we also salute the indomitable spirit of Londoners who refused to be cowed by terrorism. Our city proved that extremists may attack us, but they can never win.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Executions ‘Will Take Place in Trafalgar Square’, Brit Fighting in Syria Claims

YOUNG Britons fighting in Syria are claiming that they will bring the war back to British soil.

One man currently fighting in Syria has claimed that the UK should be frightened of the skills he has learned there. A Twitter account thought to belong to Nasser Muthana, 20, has a picture showing what appear to be improvised explosive devices in a garage.

The caption reads: ‘So the UK is afraid I come back with the skills I’ve gained.’…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Trojan Horse: Birmingham Council ‘Ignored Warnings for 12 Years’

Peter Clarke, the former top anti-terrorism police officer who is writing the review, is set to rebuke Birmingham education authority for not doing more.

The council running many of the schools involved in the Trojan Horse scandal ignored the problem for 12 years, an inquiry is set to find. Peter Clarke, the former top anti-terrorism police officer who is writing the review, is set to rebuke Birmingham education authority — which is run by Birmingham city council — for not doing more.

His review, which is still being written, is understood to have found that children were not being safeguarded as far back as 2002, according to a leak to a Sunday newspaper…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Vatican Detects Cash Shortage in Roman Basilica

(AGI) Vatican City, July 5 — Father Bronislaw Morawiec, canon and treasurer of the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, was questioned on Saturday by the Vatican City Court. The Polish-born cleric is suspected of embezzlement and misappropriation of assets. In addition to Msgr. Bronislaw, who has already been found guilty by the Basilica’s chapter, the Court also heard several more witnesses. The date of the next hearing has not been set yet but it is expected to be scheduled soon, sources told AGI.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Whooping Cough Affects Vaccinated Children at Nearly the Same Rate as Rest of Population

(NaturalNews) The effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine at preventing whooping cough has been called into question by a new study recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Researchers from the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and Public Health England found that whooping cough prevalence among vaccinated children is roughly equal to that of unvaccinated children, suggesting that the shot may, in fact, be useless.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Macedonia: Ethnic Albanians Protest Court Ruling on Slayings

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Police in western Macedonia have used stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters angry over the verdict in a murder trial…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Leader Sentenced to Death

(AGI) Cairo, July 5 — The eighth Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, has been sentenced to death, along with 36 other militant Islamists, for his part in the street protests following the military coup d’etat that ousted President Mohammad Morsi on July 3 last year. Arrested on Aug.

20, 2013, Badie has already been sentenced to death twice. The death penalty has also been confirmed for 10 other militants, mostly in absentia. .

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt President Raises Cigarette Prices by 50 Percent, Beer 200 Percent

Egypt’s president has issued a decree raising the sales tax on cigarettes by up to 50 percent and on beer by 200 percent.

The decision released Sunday is the latest in a series of recent decrees that aim to ease Egypt’s staggering budget deficit, which has hovered at around 12 percent over the past three years of turmoil.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, former military chief elected last month, vowed to take tough decisions to address the country’s battered economy. This weekend, el-Sissi also partially lifted subsidies on fuel, a politically sensitive issue that Egypt’s previous leaders had avoided.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Three Europeans Abducted in Libya

(AGI) Tunis, July 6 — Three European engineers, Italian Marco Vallisa, Emilio Gafuri from Macedonia and Bosniac Petar Matic, were abducted in Libya on Saturday morning. The kidnapping of the three Europeans who were working for Italian construction company, Piacentini Costruzioni, was confirmed by satellite broadcaster Al Arabiya citing an official Libyan source.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Three Foreigners Kidnapped in Libya Town, Security Official Says

Three Europeans working for an Italian construction company have been abducted in western Libya, officials said Sunday. The kidnappings are the latest evidence of the chaos and lawlessness sweeping the energy-rich North African nation since the ouster and killing in 2011 of longtime dictator Moammar Qaddafi.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Cholent Saves Diaspora Yeshiva From Arab Attack

On Friday night, 15 Arabs rioters from the Silwan/Shiloach (City of David) broke in and attacked Jerusalem’s Diaspora Yeshiva on Mount Zion.

The Arabs attacked the Yeshiva students inside with stones and blocks, according to a report on B’Chadarei Chareidim. Fearing the Arabs were armed with guns, the students initially ran away for safety, but they then returned to defend the yeshiva and themselves from the Arab terrorists.

The students began to fight back, throwing chairs at the rioting Arabs, boiling water, and eventually even throwing the Cholent at the rioting Arab infiltrators. Cholent is a traditional Jewish stew that sits on the fire throughout Shabbat, and is usually eaten for lunch.

After the Cholent was thrown, the Arabs ran away.

Police arrived a half hour after the attack was over.

It’s not known what the students ate for lunch on Shabbat.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Israeli Ambassador: Killers of Arab Palestinian Teen ‘Will Not be Hailed as Heroes’

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. on Sunday praised his government for the swift arrests in the killing of a Arab teen, saying those found guilty will not be lauded as heroes and urging Palestinian leaders to pursue similar, recent killings.

“They will not be hailed as heroes,” Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer told “Fox News Sunday.” “There will not be public squares named after them.”

Six Jewish men were arrested this weekend in connection with the killing of the Palestinian Arab teenager, whose death last week has sparked days of violent protests in Arab areas of Jerusalem and northern Israel.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted early last week, and his charred body was found a short while later in a Jerusalem forest in what Palestinians say was a revenge killing for the earlier deaths of three Israeli teens.

Police have been investigating various motives in the Khdeir death, including criminal and personal.

“There’s strong suspicion that there are nationalist motives behind this,” Dermer said.

He wants Palestinian leaders to rigorously investigate the deaths of the three Israeli teens, on which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming the militant Islamist group Hamas.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Arrests Suspects in Palestinian Teen Murder

Israeli media say police have arrested several suspects in connection with the murder of a Palestinian teenager that has set off days of rioting. Authorities believe Jewish extremists could be behind the killing.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jordan Slams Israel for Banning Palestinians From Entering Al-Aqsa Mosque

AMMAN, June 5 (Xinhua) — Jordan on Saturday slammed Israel for preventing thousands of Palestinian worshippers from entering al- Aqsa Mosque on Friday, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani condemned Israel, saying it’s “a stark violation and provocation of the feelings of the Muslims, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Op-Ed: The Light Rail Destruction is More Than Meets the Eye

By Lee Kaplan

The riots over the 16 year-old Arab boy who was kidnapped and killed are another example of how the ISM and BDS movement are trying to control the scene. The boy’s mother has made it plain she hates the Jews who she accuses of kidnapping the boy. The father says Arabs have tried kidnapping his younger son. The mother is more than willing (for money, maybe?) to foment the Arabs to riot over her dead son. Ringleaders among those who organized the “spontaneous” riots against the IDF and Border Police over the boy (that also distracted from the three Yeshiva boys’ funeral) were probably paid by Hamas and are most likely local Arab members of the ISM. Apparently these rioters don’t have regular jobs to be at.

All of which brings us to the Jerusalem Light Rail train. The train is very popular among the working Arabs and used by both Arabs and Jews. The train had nothing to do with the Arab boy either. Despite its popularity, the BDS Movement has been trying to get the light rail boycotted, but has been unsuccessful precisely because the majority of working Arabs want it there and it is highly profitable for the international investors.

I have no doubt the BDS leaders in the US cooperated with the Arab Mafia to attack the train and vandalize it. This was done to make the international owners throw up their hands and leave. Wars are traditionally fought by destroying the opposition’s infrastructure such as trains, from the air or with ground troops.

The riots closing down the train for months were no less a military strike, a new manner of warfare — and Israel once again fell for it.

[interesting read, but did Israel fall for it or were they pushed? — MC]

           — Hat tip: MC [Return to headlines]
 

Six Arrested in Palestinian Teenager Murder Investigation

Israeli police confirm six people have been detained on suspicion of involvment in the murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, which has been rumoured as a revenge attack after three Israelis were killed last week

Israel’s security forces arrested six Jewish suspects over the murder of a Palestinian teenager on Sunday in the clearest signal yet that killing was an act of revenge for the deaths of three Israelis.

After days of rising tensions, security sources confirmed that members of an “extremist Jewish group” were being questioned in connection with the death of Mohammed Abu Khdeir…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

6 Soldiers Killed in Ambush by Al-Qaida Gunmen in Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, July 6 (Xinhua) — Six Yemeni army personnel were killed on Sunday in an ambush set by suspected al-Qaida gunmen in the troubled southern province of Abyan, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Dubai Plans Pedestrian City Featuring World’s Largest Mall, Theme Park

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (BNO NEWS) — An enormous project to construct a temperature-controlled city, featuring the world’s largest mall and the world’s largest indoor theme park, was presented in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday. The complex hopes to attract up to 180 million visitors annually.

The “Mall of the World” — covering a total area of 48 million square feet (4.45 million square meters) — will be constructed by Dubai Holding, a global investment holding company owned by UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The company did not say when it expects to finish the project.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

In Pictures: ISIS Destroys Iraq Shrines

Images posted on social media appear to show the destruction of about a dozen places of worship across northern Iraq, in areas recently taken over by extremist militants.

Some images showed the al-Qubba Husseiniya, a Shia shrine, being blown up in the city of Mosul.

The militants, believed to belong to Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), are also reported to have attacked churches in Mosul.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iranian Killed in Iraq in Battling Sunni Militants

TEHRAN, July 6 (Xinhua) — An Iranian national was killed in Iraq as he was fighting Sunni militants to defend a Muslim Shiite shrine in the country, official IRNA News Agency reported on Sunday.

Shoja’at Alamdari Mourjani was killed in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, said the report without providing further information about the incident. The “martyr” was buried in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on Friday, it added…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS-Declared ‘Caliph’ Al-Baghdadi Makes Video Appearance

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terror group ISIS that is in control of much of Iraq and Syria, has issued a first video appearance since the group named him “caliph” of what they call an “Islamic State”.

The ISIS leader spoke in classical Arabic in the Al-Nur mosque, Mosul’s largest.

Al-Baghdadi, believed to have been born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, is thought to have joined the insurgency against the US military following the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. He spent time in a US military prison before eventually taking over leadership of the group also sometimes referred to as ISIL, the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant. ISIS was once allied to al Qaeda and thought to be on the ropes as an entity. The terror group managed to establish a prominent role among the factions fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, and later broke ties with al Qaeda.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Surviving Yemen-Saudi Border Attackers Commit Suicide

(AGI) Dubai, July 5 — The two surviving members of the Al Qaeda commando unit that attacked the Al Wadiah border crossing between Saudi Arabia and Yemen on Friday have committed suicide, TV news channel Al Arabiya reported. The two militiamen managed to escape in a car after the attack, but blew themselves up after they were cornered by security forces.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Syria: Number of Refugees in Turkey to Reach 1.5 Million

1.05 million are currently housed in 22 refugee camps

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA — The number of Syrian refugees taking shelter in Turkey is expected to reach 1.5 million by the end of 2014, as Anadolu News Agency reported. A total of 1.05 million Syrian refugees are currently housed in 22 refugee camps and cities in neighbouring Turkey, Anadolu wrotes citing a report released by the International Strategic Research Organisation and the Brookings Institute on Wednesday. At the current rate, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey will rise to 1.5 million by the end of 2014, said the report, adding that Turkey has become sixth among the countries in the world hosting the largest number of refugees. The report urged the Turkish government to develop long-term policies to ease the integration of Syrian refugees into Turkish society as they are likely to stay in Turkey for quite sometime.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Syria and Iraq: Ramadan Plea to British Muslims

British Muslims have been urged to make aid donations during Ramadan to help people in Iraq and Syria, but warned about going there themselves.

Imam Shahid Raza, from Leicester Central Mosque, said people should make donations from the UK…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

The Big and Lethal Lies — Coming at us Faster Than Ever

by Phyllis Chesler

False equivalency between murders threatens a bloodbath.

ISIS has just crucified eight Muslim men for not being “extreme” enough in their Islamic practice. They kept their bodies on display in a town square in Iraq for three days. The ninth crucified man survived.

Horrifying—yes? Equally horrifying are the mass beheadings and the football games ISIS has been playing with the human heads.

However, the leading western media are focusing mainly on the Palestinian Arab boy who was burned alive. Why such a focus?…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

The Man Who Would be Caliph

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a man responsible for acts of violence that have made some in al-Qaeda baulk, has stunned observers by using the military momentum of Isis to declare himself leader of all Muslims.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Firms Seek Way Out of USD 12 Bln Iraq Market

(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, JULY 3 — The largest business organization in Turkey has launched a two-phase study on securing and sustaining business in violence-hit Iraq as Turkish companies have started withdrawing from the USD 12 billion market. The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) — as daily Hurriyet online reports — has started to coordinate with the Foreign Ministry on the plan, which initially seeks to evacuate Turkish business representatives and employees who are currently in danger zones. The second phase focuses on problems faced by exporters, carriers and logistics firms. Some 49 Turkish citizens, including three consuls general in Mosul and several members of the Turkish Special Forces, were taken hostage by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and transferred to an undisclosed location on June 11. The government is expending efforts to save a sum of around 80 citizens, when others, mostly drivers, held in other places are included. TOBB Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said the business organization would do all it can in close cooperation with the ministry’s crisis desk. The TOBB’s newly founded working group has been collecting information about the situation in its southeastern neighbor, sharing it with officials to help generate solutions. Turkish investments and projects in the country, mainly in housing, power stations, infrastructure works and shopping malls, have already been halted. Turkey, with the highest number of foreign employees in the country, was taking a role in the reconstruction of the war-hit country before the clashes between ISIL and state security forces heated up.

According to Foreign Ministry data, Turkish contractors undertook 495 projects worth USD 7.5 billion in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. Some 300 Turkish companies across the country employ 10,000 people, according to official figures. Iraq is the second biggest export market for Turkey, accounting for 8% of Turkey’s overall exports. When exports conducted via Iraq are taken into consideration, the overall effect of the crisis on exports rises to 15%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

US Company Signs Billion-Dollar Energy Deal With Iran

US company World Eco Energy has signed a preliminary agreement to invest $1.175 billion to generate electricity in Iran. The plan is to turn solid waste into power.

Representatives from the American company and the Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province Governor General, Malek-Mohammad Qorbanpour, signed the deal, the Tehran Times reported.

It is expected the project will create 650 immediate jobs, with another 2,000 emerging over the next two to three years, Oorbanpour told the IRNA news agency. Local companies will also be investing the same amount of money into the project.

The Governor General went on to add that 80 percent of the workforce will be employed locally, while World Eco Energy will provide machinery, equipment and technical expertise.

The project aims to create around 250 megawatts per day, which will be generated by burning 1,500 tons of solid waste. Despite being rich in oil and gas, Iran is looking to diversify its energy sector by developing renewable energy. Last year, the country announced plans to construct three new wind farms, each with a power capacity of 350 megawatts.

The electricity generation project is scheduled to start in September 2014, AFP reported.

The deal marks a further thawing of relations between the US and Iran. Tehran has made steps since the New Year to curb its nuclear program, which has brought the country relief from tough sanctions implemented by the US.

Iran cut enriched uranium stockpile by 80% — IAEA

In April, the US Treasury awarded American-based Boeing and GE a license to sell spare parts to Iran to help the country’s ailing aviation industry. Iran needed new plane parts, as its jets have passed their service life and need proper replacements. Over the past two decades, Iran has had more than 200 aviation accidents, which led to more than 2,000 deaths, IRNA reported.

All business activity between the US and Iran was officially halted after the 1979 US hostage crisis, which was followed by US sanctions.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Why the White House Ignored All Those Warnings About ISIS

by Eli Lake

Team Obama was told, over and over, that the Iraqi army couldn’t stop a terror group that was ready to pounce. But Washington was a prisoner to its paradox of an Iraq policy.

On November 1, 2013, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited the White House, and made a rather stunning request. Maliki, who celebrated when the last U.S. troops left his country in 2011, asked Obama to quietly send the military back into Iraq and help his beleagured Air Force develop targets for air strikes; that’s how serious the threat from Sunni insurgents led by the extremist group ISIS had become.

Twelve days later, Brett McGurk, a deputy assistant secretary of state and the Obama administration’s senior U.S. official in Baghdad since the crisis began last month, presented to Congress a similarly dark warning. ISIS was launching upwards of 40 suicide bombers a month, he said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Kyiv Forces Retake Ukraine Rebel Stronghold

Ukrainian government forces say they have recaptured Slovyansk, which for three months was the stronghold of pro-Russian separatists. Fleeing rebels have vowed to regroup in other restive cities of eastern Ukraine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pro-Russian Forces Entrench in Donetsk

(AGI) Kiev, July 6 — Pro-Russian militia have abandoned Kramatorsk, the last city they held in the area around Slavyansk, which Ukrainian forces took on Saturday. The rebels moved to the Donetsk area, the capital of the region of the same name, with a million inhabitants. They say they will stand and fight Ukrainian troops there. The situation was relatively calm in Donetsk on Saturday night, but skirmishes broke out near the airport, reported the official website of Mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Rebels Regroup After Losing Sloviansk

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are reported to be regrouping in Donetsk after government forces retook some of their main strongholds.

President Petro Poroshenko said the recapture of the rebels’ stronghold of Sloviansk on Saturday was of “huge symbolic importance”. But he warned it was too early for celebrations.

Despite recent losses, the rebels still hold the regional capitals of Donetsk and Luhansk and other key areas.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

200 More Indians Flown Home From Iraq

NEW DELHI, July 6 (Xinhua) — A group of 200 more Indian nationals returned home from war-torn Iraq Sunday, a day after 146 Indians, including 46 nurses, were flown back to this country by a special flight, sources with the Indian External Affairs Ministry said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

India: “Military Training” For Civilians Living on Border, To Counter China

An idea of the Narendra Modi government to halt the incursions of Beijing. The project involves the creation of paramilitary forces to be attached to the regular security troops “in case of emergency.”

New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Indian government plans to give military training to groups of civilians so they can defend themselves from the incursions by Beijing, thus creating paramilitary troops among people living along the Chinese border. Anonymous sources in the Ministry of the Interior report that the goal is to prepare these people — even giving them weapons — to assist security forces already operative in the South-East and in Jammu and Kashmir, “in case of emergencies”.

The decision taken by the executive comes after a raid carried out by China in the area of Lake Pangong in Ladakh.

The policy adopted by the Government of newly elected premier Narendra Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Hindu ultra-nationalist BJP), is in stark contrast to that adopted by the previous Congress government, which had prevented the formation of any civilian paramilitary movement along the border.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

India Sends Five Foreign Satellites Into Orbit

The main one comes from France; two from Canada; one each from Singapore and Germany. The Prime Minister describes today’s launch as “ a global endorsement of India’s space capability”.

New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) — This morning, India has successfully launched five foreign satellites into orbit, confirming it as one of the emerging powers in the aerospace market. The launch took place from Sriharikota base in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, carried on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C23.

The main satellite was manufactured in France and weighs 714 kg. The others — smaller in size ranging from 7 to 15 kg — are from Canada (2), Singapore (1) and Germany (1).

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi watched the final phase of operations from Sriharikota airbase: “Today’s launch five foreign satellites is a global recognition of the expertise space of India.”

To date, the PSLV rocket has successfully launched 67 satellites, 40 of them for foreign nations. In 2008, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) put 10 satellites into orbit in a single mission.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistan Registers 572,529 Displaced People From North Waziristan

ISLAMABAD, July 6 (Xinhua) — Pakistani officials said Sunday that 572,529 people have been registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of major military operation launched against the militants in North Waziristan tribal region since June 15…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistan: 5 Indicted in Woman’s Stoning Death

Pakistani police say a court has indicted five relatives accused of stoning to death a pregnant woman for marrying against the family’s wishes.

Investigator Mian Zulfiqar said Sunday the woman’s father, two brothers, a cousin and ex-husband have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and torture.

Farzana Parveen, 25, was killed May 27 before a crowd of onlookers near a downtown courthouse in the eastern city of Lahore.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China: Xi Jinping Signs Strategic Anti-Japanese Trade Agreements With Seoul

The Chinese leader today concluded a two-day visit to the South Korean capital , the first time a Beijing leader has chosen to visit the south of the peninsula before the north. Major trade agreements signed with President Park Geun-hye and a common key to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions found. Xi proposes to celebrate Liberation Day August 15, when Pope Francis will be in South Korea

Seoul (AsiaNews) — A joint action against nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula, a “new covenant” in with anti-Japanese undertones and a “substantial strengthening” of the bilateral trade balance. Along with this, the possible presence of Xi Jinping in Seoul for Liberation Day (August 15), in conjunction with the presence of Pope Francis.

These are the results of two days of meetings between the Chinese president and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye. The meeting which concluded today in Seoul is the first time for at least 25 years that a Chinese leader has chosen to visit the south of the peninsula before the North. Beijing is Pyongyang’s last remaining ally, but relations between the two states have gradually cooled over the past two years.

Xi and Park had three private bilateral meetings, but the lion’s share was settled by the trade delegations accompanying the two presidents. The most important results are the final signature of the free trade agreement between China and South Korea, the launch of a currency trade that will lead to the direct exchange between the yuan and the won and improved food security in import-export. Minor deals include “improved business cooperation” and the commitment to “strengthen” cultural exchanges through student and university exchanges.

From the diplomatic point of view, however, Beijing and Seoul seem to have a new found warmth in relations. Xi Jinping, speaking in Seoul, said that “ Japanese militarists carried out barbarous wars of aggression against China and Korea, swallowing up Korea and occupying half of the Chinese mainland”.

Xi then proposed to “celebrate” Liberation Day, which traditionally in East Asia falls on August 15. If the invitation were to be accepted and put into practice already this year, the Chinese President might be in South Korea on the same days as Pope Francis, who will be in the midst of an apostolic visit to the peninsula (August 14 to 18). But it is more likely that the first joint anniversary will be celebrated in 2015, the year that marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the defeat of Japan.

Harsh tones were also addressed to North Korea, which has welcomed the announcement of Xi Jinping’s visit to Seoul with the launch of two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. According to Park “in today’s summit the two leaders agreed that the denuclearisation of North Korea should be realised by all means and agreed that [we[ resolutely oppose a nuclear test.” The Chinese leader was more cautious: “ the Korean peninsula faced uncertainty and the concerns of different parties should be balanced and issues resolved through negotiations on an equal basis “.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Trade Tops Agenda for Germany’s Angela Merkel on China Trip

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has kicked off her seventh official trip to China with a visit to the city of Chengdu. A number of deals are expected to be signed by major German firms during her three-day stay.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Deadly Attacks in the Kenyan Coast Leave at Least 29 Dead

Gunmen have killed at least 29 people in raids on two separate areas on the Kenyan coast. An ministry official confirmed nine people were killed in one attack and twenty in a second raid and added the number of dead could rise…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Dozens Killed in Uganda as Army Clashes With Militants

(AGI) Kampala, July 6 — Over forty people in Uganda, most of them civilians, were killed in clashes between the army and armed militants. The clashes took place in the districts of Bundibugyo, Kasese, and Ntoroko, in the west of the country near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area beset by tribal conflicts. The fights broke out on Saturday in Kasese, and were followed by even bloodier clashes in Bundibugyo.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Fresh Al-Shabaab Raids Near Kenya’s Coast Kill 29 as Foreign Tourist Shot Dead

Somali-based Islamists say they carried out deadly new attacks weeks after 73 died close to Lamu island

Al-Shabaab gunmen killed 29 people in twin raids near Kenya’s coast on Saturday, as a foreign tourist was shot dead further south, highlighting the region’s growing insecurity. Groups armed with assault rifles raided two towns late on Saturday, breaking into a police station in one and releasing men being held for questioning.

The detainees were accused of links to June 15 terror strikes around Mpeketoni town, near the popular tourist destination of Lamu island, when 73 people died in three raids over eight days…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Gunmen Kill at Least 29 in Two Attacks on Kenyan Coast

MOMBASA — Reuters

Gunmen killed at least 29 people in raids on two separate areas on the Kenyan coast, the interior ministry said on July 6.

The Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi last September, said it had staged an attack on Saturday evening in the coastal area.

Nine people lost their lives at the Hindi trading centre in Lamu county, near the scene of attacks in which 65 people were killed last month, Mwenda Njoka, the ministry’s spokesman told Reuters.

Another 20 people were killed in another attack in the Gamba area of neighbouring Tana River county. Both counties are situated north of the port of Mombasa.

“There were two attacks in Lamu and Tana River last night. In Lamu we have nine people dead and in Tana River we have 20. The number could rise,” Njoka said by telephone.

Officials said a group of 10-15 men struck at Hindi, situated 15 km (9 miles) from the town of Lamu, and close to the town of Mpeketoni, which was nearly destroyed in one of the attacks in June, at about 10 pm on Saturday.

“They went around shooting at people and villages indiscriminately,” Abdallah Shahasi, the area chief, told Reuters.

Al Shabaab said it had broken into the police station at Gamba and freed suspects from the detention cells. A Kenyan police source corroborated that account.

“They killed some of our colleagues and freed Muslim detainees. Some of those freed were linked to the Mpeketoni attacks two weeks ago. We still don’t know how many detainees were freed until we verify with registers at the station,” the police source who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Miiri Njenga, the Lamu county commissioner, said the attackers targeted government offices and some properties were burnt down.

The Kenyan Red Cross said three people were taken to hospital with injuries, from both areas, adding another one was reported missing in Gamba.

The wave of gun and grenade attacks along the coast and in Nairobi has hurt the tourism business, a leading source of foreign exchange.

July/06/2014

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Kenya Attacks: Over 20 Dead as Militants Gun Down Non-Muslims

Suspected Islamist terrorists, thought to belong to the Al-Shabaab group, have staged an assault on a village and a breakout raid on a jail, killing at least 22 people. The violence is in the same Kenyan state where over 60 were killed last month.

Police said that militants carjacked a truck near Gamba in the coastal district of Lamu, then killed its driver and two passengers, before pulling up at the local police station.

Once inside, they overpowered the garrison, killing one policeman and leaving five others wounded. The militants then massacred five inmates in their cells, bringing the death total to nine, before escaping with three others.

An anonymous police source told Reuters that the fugitives were held as suspects in a nearby attack on the Christian village of Mpeketoni last month.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: 53 Insurgents, 6 Soldiers Die as Troops Clash With Boko Haram

No fewer than 50 terrorists, five soldiers and one senior officer died on Friday night when some terrorists attacked the troops’ bases and police locations in Damboa.

This was made known last night by the Defence Headquarters, in a statement issued by its director of information, Major General Chris Olukolade…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Soldiers Go on Rampage, Burn, Vandalise BRT Buses Over Colleague’s Death in Lagos

Soldiers yesterday went on rampage, grounding human and vehicular movements along Ikorodu road, Lagos, following allegations that a commercial bus belonging to the Lagos State government ran over one of them, killing him at the Palmgrove bus stop at about 9:00 am.

The soldiers alleged that a Rapid Transport Bus, BRT, vehicle killed one of their colleagues at Palmgrove. They reportedly burnt any BRT vehicle on sight during the rampage. The soldiers barricaded both sides of the road in the process. Some persons were also injured following the ensuing rampage…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Tourist Badly Hurt in Mombasa Shooting

(AGI) Mombasa, July 6 — A Russian woman tourist was shot and seriously injured during a visit to a historic site in Mombasa on Sunday, local media reported. Investigations have opened into the shooting, which took place in an area in which Al-Shabaab militants carried out two deadly attacks earlier on Sunday.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Somalia: Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility for Mogadishu Attack

(AGI) Mogadishu, July 5 — Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the suicide attack outside the Somali parliament building that killed several people on Saturday. “We killed more than a dozen police in a sacrificial attack at the main entrance of Parliament. We want to tell them that the MPs are not safe anywhere in Mogadishu and that more attacks will come,” said Abdulaziz Abu Musab, a spokesman for the Islamist group. Police and witnesses at the scene said at least four were killed and many more wounded in the car bomb explosion.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Children on the Run

A surge of undocumented kids are showing up alone at the US-Mexico border

Since October, 52,000 unaccompanied minors have been caught trying to enter the US illegally. Why so many?

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greece Seeks EU Help for Refugee Crisis

Country is struggling to cope with influx of migrants from war-torn regions seeking better lives in Europe.

Each month, tens of thousands of refugees from war-torn regions embark on boats in search of a better life in Europe…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: The Gruesome Truth Behind an Idyllic Scene

More than 66,000 migrants and refugees have arrived on Italy’s shores this year. But many don’t survive the journey — and when the Italian navy went to help migrants crammed on to a boat near Sicily, they were shocked by what they found.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Medical Police State at U.S. Immigration Camps as Doctors Threatened With Arrest for Talking About Infectious Disease

(NaturalNews) The signs of America’s plunge into police state insanity just keep coming one after another, and today a de facto medical police state has been declared in government-run immigration refugee camps where infectious disease is running wild.

Many people will not believe the statements contained in this article for the simple reason that they are not intellectually prepared to admit this is happening right now in America. However, this article is well-sourced, and readers are encouraged to approach its contents with an open mind, regardless of their current political beliefs, so they can learn the truth about just how quickly the United States of America is becoming a medical police state where stating a medical truth is now considered a criminal act.

“Arrest doctors and nurses if they divulge…” “A government-contracted security force threatened to arrest doctors and nurses if they divulged any information about the contagion threat at a refugee camp housing illegal alien children at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas,” reports Todd Starnes of Fox News. (1)

The truth about the infectious diseases being carried by this wave of illegal immigrants is so politically distasteful, it seems, that medical staff are being ordered at gunpoint to keep their mouths shut or face arrest…

In an extremely disturbing twist to all this, security forces at the immigration camp are reportedly calling themselves “brownshirts.” If that name sounds familiar, it’s the same name torn right out of the history books during the rise of the Nazi party.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Stop the Illegal Invasion of Our Nation

Enough with the insanity over the blatant violations of our immigration and naturalization laws and the accelerating illegal invasion of our beloved nation! Enough!

At this very moment, every member of the Obama Administration, every member of congress, every employee of the INS, ICE, DOJ, HHS and DHS is directly and purposefully engaged in treason, due to their ongoing participation in an outright “invasion” of our country by “illegal aliens.” In fact, every member of the U.S. Military who is following orders to aid and abet this process is guilty of following “unlawful orders.”

Treason is defined as — 1. the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign. 2. a violation of allegiance to one’s sovereign or to one’s state. 3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

Let’s not mince words here — The all-out effort by our Federal Government to aid and abet the accelerating illegal invasion of our nation by “lawless” inhabitants pouring across our southern border is indeed an overt attempt to overthrow our government of, by and for the legal citizens of the United States; a direct violation of their oaths of allegiance to our country; a betrayal of a trust, a breach of faith and an act of treachery against the legal citizens of the United States.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

We Can’t Keep Taking on the World’s Children

In the last several months, because Mr. Barack Obama granted amnesty to illegal alien children by executive order last year, while at the same time, point-blank refusing to guard America’s borders — 52,000 children stormed across the line from Mexico. Somebody in Central and South America engineered this invasion. Huge transportation networks ferried those kids right to our country’s border…

In reality, Obama created this invasion because he refuses to uphold our laws.

Observe this reality check: 10 million children starve to death every year along with 8 million adults across the planet. Another 2.5 billion people live in utter human misery, squalor, hunger and lack of water. Can we save all 10 million children who starve to death? Can we save the world?

Today, America imports 100,000 legal immigrants every 30 days. We feed, house, transport and give jobs to those people by subtracting jobs from Americans. More jobs go to legal and illegal immigrants than to Americans. That’s a fact.

Yet, we suffer 48.1 million Americans subsisting on food stamps. Millions live in squalor, poverty and hunger. A mind-numbing 68 percent of all African-American children grow up with a single mother and most of them subsist on welfare.

How much more damage can we do to our country? How many more waves of children and adults can we absorb? How will we survive the projected 100 million legal immigrants within 30 years?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Canadian City Bans Events “Associated” With Christians

It doesn’t affect you when bureaucratic zealots order a Christian baker, against his conscience, to participate in a same-sex parody of a wedding by baking a special cake for it. Why should you care? You’re not a baker. You’re not one of “those Christians” who are getting slapped down by the government they pay for.

But that’s in the United States. In Canada — at least in the city of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island — now all you need, to qualify for persecution, is some vague, undefined “association” with “divisive groups” (Christians) that “promote homophobia and other expressions of hate.”

On May 5 the Nanaimo City Council voted, 8-1, to ban simulcasts of a worldwide “leadership conference” from being shown at the Vancouver Island Conference Center, a public facility, because some unspecified number of the “LBGT community” were “upset” by the conference’s “associations” with “persons and organizations with a long history of promoting homophobia,” blah-blah. You can see videos of this bizarre meeting here.[url]

This is a complicated, crazy story, and it’ll take some explaining…

The councilors used the rest of their time to make hysterical equations of “Christians” with Islamic jihad groups like Bokol Haram in Nigeria, etc. In their zeal to combat “hate,” they hate Christians. It’s their own little jihad.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Common Core Face-Off: Hiding the Truth About Choice and Charter Schools

Obama and ‘Conservative’ Groups Use Bait and Switch Tactics. They are using the momentum against Common Core to complete and further their agenda — “Choice” and Charter Schools.

The truth has uneasy consequences. ‘Conservatives’ and Republicans are revealing their so-called “Choice Plan” that mimics the Obama-Duncan Plan. In an article posted by the ‘conservative’ organization FreedomWorks, their entire proposed controversial agenda for “choice” in education demands rebuttal, discussion and dissection. The Einstein quote at the top of this article validates my decision to act on current documentation, explaining to the American people the danger that these ‘conservative groups’ represent to parents when they demand “choice.”

Republican Governors who say that Common Core is gone are using fraud and deception to further their cause. Their cause is government-controlled, taxpayer-funded “choice” and charter schools. Republicans are now conveniently using the slogan “No Common Core” as a litmus test — a popular hot button that will cue the Fall elections. But, are citizens and parents aware of where that path will take us? For example, see the following quote:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

8 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/6/2014

  1. “In other news, Norway’s justice minister warned that there is a potential danger posed by “Norwegian” mujahideen who return “home” from the jihad in Syria and Iraq.”
    [He added that: “after deep thinking I have concluded that the real enemy is not Muslims, or al-shabab, or salafis, or muslim Brotherhood. The real enemy is ourselves because of our fecklessness, cowardice, stupidity, inaction, our false bleeding hearts, and our crocodile tears. We dare not blame the real perpetrators, we do the easy thing: we blame those who do not hurt us.”
    That’s my dream. I thought he would tell the truth.

  2. “In other news, Norway’s justice minister warned that there is a potential danger posed by “Norwegian” mujahideen who return “home” from the jihad in Syria and Iraq.”
    [He added that: “after deep thinking I have concluded that the real enemy is not Muslims, or al-shabab, or salafis, or muslim Brotherhood. The real enemy is ourselves because of our fecklessness, cowardice, stupidity, inaction, our false bleeding hearts, and our crocodile tears. We dare not blame the real perpetrators, we do the easy thing: we blame those who do not hurt us.”
    That’s my dream. I thought he would tell the truth.
    ———————-
    “The councilors used the rest of their time to make hysterical equations of “Christians” with Islamic jihad groups like Bokol Haram in Nigeria, etc. In their zeal to combat “hate,” they hate Christians. It’s their own little jihad.”
    The great Jane Austen mentioned that trait in human kind: she called it servility.

    • In Austen’s time characterological servility within one’s class was frowned upon:servility upward was required. The lower classes were expected to know their place and there wasn’t much movement up the ladder. Unfortunately for Britain its long-standing national preoccupation with class distinctions will be part of its downfall. Had Tommy Robinson possessed the right vowels his speeches might have found more acceptance among his betters. Instead, the latter complacently watched him being hauled off to prison for the very same mortgage “fraud” in which they themselves participate all the time. None of them said a word. And the fact that he is now out of prison but forbidden to speak publicly, to use social media, or to even visit with friends is viewed with complacency. Those “above” him are sure such things will never happen to them.

      I wish someone who understands the deep chasms of class divides in Britain could explain their history and causes; it would be a useful lesson for all of us Anglophones who don’t suffer the same strictures, even as we tease one another about how we speak. The teasing does NOT reflect doors closing against particular accents. Does this kind of class rigidity exist as sharply in any other western country/culture? For example, in tiny Switzerland with its distinctive language patterns, is a particular form considered to be the “correct” one, the one which will ensure one’s social and financial success??

      • I don’t know a lot about this but, I have been led to believe that those that speak high German are the upper crust. Those that speak Switzerdeuch are middle class. I welcome anyone that knows more to chime in.

        Norway’s justice minister warned that there is a potential danger posed by “Norwegian” mujahideen who return “home” from the jihad in Syria and Iraq.

        You think? Are these people really this thick?

        • That’s the thing about leftists, Babs. They are determined to NOT think too closely about what they do. I mean the rational thinking part is carefully bracketed out of their decisions about the social order. Fjordman can tell us more; perhaps he will.

          I’ll give you an example that utterly creeped me out: I forget the fellow’s name for sure, maybe it was Erick Stakelbeck, who went to Norway to do some interviews – perhaps about Norway’s experience with their immigrant population. Somehow or other, whilst interviewing a very pleasant and polite woman academic, the subject of the differences in IQ came up. In this case, it may have been the statistical differences between men and women. In rational societies it is a given that statistically men tend to have high IQs at the apex of the bell curve (Which means they have more stupidity and or deviancy at the margins, but that’s another subject). We have the same blinkered vision at places like Harvard, where Larry Summers had his gonads removed for saying out loud what science has already deomstrated.

          Well, Ms Nordic Acadame was having none of it.When he asked, she said with a smile, “We do not discuss it”. Period. No intellectual interest, no arguments about the validity of the studies. Just an absolute door closing SHUT. Not slammed, just closed. Firmly.

          I don’t think Norway is a healthy place for the average guy. I’ve corresponded with a number of expatriate men, but no woman has ever written us – oh, except one woman who was utterly distraught about what was being done to her son. But she was lower middle class and had no way to get him out. So I talked to her about ways to protect him.

          My guess is women have no need to leave. The men who get outta Dodge are fellows from all walks of life. Some of them have spoken of their parents in collusion with psychiatrists when they were, say middle school age, to have their behavior “diagnosed” into something that could be ‘cured’…instead of seeing them as normal active boys…

          ,,,as anyone would, these men miss their homeland, but trips back usually don’t end well and they leave earlier than planned because the walls start to close in. When I think of them, I often visualize manly boys who would have had idyllic childhoods in Texas…Think about it: Vikings reduced to women-ruled nice, nice guys. Amiable to a fault.

          That is why I call it nice, nice Norway and that is why they could ever have found Our Feckless Leader as worthy of the Nobel Prize. That choice alone speaks volumes about Norway. That characterological formation is also why they created a release valve: they support bloody, murderous Hamas. Support as in “funding”and verbally affirmation. A Norwegian male acting like Hamas is unthinkable.

          I hope you can see now how such a small, homogeneous and regimentedly polite culture could produce a butcher like Breivik – yet also so completely fail to understand that this man is Norwegian through and through, that he is uniquely theirs. ABB belongs with the deviants at the margins, not among the brilliant ones at the apex…oops, can’t say that in Norway. At least among its elite, Norway appears to have no common sense (as you or I would understand the term). Not only does it value women more than men & devote much energy into making little boys more like girls, but it is run on feminine values (in the Jungian sense).Thus the decision to bring in these “poor, unfortunate 3rd worlders” and help them; make them into Norwegians only with darker skin. After they go thru the sausage factory these hostile strangers will emerge as polite, patient, and tolerant “almost-as-good-as”…they will be grateful.

          Sure they will. Just try a little harder, Norway. Just sacrifice a few more of your girls to their rapists…

      • “I wish someone who understands the deep chasms of class divides in Britain could explain their history and cause” .. Baron will know the answers, D, I think, but here’s my halfpenny worth:

        No, the divide does not exist in other European nations, though France comes close. But it is uniquely severe in Britain–many people in the former industrial cities truly, deeply hate and despise London and the rich south, to the extent that they will go on voting for Labour, the useless party of traitors that fills their towns with Pakistanis and Indians, just to spite the English southerner.
        Why? Two reasons: First, 1066. The Norman Conquest imposed an entirely alien aristocracy on England and most of Scotland and Ireland, which has preserved its position to this day. Half of British aristocrats still have basically French names–Fitz- is Fils de, son of, for example. So the rich and powerful have always been regarded with hostility by the Saxon and Celtic masses. Reason 2: The industrial revolution. This was particularly hard on the working classes because Britain pioneered it without social security safety netting. By the time the Germans and Americans picked up the baton, measures were in place to curb the exploitation of cheap labour. But in Britain the early industrialization was brutal, and it has never been forgotten, especially in the mining districts.
        Hope that helps.

      • The British class system explained in about sixty seconds or so at an evergreen comedy class. It’s all about breeding, vulgarity, money, most importantly perhaps, knowing your place.

        http://bit.ly/1vVTrvC

  3. I was born in 1948, and it seemed to me that the class system was in retreat for much of my life; certainly it was often criticised and satirised.

    However, and ignoring the anachronism of our royal family, I believe it’s been supplanted by a new division between the ultra-rich and powerful elite (irrespective of background) and the rest, and the UK is not alone in this.

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