Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/21/2015

A knife-wielding Palestinian rider attacked other passengers on a bus in Tel Aviv, and then continued his rampage on the street after exiting the bus. He was eventually shot and wounded, and then taken into custody. Several of his twelve victims sustained serious injuries. The incident had nothing to do with Islam.

In other news, Lutz Bachmann, the founder of PEGIDA, resigned from his leadership position after Facebook photos of him dressed in a comic Hitler outfit were made public. Mr. Bachmann said the whole thing had been a silly joke, but the prosecutor’s office is looking into the possibility of charging him with a hate crime. Other PEGIDA leaders say that PEGIDA will continue without him.

Meanwhile, the Austrian government is planning to spend €290 million to fight terror. Instead of imams, however, it says it will hire specialists in cyber security.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, Nick, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, PVB, RL, Vlad Tepes, 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
» China’s Slowdown
» Denmark Tries to Quell Euro Peg Rumours
» Draghi’s Stakes Higher as SNB Adds to Delivery Risk: Euro Credit
» ‘Europe Missed Chance to Fix Economy’: Weber
 
USA
» Fox News Apologizes for False Claims of Muslim-Only Areas in England and France
» Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran ‘Sound Like Talking Points Straight Out of Tehran’
» Mystery Storms Rage Across Face of Uranus
» Obama: We Will Beat ISIS, Congress to Authorize Use of Force
» Obama Undermines Hillary Clinton in State of the Union Address
» Obama: Climate Change is the Greatest Threat
» The President’s Address of Lies
» Windows 10 Upgrade to be ‘Free’ For One Year
 
Canada
» ‘Large Quantities of Chemicals’ In Halifax Linked to Ottawa Hotel Suspect
 
Europe and the EU
» Austrian Chancellor Gives Saudi-Backed Centre Ultimatum
» Austria: ‘Extremism Hotline’ Swamped With Calls
» Austria’s €290m Plan to Fight Terror
» Belgian Far-Right Plan PEGIDA Marches
» Crunch Time for Pet Theory on Dark Matter
» Denmark: Google Street View Cameras Catch Thieves in the Act
» ENI Warns Oil May Shoot Up to $200 Without OPEC Cuts
» ‘Ethnic Apartheid’ A Reality in France: PM
» Europe Faces Greek Headache Whoever Wins Vote
» Finland: More Details From the Oulu Murders
» France and Germany to Boost Anti-Jihadist Online Cooperation
» France’s €425 Million Plan to Combat Terrorism
» France’s Total Says Tests Fail to Find Gas in Area Off Cyprus Where it Has Drilling License
» Germany: PEGIDA Leader’s Hitler Facebook Photo Emerges
» Germany: PEGIDA Founder Bachmann Quits After Hitler Mustache Photo
» Germany: Legida Expects 60,000 Marchers in Leipzig
» German Anti-Islam Leader Steps Down Over Refugee Slurs
» Germany: Counter-Demonstrators Block Leipzig Rally by PEGIDA Offshoot
» Google Must Make New Offer, EU Commissioner Warns
» ISIS Hacks Spanish Town Hall Websites
» Italy: Renzi Govt Decree to Reform 10 Biggest ‘Popolari’ Banks
» Netherlands: Wilders’ PVV Remains Largest Party But Does Not Benefit From French Attacks
» One Million Spanish Public Workers See Their Medical Coverage Reduced
» Paris Mayor to Sue Fox News Over ‘No-Go Zones’ Slur
» Paris Attacks: Timmermans Warns of Jewish Exodus
» Spotlight on Hate Crimes in Sweden’s Skåne
» Sweden: Eight People Charged for Disturbing SD-Meeting
» Sweden: Procedure Offers Women With Genital Mutilation a Chance to Rebuild Their Sexual Organs
 
North Africa
» Egypt Jihadists Claim Attack on Sinai Pipeline to Jordan
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Attack in Tel Aviv, Bus Passengers Stabbed
» CNN’s Jim Clancy Resigns After Controversial Israel Tweets
» Israeli Police Say Palestinian Stabs Nine People on Tel Aviv Bus
» Mass Stabbing on Tel Aviv Bus by Palestinian ‘Terrorist’
» Tel Aviv PA Terrorist Attack — 12 Stabbed, Three Seriously: “I Feel Blood All Over My Body”
 
Middle East
» Former Miss Turkey, 26, Facing Trial After Being Arrested for Posting Satirical Poem That Criticised the Country’s President
» Gulf States Condemn Attempted ‘Coup’ In Yemen, Back President
» Iraqi Leader Says Country’s Armed Forces ‘Almost on Our Own’ Against ISIS
» ISIS ‘Police’ Lash Musicians for Playing Electronic Keyboards
» One of the Two Japanese Men Held and Threatened of Death by the Islamic State in Syria is Christian
» Op-Ed: Jihad by Civilian
» Saddam Hussein’s Daughter Now Designs Jewellery Inspired by Her Evil Dictator Dad and the Husband He Had Killed
» Sweden Confirms 100 Citizens Fighting for ISIS
» The Question is Not “If” Or “When”, But “To What Extent” Hizbollah Will Take Revenge Against Israel
» Thousands From Ex-Soviet Central Asia ‘Fighting for Islamic State’
» Turkey’s Porous Syria Border No Barrier for Jihadists
 
Russia
» Has Russia Joined the Axis of Resistance?
» Russia Has 9,000 Troops in Ukraine — President Poroshenko
 
South Asia
» Indonesia: Central Sulawesi, New Wave of Islamist Violence: Murders, Kidnappings, Mutilations
» Malaysia’s Federal Court Dismisses Catholic Case for the Use of the Word Allah
» Peshawar School Massacre: Row Over Pakistan Armed Teacher Plan
» Thousands From Central Asia Joining ‘Islamic State’: Report
 
Far East
» Japan Might Get to Name the Most Alien Worlds
» Japanese PM: “Extremism and Islam Are Completely Different Things”
 
Australia — Pacific
» Amir Mohebbifar Sentenced to Six Years in Jail for Aggravated Sex Assault of 19-Year-Old on ANZAC Bridge
» ‘Like a Horror Movie’: Rare Frilled Shark Caught Off Australia
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Boastful Boko Haram Leader Throws Down Gauntlet to ‘Kings of Africa’, Saying ‘Come and Get Me’
» Boko Haram Hostage Freed in Cameroon
» Former Mandela Assistant Sparks South Africa Race Row
 
Immigration
» Majority of Italians Are Against Immigration
» Turkey Intercepts Ship With Over 330 Migrants: Report
 
Culture Wars
» France Hands Out First Fines for Anti-Gay Tweets
» Growing Human Kidneys in Rats Sparks Ethical Debate
» Sweden: ‘Vagina’ Art to be Sold at International Ikea Stores
 
General
» International Union of Muslim Scholars Calls on UN to Criminalize “Contempt of Religions”
 

China’s Slowdown

From a very big base

MUCH of the analysis of China’s 2014 GDP data, which the government published today, has focused on the economy’s slowdown. That is, on one level, understandable. Growth of 7.4% was China’s weakest in 24 years (see chart below). It was also the first time this century that China has missed its official growth target, falling just short of the official goal of 7.5%. But on another level, the focus on the slowdown seems almost myopic. China joined an exclusive club last year: its economic output exceeded $10 trillion, making it only the second country to achieve that feat (America reached this level in 2000). At market exchange rates, China’s economic output was $10.3 trillion last year, more than five-times bigger than a mere decade ago, when it was $1.9 trillion.

The Chinese government’s tolerance for the slowdown will be tested in coming months as property investment, the biggest single driver of the economy in recent years, is likely to weaken yet further. The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for China’s 2015 growth to 6.8%. That would be its weakest performance in 25 years. But when headlines appear about the 25-year low, as they inevitably will, it is worth remembering that the Chinese economy is more than 25-times bigger than it was in 1990.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark Tries to Quell Euro Peg Rumours

Currency speculators are closely eyeing Denmark’s deposit rate cuts as a sign that it might drop its peg against the euro but the economy minister cautions that “situation should not be overly dramatized”.

The decision by Denmark’s central bank, Nationalbanken, to reduce its deposit rate to -0.02 percent in the wake of Switzerland’s removal of its currency peg against the euro has speculators wondering if Denmark will do the same.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Draghi’s Stakes Higher as SNB Adds to Delivery Risk: Euro Credit

Stakes in the bond market were already high for Mario Draghi. Then the Swiss National Bank raised them.

Government bond yields across the euro region had tumbled to record lows in anticipation of the European Central Bank president announcing a debt-buying program at its meeting Thursday in Frankfurt. That investor speculation deepened when Switzerland’s central bank last week let the euro begin to fall against the franc for the first time in three years.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Europe Missed Chance to Fix Economy’: Weber

Europe has squandered three years of opportunity to carry out badly needed economic reforms, former Bundesbank chief Axel Weber said in Davos on Wednesday, warning the ECB against taking too much action to compensate for governments’ failure to act.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Fox News Apologizes for False Claims of Muslim-Only Areas in England and France

Fox News issued an unusual on-air apology on Saturday night for having allowed its anchors and guests to repeat the false claim that there are Muslim-only “no-go zones” in European countries like England and France that are not under the control of the state and are ruled according to Shariah law.

After the term attracted new attention last week, Mr. Pipes added an update to his original 2006 post to share the credit for it with an anti-Islamist Norwegian blogger who wrote under the pen name Fjordman. That blogger, whose work was cited 111 times in the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik — the Islamophobic terrorist behind the deadly attacks in Oslo in 2011 — claimed in a post on his blog in 2006 that those underpriveleged areas of France were “Muslim no-go zones where anything representing a Western institution (post office truck, firemen, even mail order delivery firms) was routinely ambushed with Molotov cocktails.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran ‘Sound Like Talking Points Straight Out of Tehran’

The tension between Senate Democrats such as Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) and President Obama is clearly escalating over the issue of Iran.

“I have to be honest with you, the more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran. And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization when they are the ones with original sin,” Menendez said during a congressional hearing.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Mystery Storms Rage Across Face of Uranus

STORMS have clouded Uranus’s normally placid face. In the past year, the gas planet has played host to huge cloud systems so bright that even amateur astronomers can see them from Earth — and their cause is a mystery.

“We have no idea. It’s very unexpected,” says Imke de Pater at the University of California, Berkeley.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama: We Will Beat ISIS, Congress to Authorize Use of Force

Unilateral action also to hunt down terrorists, says president

(ANSAmed) — NEW YORK — The United States will defeat ISIS, US President Barack Obama said in his sixth State of the Union speech.

In the address, he asked Congress “to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIS”, or the Islamic State.

Obama said the US would continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks “and we reserve the right to act unilaterally” against terrorists directly threatening the country and its allies, stressing that the “United States learned some costly lessons over the last 13 years”.

“Instead of sending large ground forces overseas, we are partnering with nations from South Asia to North Africa to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten America”, Obama said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Undermines Hillary Clinton in State of the Union Address

Is President Obama trying to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run? That’s one take-away from his feisty State of the Union address, in which Mr. Obama did three things: first, he moved the Democratic agenda far to the left, where Hillary is not entirely comfortable; second, he rebuffed the clear preference of voters that he work with Congress, by making the cornerstone of his address proposals unacceptable to the GOP and third, he assured the country that our foreign policy (Hillary’s foreign policy) is working.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama: Climate Change is the Greatest Threat

Not radical Muslim terrorism, not an unsecured border, not an ever-growing federal debt that now exceeds $18 trillion, not the fact that 109 million live in households on federal welfare programs. These are not the greatest threats facing us today.

“No challenge — no challenge — poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” President Obama declared in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The President’s Address of Lies

By Daniel Greenfield

A speech made up of shameless lies, crazy lies and evil lies.

Obama’s previous State of the Union address claimed last year would be a “breakthrough year.” In this year’s State of the Union address he announced that he would turn the page.

Turning the page on last year’s grandiose and dishonest claims is what Obama does with each new address. Each year terrorism has been permanently defeated and the economy has recovered; Al Qaeda is on the run, unemployed dentists from Poughkeepsie are learning to install solar panels and illegal aliens from Los Angeles are teaching sex ed to kindergarteners.

And then next year he comes out to announce once again that the country has recovered from the crisis that he had already announced that it had recovered from last year.

And everyone applauds.

What exactly is Obama turning the page on? Two lost wars and the lowest employed population since 1977… under his predecessor Jimmy Carter?

When everything on the last page looks so bad, then it’s time to turn the page, offer up a minor variation on the same promises about infrastructure, income inequality and education, before going back to a busy schedule of playing golf, visiting foreign countries on pseudo-vacations and ruling unilaterally without regard for the other two branches of government that don’t control the military.

There are the false claims of victory in the War on Terror. Obama claims credit for the withdrawal from Afghanistan without accepting responsibility for the defeat. There is no mention of Yemen and Libya, which showed up in his 2013 address, now that both countries have been overrun by terrorists.

Turning the page means not having to read any bad news.

Having dragged the United States into two new wars, one in Libya and one in Syria, Obama sneeringly denounces Republicans and more serious Democrats who want to drag the country “into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing.” By that he means imposing new sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, instead of letting a terrorist state have a nuclear bomb.

In fact it’s Obama, not Republicans, who brought the United States into a proxy war with Iran in Syria while at the same time allowing it to go nuclear in the single greatest act of strategic insanity in history…

           — Hat tip: RL [Return to headlines]
 

Windows 10 Upgrade to be ‘Free’ For One Year

Microsoft has announced that its next operating system will be offered as a free upgrade to owners of devices running Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Phone.

The announcement marks a change in strategy to its previous policy of charging for major updates.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Large Quantities of Chemicals’ In Halifax Linked to Ottawa Hotel Suspect

Halifax police are investigating a large stash of chemicals found at an address linked to Christopher B. Phillips, the suspect arrested Wednesday after an incident that triggered an evacuation at an Ottawa hotel.

Christopher B. Phillips, of Cole Harbour, N.S., was arrested in Ottawa on Wednesday after an incident that forced the evacuation of the Chimo Hotel. Police also raided his home in a Halifax suburb on Wednesday and recovered glass containers of an extremely harmful chemical called osmium tetroxide, CTV News has learned.

Police say Phillips is connected to searches conducted at three sites in Nova Scotia on Tuesday, one of which turned up a large stash of unknown chemicals at a cottage outside Halifax…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Austrian Chancellor Gives Saudi-Backed Centre Ultimatum

Austria’s chancellor threatened Tuesday to withdraw support for a Saudi-financed religious dialogue centre unless it condemns the public flogging of a Saudi blogger that has sparked an international outcry.

“An inter-religious dialogue centre that remains silent when it is time to speak out clearly for human rights is not worthy of being called a dialogue centre. It is a silence centre,” Werner Faymann told radio station Oe1.

“It cannot possibly be that we have a centre in Austria with the title ‘inter-religious dialogue’ while at the same time someone who actually engages in this is in prison and fearing for his life,” Faymann said…

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

Austria: ‘Extremism Hotline’ Swamped With Calls

Austria’s deradicalization hotline — part of a new counselling centre for extremism — has received 115 calls in the first 50 days since it was set up.

Families Minister Sophie Karmasin (ÖVP) said that she was “surprised” by the high number of calls and that in three cases the Federal Agency for State Protection and Counterterrorism (BVT) had been informed. She said that 28 of the calls related to concrete suspicions of extremist activity.

She added that a similar hotline in Germany receives only around 500 calls a year.

The high level of calls in Austria showed that there was “a real need” for such a centre, and was also perhaps due to the fact that the centre is not linked to the police so is less intimidating, Karmasin added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Austria’s €290m Plan to Fight Terror

Austria’s government has announced a plan to spend nearly €290 million (US$335m) to combat terror over the next four years.

After a week of intensive discussion triggered by the tragic events in Paris, the Austrian government has announced a package of various measures intended to help it in the fight against possible terrorist attacks, it announced on Tuesday.

The largest part consisting of €126m (US$146m) will go into hiring new personnel with special skills, including specialists in cyber security, crime fighting and forensics, according to a report from the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Belgian Far-Right Plan PEGIDA Marches

The extreme-right Belgian party, Vlaams Belang has decided to emulate the PEGIDA marches that have divided Germany, by holding their own in Antwerp.

Their chairman, Tom Van Grieken asked anyone who “wants to safeguard European civilisation” to join.

There is a newly formed organisation, PEGIDA Vlaanderen fronted by anti-Islamic author Wim van Rooy behind the marches.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Crunch Time for Pet Theory on Dark Matter

After decades of searching and multiple no-shows, it is crunch time for a leading theory of what comprises dark matter, the mysterious stuff thought to make up around 85% of the Universe’s matter.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Europe’s particle-physics lab near Geneva, Switzerland, is scheduled to restart in March after a major upgrade. It is widely seen as the last chance in a generation to create — and thus confirm — theoretical particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. A super-sensitive ‘direct-detection’ experiment, which is designed to catch naturally occurring WIMPs streaming from the heavens, is also due to start this year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Google Street View Cameras Catch Thieves in the Act

Two thieves who nicked garden tractors from a shop in Gråsten in southern Jutland may be brought to justice thanks to a random photo taken by the Google Street View vehicle.

South Jutland police say the photo shows two men in the act of stealing a red Jonsered lawn tractor from the shop on 30 May at 14:20.

The photo, which was only recently discovered, shows two men stealing the tractor and putting it into a white box trailer attached to a silver grey Opel.

Google has authorised police to use the photo. South Jutland police are asking for anyone who recognises the men, trailer or vehicle to contact them in Sønderborg.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ENI Warns Oil May Shoot Up to $200 Without OPEC Cuts

Italian oil group Eni has warned oil could shoot up to $200 a barrel if the Opec cartel fails to cut supplies.

Eni’s chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, said the oil industry would cut capital spending by 10-13% this year because of slumping prices.

He said that would create longer-term shortages and sharp price rises in four to five years’ time.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Ethnic Apartheid’ A Reality in France: PM

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday that social and ethnic apartheid were a reality in France, almost two weeks after the country was left traumatized following a series of terrorist shootings by Islamic extremists.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Europe Faces Greek Headache Whoever Wins Vote

(BRUSSELS) — Whoever wins Greece’s general election on Sunday, Europe will have to take urgent action to tackle the country’s mountain of debt before it buries the rest of the eurozone, analysts say.

Alexis Tsipras, head of the far-left Syriza party that leads in the polls, has alarmed EU capitals by pledging to ditch austerity measures and renegotiate the debt left by two huge international bailouts.

The risk of Greece crashing out of the euro is unlikely irrespective of the result, analysts say, as Athens and Brussels would probably strike a deal despite the fiery rhetoric on both sides.

But even if Tsipras loses, the European Union must deal with an unsustainable debt level that stands at 177.7 percent of Greece’s economic output in order to restore confidence in the struggling eurozone, they say.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Finland: More Details From the Oulu Murders

Finland is still reeling from news of a double murder in the northern city of Oulu. Oulu-based newspaper Kaleva says two men in a local bar were killed from their wounds after a man attacked them with an axe. Kaleva says the perpetrator, who was later shot in a stand-off with police, had threatened violence on an earlier occasion, saying he wanted to inflict pain on the city of Oulu and die. Chief Inspector Ari Pekka Kouva of the National Bureau of Investigation says the man’s violent background was only made known to the police after the incident.

The perpetrator was not found until three hours after the killings, and in the meantime, the police warned the residents of the city that a dangerous and armed man was at large in Oulu via announcements that interrupted television and radio broadcasts. The police now feel confident that they made the right decision with the announcements, as they spread the information among the populace quickly.

The country’s leading daily Helsingin Sanomat also interviewed an eyewitness to the killings in the Friday paper. His account matches the police report on what happened that evening, although some parts of his story have not yet been confirmed. “I saw when the man hit the barman in the head with the axe — three, four, five times. I ran to the loo to hide. It was terrible; I didn’t sleep all night. I am still in shock,” said the informant. He says the pub only had a few customers at the time of the incident, around 5:45 pm. “I saw him come in with a rucksack and thought he was going to buy a drink, and then I saw him striking the man with an axe.” After hiding in the loo for a few minutes, the eyewitness ran outside and saw another body on the ground.

Finland’s second major tabloid Iltalehti carries an interview with representatives of the Somali community. Chair of Finland-Somalia Association Arshe Said says he was completely surprised to hear that the Oulu killer had a Somali background. “I was travelling in Turku when I hear the news of the murders. I heard he was a foreigner, but I had no idea he was a Somali,” he said to the tabloid. Said is confident that the residents of Finland will take in the news intelligently and comprehend that the incident is an isolated one and cannot be linked to an entire ethnic minority. “If an individual commits a crime, the entire Somali population cannot be implicated. I see no danger of this in Finland,” he says.

           — Hat tip: PVB [Return to headlines]
 

France and Germany to Boost Anti-Jihadist Online Cooperation

France and Germany say they will boost cooperation in the fight against jihadi propaganda and online recruitment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France’s €425 Million Plan to Combat Terrorism

France announced on Wednesday an arsenal of measures aimed at preventing further terror attacks, including the creation of nearly 2,800 jobs to help monitor 3,000 potentially dangerous individuals in France.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France’s Total Says Tests Fail to Find Gas in Area Off Cyprus Where it Has Drilling License

NICOSIA, Cyprus — French oil and gas company Total says a search for oil and gas off Cyprus has failed to find any potential fields to warrant any drilling. The company said Wednesday that it’s now talking to Cypriot authorities on possibly continuing with more exploration work in waters off the east Mediterranean island.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: PEGIDA Leader’s Hitler Facebook Photo Emerges

New ire has come from the leader of anti-Islam movement Pegida after newspapers revealed on Wednesday that he once posted a picture of himself dressed as Adolf Hitler captioned: “He’s back”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: PEGIDA Founder Bachmann Quits After Hitler Mustache Photo

The founder of the PEGIDA movement has stepped down, following a furore over an image of him on Facebook sporting a Hitler-style toothbrush mustache. Lutz Bachmann had at first tried to laugh off the image as a joke.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Legida Expects 60,000 Marchers in Leipzig

Supporters of anti-Islam movement Pegida in Leipzig — Legida — have announced a 60,000-strong protest will take place on Wednesday, following Monday’s demonstration ban placed on Pegida in Dresden after terror threats.

Up to 4,000 police officers recruited from all over the country are preparing for the protests, in one of the biggest deployments in Leipzig since German reunification — compared to 1,600 officers in Dresden for Pegida’s last protest with 25,000 people.

Saxony’s Interior Secretary Michel Wilhelm said on Tuesday that no protest ban was envisaged for Legida.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

German Anti-Islam Leader Steps Down Over Refugee Slurs

The leader of a German organization against the perceived “Islamization” of Europe has stepped down and apologized after online comments surfaced where he defaced refugees as “cattle” and “filthy.”

Lutz Bachmann, co-founder of the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA, said in a statement on Facebook Wednesday that he was sorry for offending anyone with his postings. He called them “ill-considered comments that I wouldn’t make in this way today.”

He also apologized for harming the movement, which has staged weekly demonstrations in the eastern city of Dresden that reached their peak last week, drawing 25,000 people.

Bachmann didn’t comment directly on a picture, published Wednesday by top-selling tabloid Bild, showing him sporting a Hitler mustache and hair combed over like the Fuehrer.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Counter-Demonstrators Block Leipzig Rally by PEGIDA Offshoot

“Anti-Islamization” protesters have gathered for a rally in the city of Leipzig, blocked by thousands of counter-demonstrators. A large contingent of riot police were called in to separate the two.

LEGIDA’s rally got underway on Wednesday evening with the organizers hoping to attract tens of thousands of supporters, although many faced difficulty reaching their destination.

According to the DPA news agency, only a fraction of the anticipated number had reached the Augustusplatz — the city’s largest square — by early evening. Counter-demonstrators blocked the way in surrounding streets, chanting the refrain “Get lost!” and brandishing signs reading “No PEGIDA, No LEGIDA.”

LEGIDA is the Leipzig offshoot of the PEGIDA group centered around Dresden, whose name loosely translates as “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.”

A number of businesses in the city center were said to have closed early, ahead of the demos.

Officials switched off evening lighting to some of the city’s most prominent buildings as the march got underway. Leipzig’s City Hochhaus — the city’s tallest building also known locally and the “wisdom tooth” — was in darkness, as was the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert hall.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Google Must Make New Offer, EU Commissioner Warns

Google must make further concessions to rivals to conclude an EU anti-trust probe, the EU’s digital agenda commissioner said Tuesday. “Google has to bring more offers to us,” said Guenther Oettinger at a conference in Munich, adding that the US firm “must be ready for a convincing compromise”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Hacks Spanish Town Hall Websites

Town hall websites in the northern Spanish region of Navarre came under attack from terror group Isis on Tuesday evening, with messages including “I love Isis” and “Je suis Muhammad” being posted online.

The posts also included offensive messages aimed at France and Israel: “

[ Israel & France & France (sic)”.

The posts included the phrase “Allah is the only god and Muhammad, his prophet” in Arabic.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Renzi Govt Decree to Reform 10 Biggest ‘Popolari’ Banks

Investment compact aimed at boosting foreign interest approved

(ANSA) — Rome, January 20 — Premier Matteo Renzi’s cabinet on Tuesday approved “historic” measures that will give the country’s biggest 10 cooperative, or ‘popolari’ banks 18 months to change their ownership structures.

The changes had been rumoured for several days, driving up the stock-market value of some of the biggest ‘popolari’ banks where current rules allow every shareholder to have one vote, regardless of the size of their investment.

Renzi said the 10 biggest of these banks, with assets above eight billion euros, must change their ownership structures and become an SpA, or publicly traded corporation.

“It is an historic moment,” said Renzi after a cabinet meeting Tuesday that also approved a new ‘investment compact’.

Renzi said that smaller banks will not be affected by the change, but added that in general, Italy’s banking sector needed reform that should include more consolidation.

“We have too many bankers and we deliver too little credit,” Renzi said, shortly after a national business association reported that small- and medium-sized businesses in Italy have seen credit availability drop dramatically since 2010.

The measures in the decree “will strengthen the Italian banking system which will go better and better as the recovery gets underway,” said Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.

The decree must be approved within 60 days to become law and includes measures aimed at stimulating domestic investment while making Italy more attractive for foreign investors.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Wilders’ PVV Remains Largest Party But Does Not Benefit From French Attacks

The anti-Islam PVV party led by Geert Wilders would win between 17% and 19.8% of the vote if there were a general election tomorrow, according to the Peilingwijzer poll of polls. However, the poll, which collates the results of the four main Dutch opinion polls, shows only a 0.2 percent point rise in support for the PVV since the terrorist attacks in France earlier this month.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

One Million Spanish Public Workers See Their Medical Coverage Reduced

Cuts in the number of hospitals and doctors paid through the Finance Ministry’s health insurance system Muface could affect about 1.5 million people — one million civil servants plus around half-a-million benefiting family members — who stand to lose medical coverage this year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Paris Mayor to Sue Fox News Over ‘No-Go Zones’ Slur

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told CNN on Tuesday that her city intends to sue Fox News after it broadcasted interviews asserting that there are “no-go zones” in the French capital where police and non-Muslims fear to tread.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Hidalgo said Fox had “insulted” the city.

“When we’re insulted, then I think we’ll have to sue, I think we’ll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed,” Paris’s Socialist mayor said. “The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honour of Paris has been prejudiced.”…

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

Paris Attacks: Timmermans Warns of Jewish Exodus

A top EU official has warned that Europe faces a “huge challenge” in persuading Jews not to emigrate in response to anti-Semitism.

European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans suggested the issue was as urgent as the euro’s troubles.

“In some (EU) states the majority of the Jewish community is not sure they have a future in Europe,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Spotlight on Hate Crimes in Sweden’s Skåne

Police in Skåne in southern Sweden have recorded 137 anti-semitic hate crimes in the past two years, according to an investigation by Swedish broadcaster SVT.

Between 2013 and 2014, more than half of hate crimes in Skåne’s biggest city, Malmö, were directed against individual Jews.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Eight People Charged for Disturbing SD-Meeting

Eight people have been charged with disturbing a public meeting held by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrat Party at Drottningtorget in central Gothenburg in May last year, TT reports. All of them deny the charges.

According to the indictment, the eight, aged between 20-25 years old, have disturbed the peace, and not obeyed police orders. The noise they made disrupted the meeting so that it could not be held. When police ordered them to leave the scene, they did not obey.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Procedure Offers Women With Genital Mutilation a Chance to Rebuild Their Sexual Organs

For the first time in Sweden women who have undergone female genital mutilation (or FGM) can have their sexual organs partly reconstructed in a medical procedure.

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Swedish Radio News reports that after one successful operation at the Karolinska University Hospital just outside Stockholm there are three others on line for the procedure.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt Jihadists Claim Attack on Sinai Pipeline to Jordan

AMMAN — Egyptian jihadists claimed Monday to have bombed a pipeline in the Sinai that carries gas to Jordan, saying it was targeted over the Kingdom’s role in the US-led offensive on the Islamic State (IS) group, Agence France-Presse reported.

Egyptian militant group Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, which has pledged allegiance to IS, tweeted unverified pictures of the claimed attack, without saying when it was carried out, according to AFP.

Since the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, there have been 27 confirmed attacks on energy pipelines in the Sinai Peninsula, the most recent of which was on December 23, AFP reported from Cairo.

The frequent attacks on the pipeline in Sinai have led to an increasing energy burden on the Kingdom.

Jordan has been forced to use heavy oil and diesel reserves at a cost of $5 million a day to generate power after the cut in gas supplies from Egypt.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Attack in Tel Aviv, Bus Passengers Stabbed

9 wounded, injured Palestinian arrested. Hamas, ‘heroic act’

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — Nine bus passengers reported injuries on Wednesday after they were stabbed by a “Palestinian terrorists” in downtown Tel Aviv, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Five of those injured are in critical condition while four others reported minor injuries, Rosenfeld said.

The attacker — allegedly from Tulkarm in the West Bank — was shot in the legs by police and arrested. Security forces are searching the entire area for potential accomplices.

Hamas from Gaza defined the attack in Tel Aviv as “heroic and courageous”, Israeli media report.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

CNN’s Jim Clancy Resigns After Controversial Israel Tweets

Veteran CNN anchor Jim Clancy stepped down on Friday, one week after a series of Twitter posts in which he mocked pro-Israel tweeters on a thread discussing the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Neither CNN nor Jim Clancy gave a reason for his departure, which was reported by AdWeek. Clancy had worked at CNN for 34 years.

Although Clancy’s Twitter account no longer existed as of Thursday, the tweets have been preserved on a number of websites, including Twitchy and Mediaite, and by Tablet journalist Yair Rosenberg.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Israeli Police Say Palestinian Stabs Nine People on Tel Aviv Bus

A Palestinian man stabbed nine people on a Tel Aviv bus during the morning rush hour Wednesday before he was shot by corrections officers and taken into custody, officials said.

Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld posted a message on Twitter saying that authorities believe the incident to be a terror attack. He said that five people had suffered moderate or serious injuries, while four others had sustained minor injuries.

Rosenfeld said the suspect as a 23-year-old man from Tulkarem, located in the West Bank northeast of Tel Aviv.

[…]

The stabbing is the latest in a type of “lone-wolf” attacks that have plagued Israel in recent months. About a dozen people have been killed in Palestinian attacks.

[Coming soon to your neighborhood, thanks to Muslim immigration. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Mass Stabbing on Tel Aviv Bus by Palestinian ‘Terrorist’

Ten people injured as Palestinian man launches knife attack on commuter bus in Tel Aviv before being shot and injured while trying to escape

A knife-wielding passenger wounded up to a dozen people in a busy Tel Aviv commuter bus on Wednesday in an apparent Palestinian”lone wolf” attack similar to a spate others witnessed by Israel in recent months.

The stabbing took place in Menachem Begin Boulevard, one of Tel Aviv’s busiest thoroughfares after the attacker boarded a Number 40 shortly after 7.15am.

At least four of the wounded were in a serious condition after being stabbed by the assailant, who initially attacked the driver who responded by firing pepper spray, witnesses said.

The attacker then stabbed other passengers before trying to escape but was arrested after being shot in the leg by an Israeli prison service officer who had been travelling behind the bus and witnessed the scene.

Police described the incident as a “terror attack” and said the assailant was a 23-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank town of Tulkarm who had been living in Israel illegally.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

Tel Aviv PA Terrorist Attack — 12 Stabbed, Three Seriously: “I Feel Blood All Over My Body”

A 23 year old man from the Tulkarem in the Palestinian Authority territory, Hamza Mohammed Hassan Matruk, boarded Dan Bus 40 in Tel Aviv this morning stabbed the bus driver virtually sealing the doors. He proceeded to stab 12, including passengers and street passersby’s, three seriously with injuries to the head and neck. A passenger opened the door, whereupon the assailant Matruk fled continuing his bloody assault on the street. Members of Israel’s Elite Nachshon Prison Service riding in a car directly behind the bus gave chase shot Matruk, wounding him and apprehended the assailant. PM Netanyahu is a statement cited the Nachshon team for their actions but also attributed the terrorist attack to incitement by the Palestinian Authority. Hamas immediately acclaimed Matruk for his ‘heroic” act of resistance. Meanwhile, Hamas is forming an Army of Liberation in Gaza enlisting teenagers for more attacks against Israel emboldened by EU General Court decision lifting the “terrorist designation”. The US Consulate may also be complicit in supporting this “liberation Army” and on the west Bank These developments are the subject of coincidental articles published today by the Gatestone Institute articles authored by Khaled Abu Tomeh and Shoshana Bryen of the Jewish Policy Center…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Former Miss Turkey, 26, Facing Trial After Being Arrested for Posting Satirical Poem That Criticised the Country’s President

A former Miss Turkey is facing trial for posting a satirical poem on social media that criticised her country’s president.

The arrest of Merve Buyuksarac, 26, follows a crackdown in the country on critical media in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.

Armed Turkish police last week stopped delivery lorries leaving a newspaper’s offices to make sure that they had not included section of the French satirical magazine that might be offensive to Muslims.

Although officially Turkey is secular, 99.8 per cent of the population are registered as Muslim and there has been heated debate over freedom of expression in the wake of the Paris massacres.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gulf States Condemn Attempted ‘Coup’ In Yemen, Back President

Gulf foreign ministers on Wednesday accused Shiite militia in Yemen of attempting to stage a “coup” against President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a day after the Huthi fighters seized the presidential palace.

“The states of the Gulf Cooperation Council consider what happened in Sanaa on Tuesday… a coup against the legitimate authority,” the ministers said in a statement following an emergency meeting in Riyadh.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraqi Leader Says Country’s Armed Forces ‘Almost on Our Own’ Against ISIS

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister on Wednesday appealed to the U.S.-led coalition and the international community to do more to help his country win the war against the Islamic State group, saying the assistance pledged so far falls short of the nation’s urgent needs.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Haider al-Abadi said the coalition has stalled on key issues, particularly commitments on training Iraqi forces and weapons deliveries.

“We are in this almost on our own,” he said. “There is a lot being said and spoken, but very little on the ground.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS ‘Police’ Lash Musicians for Playing Electronic Keyboards

A video purporting to show ISIS religious police in Syria lashing musicians and destroying their instruments has been reportedly released by the militants this week.

According to text posted along with the images on a file-sharing website, two musicians were punished with 90 lashes. They had been playing an electric keyboard and a lute.

The raid on the musicians is believed to have taken place in Bujaq, a few miles to the east of Aleppo, the Daily Mail reported.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

One of the Two Japanese Men Held and Threatened of Death by the Islamic State in Syria is Christian

Kenji Goto Jogo, a freelance journalist, who converted in the 90s, belongs to the United Church of Christ. For his pastor, he is a good man, “devoted to reporting what should be reported [. . .] conscious of vulnerable people”. He is being held by terrorists along with Haruna Yukawa for a US$ 200 million ransom. Shinzo Abe said Japan would do everything to free them.

Tokyo (AsiaNews) — Kenji Goto Jogo, a Japanese freelance journalist held by the Islamic state along with fellow Japanese Haruna Yukawa, is a good man with “a strong sense of justice,” someone who is “devoted to reporting what should be reported [. . .] conscious of vulnerable people”, said Christian pastor Hiroshi Tamura, head of the church to which Goto belongs.

Terrorists are demanding a US$ 200 million ransom to be paid “within 72 hours”, or they would execute the prisoners.

The video with the demand was posted online yesterday. In it, the two Japanese men can be seen kneeling, wearing an orange jumpsuit, guarded by an armed jihadist.

Meeting the press this morning, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that his government would do everything to free them, but he did say whether they would pay the ransom money.

Haruna Yukawa was fighting with Suqour al-Sham, a Syrian opposition group, when he was captured in August 2014.

Kenji Goto Jogo, a freelance journalist with Independent Press, an agency that supplies stories to Japanese media from conflicts around the world, is thought to have been taken last October.

Kenji Goto was baptised in the 1990s. His church belongs to the United Church of Christ, the largest Protestant denomination in Japan with about 200,000 members.

“He has a strong sense of justice,” said Hiroshi Tamura, pastor of Chofu church, “and he has always been conscious of vulnerable people, including children.”

At a press conference in Jerusalem, where is on a state visit, Mr Abe said he was “indignant” and felt “strong resentment” at the death threats.

“Extremism and Islam are completely different things,” he added, noting that “The international community will not give in to any form of terrorism and we have to make sure that we work together.”

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

Op-Ed: Jihad by Civilian

by Phyllis Chesler

Jihad has rapidly taken a new and ominous shape.

In the past, bombs were exploded—either human homicide bombs or car/truck bombs. Rockets were launched. Unbelievably, planes were once flown into major Western targets.

Now, President Obama empowers the radical Islamic world further by refusing to join the words “terrorism” and “Islam” and by insisting that Islam is a religion of “peace.” Obama continues to empower Iran to become a nuclear power and, most fatefully, empowers the recruitment efforts of The Islamic State.

He does so each time he refuses to say that the Free World or the Judeo-Christian West is at war with Islamic barbarianism or with radical political Islam.

I once feared and tried to monitor Palestinian and pro-Palestinian surging, potential lynch mobs in the Middle East, in Israel, and globally. The marches and demonstrations, both in the street and on campuses in the West have, over the years, become more aggressive, louder, more entitled…

           — Hat tip: Phyllis Chesler [Return to headlines]
 

Saddam Hussein’s Daughter Now Designs Jewellery Inspired by Her Evil Dictator Dad and the Husband He Had Killed

She is the daughter of one of the most notorious dictators in the world, and a woman who has openly pledged her support for ISIS.

But that doesn’t mean Raghad Saddam Hussein doesn’t have an eye for design, as she hopes to prove with her new jewellery range — complete with pieces unshamedly inspired by her despot father, as well as the husband he had murdered.

Sold in one of Jordan’s finest jewellery stores, the rings, bracelets and necklaces even feature a £1,000 pendent in the shape of Iraq, MailOnline can reveal.

Despite the fact Saddam had her husband killed, Raghad found it in herself to forgive him

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden Confirms 100 Citizens Fighting for ISIS

Sweden’s Security Service, SÄPO, has confirmed data suggesting that at least one hundred Swedes have fought alongside Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria.

The move followed an interview that SÄPO’s head Anders Thornberg gave to Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter on Saturday, in which he said that the Security Service was working hard to control fighters who had returned to Sweden and could “perhaps” be prepared to carry out terror attacks on home soil.

Thornberg has previously cited anecdotal evidence which suggests that up to 300 Swedes have joined Isis (also known as the Islamic State) and said he also stood by this figure.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Question is Not “If” Or “When”, But “To What Extent” Hizbollah Will Take Revenge Against Israel

Threats aside, neither Hizbollah nor Iran appears to want a new war. In Israel, some observers wonder whether the decision to carry out the attack in Syria was not linked to the country’s upcoming elections, noting that “Netanyahu won the 2013 elections because of the security agenda,” and he could try to do the same this time to stay in power.

Beirut (AsiaNews) — The question is not “if” or “when”, but “to what extent” Hizbollah will avenge the killing of Jihad Mughniyeh, a leading member of the group, and Iranian General Mohammad Allahdadi, as well as four other men of the Party of God, following an Israeli raid in Syrian territory two days ago.

Yesterday, as expected, people shouted ‘Death to Israel’ at Mughniyeh’s funeral (pictured). The same goes for Tehran’s words of condemnation for the death of one of the top leaders of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Corps, which operates outside Iran.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani said that Hizbollah would certainly give a crushing response to the attack.

Hizbollah officials vowed to avenge the attack on Monday, telling Lebanese paper A-Safir that retaliation was “inevitable,” though they added that “we will not act out of emotion.”

Yesterday, al-Safir’s editor voice more threats, sketching out the parameters of a future war with Israel, including the firing of thousands of rockets at the home front, attacks on civilian infrastructure targets and the deployment of Hizbollah forces in the Galilee, on the border with Syria.

Yet, Hizbollah does not appear to want a large-scale conflict because of its involvement in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Iran too has no interest in a conflict because the latter could undermine nuclear negotiations currently under way with the 5+1 group (five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany).

In Israel, the government has refused to confirm the attack; however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that his country would not give up the right to defend itself against all those who want to propagate terror and attack its citizens.

The Jerusalem Post has drawn its own conclusions from such a statement, writing, “The question that now remains is the extent of Hezbollah’s future attack”.

“A relatively minor assault may result in a proportionate Israeli reply, which could in turn produce an end to the sequence of attacks, and a containment of the incident. Hezbollah has nothing to gain from opening a second front against Israel, at a time when it remains deeply embroiled in its costly intervention in Syria and the war against Sunni rebels.”

“A large-scale Hezbollah attack would, however, open the door to a rapid deterioration of the northern front. The same is true of a mass casualty terrorist attack by Hezbollah targeting Israelis overseas, which could result in direct Israeli reprisals in Lebanon. Any miscalculation runs the risk of igniting a regional conflict.”

Notwithstanding the strictly military aspects, some observers wonder if the decision to carry out the raid in Syria was not linked to the forthcoming general elections in Israel.

“Election campaigns in Israel, “Haaretz writes in an editorial, “are marked by high-profile military action, particularly when the party in power is in distress. The unstated assumption of our leaders is that the (Jewish) public loves easy military victories, and such shows of force are meant to buttress the image of the prime minister and defence minister and convince the voter that they must remain in office.”

“Clearly it cannot be proven that this week’s military action in Syria stemmed from electoral considerations rather than purely out of an effort to defend the country, but the circumstantial evidence of political influence is weighty.”

Similarly, Yedioth Ahronoth notes that “Netanyahu won the 2013 elections because of the security agenda, which focused on the nuclear threat of then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Likud campaign machine is now asking, ‘Who do you want to fight Islamic terrorism — Buji and Tzipi or Bibi?’“

Therefore, “If Netanyahu succeeds in making security the hot-button issue by March, he will win. If the major topic reverts to socio-economic woes, the Labour Party will be able to set up” a different government.

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

Thousands From Ex-Soviet Central Asia ‘Fighting for Islamic State’

Up to four thousand people from Muslim former Soviet Central Asian countries are believed to have joined Islamic State jihadists, a report published on Tuesday said.

Often driven by poverty, some “2,000 to 4,000 have in the past three years turned their back on their secular states to seek a radical alternative,” the International Crisis Group said in a briefing on the region.

That figure is much higher than the official one of several hundred given by the governments of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, the report said.

It said that ethnic Uzbeks were the largest group from Central Asia fighting with the Islamic State, but “Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Turkmen and Tajiks are also well represented.”…

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

Turkey’s Porous Syria Border No Barrier for Jihadists

On grainy Istanbul airport security footage, she is shown entering the country like any tourist. A week later, she is in Islamic State-controlled Syria, without ever being apprehended.

How was Hayat Boumeddiene, the fugitive partner of one of the Paris attackers, able to cross through Turkey into Syria so easily?

Turkey may have stepped up efforts to improve security on its border with Syria, but the area remains a major thoroughfare for jihadists and their sympathisers seeking to enter the country from Europe.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Has Russia Joined the Axis of Resistance?

Yesterday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed an “cooperation” agreement with Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan in Tehran. Both countries are the targets of Western and US Sanctions. Both countries are afflicted with erosion of oil and energy revenues. Both countries are seeking to blunt opposing US interests in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. That is reflected in a comment of Iranian State television by Dehghan reported by AFP, that Iran and Russia had a “shared analysis of US global strategy, its interference in regional and international affairs and the need to cooperate in the struggle against the interference of foreign forces in the region.” There is also the matter of weapon systems deals with proceeds which might bolster Russia’s depleting foreign currency reserves, while combating America’s ally in the Middle East, Israel .

Moscow Times reported:

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Shoigu as saying the agreement hashed out a “theoretical framework of cooperation in the military sphere,” and also features an increase in naval cooperation, particularly visits by Russian and Iranian naval forces to each other’s ports.

Although Shoigu made no mention of a breakthrough in arms negotiations with the two countries — which have both come under Western sanctions — Iran’s Fars said that Moscow and Tehran would resolve problems with the delivery of the advanced missile system.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti confirmed the issue was under discussion.

“A step was taken in the direction of cooperation on the economy and arms technology, at least for such defensive systems such as the S-300 and S-400. Probably we will deliver them,” RIA Novosti quoted Colonel General Leonid Ivashov as saying.

Whether the Russian Iranian military cooperation accord is simply the latest episode in the geo-political games impacting US international interests, or is tacit admission of Russia to the Axis of Resistance, Israel is taking no changes. It is strengthening its northern frontier should Hezbollah with Iranian backing unleash a doubtful “crushing action” against the Jewish nation. Given the latter’s success in Sunday’s attack in Syria and Intelligence breach of Hezbollah security, that prospect is doubtful…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Has 9,000 Troops in Ukraine — President Poroshenko

Russia has more than 9,000 soldiers and 500 tanks, heavy artillery and armoured personnel carriers in eastern Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko has said.

He urged Russia to withdraw its troops and comply with a ceasefire plan, amid escalating fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels in the east.

Russia has repeatedly denied claims its soldiers are fighting with the rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Talks on de-escalating the crisis are due to begin in Berlin shortly.

Foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will take part in the meeting in the German capital.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Indonesia: Central Sulawesi, New Wave of Islamist Violence: Murders, Kidnappings, Mutilations

Since last November Poso and the province have been the scene of an escalation of targeted attacks and barbarism. Police and authorities invite citizens not to go out, the farmers cannot cultivate the fields. Activists: “a wave of unconfirmed rumors” increasing “panic” among people. Appeals to the government to assure safety.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Poso and Central Sulawesi province are the scene of a progressive wave of violence that has flared up last since November and that in recent weeks has seen an escalation of attacks, kidnappings, assassinations of Islamic tendency with the barbaric mutilation of bodies . In spite of the Malino peace agreement, signed in 2001 to put an end to years of bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians (Protestants), now the region looks set to fall again into chaos. The situation is delicate, so much so that the police and local authorities invite citizens — for security reasons — not to leave their homes. The prohibition is extended to the farmers, who cannot tend their fields.

The new wave of violence began on 15 November, when a local resident named Muhammad Fadli was assassinated by unknown assailant before the eyes of his family. He was a simple peasant, witness — against his will — of a shootout between police and Islamic extremists active in the area. On December 10, two Sedoa villagers (Poso) were kidnapped by a terrorist group and are still in the hands of their captors.

Again, on December 27 three inhabitants of Tamadue were “taken” by Islamic terrorists: one of the three men was killed, the second released while the fate of the third is still unknown. The violence continued into January: on January 17 three citizens of Tangkura (Poso Pesisir) disappeared they were later killed and their corpses brutalized. Finally, two other people were killed and mutilated in a brutal manner.

In an attempt to put an end to the violence, activists and human rights groups active in the area have promoted peace initiative, calling for the state to intervene to ensure the safety of citizens. According to the Institute Mosintuwu Suara Perempuan Poso (“The female voice of Poso”, ed), banning farmers from tending their fields is the wrong signal. Interviewed by AsiaNews activist Lian Gogali speaks of “rumors and hearsay” that are spreading in an “uncontrolled manner” and that help fuel “panic” among the people.

To counter this the group issued a statement in which it emphasizes four essential steps to restoring peace and security to the population: a rejection of all forms of violence of a religious background; police and military must provide security and maintain peace and harmony; ensuring the smooth running of daily activities; media and newspapers should avoid fomenting sectarian divisions and not disseminate bloody footage or images that end up exacerbating the situation.

Between 1997 and 2001, Christians and Muslims were involved in a violent conflict on Sulawesi Island and neighbouring Maluku Islands. Thousands of people died and hundreds of churches and mosques were destroyed. Thousands of homes were also razed. About half a million people found themselves homeless, 25,000 in Poso alone.On 20 December 2001, the two sides reached a truce that was signed in Malino, South Sulawesi, following a peace initiative by the government. The local population is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. Despite the peace deal, terrorist incidents continued on and leaving a trail of innocent victims. One of the most horrific cases, which caused indignation around the world, was the beheading by Muslim extremists in October 2005 of three Christian girls on their way to school.

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

Malaysia’s Federal Court Dismisses Catholic Case for the Use of the Word Allah

Five justices rejected unanimously the appeal filed by the Herald and the Church. For Catholic priest, this is a wrong decision that can affect minority rights. Muslim Lawyers Association, this should be the end of the long-running controversy.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) — Malaysia’s Federal Court has dismissed the latest (and perhaps the last) appeal by the Catholic Church for the right of non-Muslims to use the word Allah.

For the Catholic weekly Herald, which led the fight for religious freedom and respect of constitutional principles, the ruling might bring to a close a court case that has dragged on for years.

The five-member court agreed unanimously not to review the case because there was no procedural unfairness in its previous decision.

The ruling comes at a time of rising tensions and targeted attacks against Malaysia’s Christian minority.

The attacks, which include church arsons, grave desecrations and the seizure of 300 Bibles in January 2014, are the result of a clash over the use of the word Allah for the Christian God.

In fact, what began as a legal dispute between the government and the Herald — that led to a decision by the High Court on 23 June of last year to dismiss the paper’s appeal, thus reversing a 2009 ruling in favour of the Church — has turned into a major national controversy.

Outside the Federal Court House, police presence kept order, and no incidents were reported. Nevertheless, today’s verdict could have further repercussions on other disputes over the use of the word “Allah”, which the Malaysian government and Muslim groups claim for their exclusive use.

For now, the Chinese Muslim Association of Malaysia and other groups said that today’s decision should mark the end of the Catholic Church’s legal bid to use the word “Allah” in its weekly publication Herald.

For its part, the Muslim Lawyers Association called on all parties to respect the Federal Court’s decision and avoid further rows.

Shortly after the verdict, Herald’s editor in chief Fr Lawrence Andrew expressed disappointment.

Although an error in his opinion, he said that the decision was an important constitutional case and that he hoped it would affect the rights of minorities.

The clergyman noted that Christians have used the word Allah for hundreds of years, “And during this period, there was no trouble whatsoever.”

For the lawyers representing the Catholic Church, the issue might not be over yet because of other pending lawsuits over the use of “Allah” with some constitutional questions not yet decided by the country’s top court.

Malaysia is a nation of more than 28 million people, mostly Muslims (60 per cent). Christians are the third largest religious group (after Buddhists) with more than 2.6 million members.

A Latin-Malay dictionary published 400 years ago shows that the word Allah was already in use to describe the Biblical God in the local language.

Some 180,000 Catholics live in the capital Kuala Lumpur out of a population of over 11 million residents. They are served by 55 priests, 154 men and women religious, but only one permanent deacon.

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

Peshawar School Massacre: Row Over Pakistan Armed Teacher Plan

Teachers in north-western Pakistan have criticised a government plan to allow them to carry weapons to defend schools from militant attacks.

Speakers at a teachers’ convention in Peshawar city said their job was to educate, not to provide security.

The local authority, which announced the plan last week, insisted no teacher would be forced to carry a weapon.

Taliban gunmen stormed a school in Peshawar last month and killed more than 150 people, most of them children.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Thousands From Central Asia Joining ‘Islamic State’: Report

At least 2,000 Central Asians are believed to have joined “Islamic State,” a new report found. Marked by poverty and radicalization, the region has become a growing source of foreign fighters, as Deirdre Tynan tells DW.

The fallout from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq has become a major security concern for Central Asian governments. Crippled by corruption, the five former Soviet Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — are seen as having done little to address the issue of radical Islam.

In a recently released report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) says that “Islamic State” (IS) is attracting Central Asians to Syria and fostering new links among radicals within the region. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of their citizens have left for IS-held territory to fight or otherwise support the Islamic State cause, the report notes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan Might Get to Name the Most Alien Worlds

Who gets to name exoplanets? As efforts to officially christen alien worlds gets under way, it looks like Japanese astronomy fans will get the deciding vote.

New Scientist’s analysis of the 365 clubs currently signed up to NameExoWorlds reveals that 121 of them are based in Japan. This far outstrips the number of groups from any other country — the second most-represented nation, the US, only has 27. This suggests that although the whole world will get to vote on exoplanet names, the list of choices may be heavily determined by a single nation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japanese PM: “Extremism and Islam Are Completely Different Things”

The Islamic State group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages within 72 hours, demanding a $200 million ransom in a video posted online Tuesday that showed a knife-brandishing masked militant standing over the two kneeling captives.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was traveling in the Middle East, vowed to save the men. But with his military only operating in a self-defense capacity at home, Abe faces a hard choice: openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syria.

“Their lives are the top priority,” the Japanese leader told journalists in Jerusalem as he wrapped up a six-day visit to the Middle East. “Extremism and Islam are completely different things.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Amir Mohebbifar Sentenced to Six Years in Jail for Aggravated Sex Assault of 19-Year-Old on ANZAC Bridge

AN IRANIAN immigrant sentenced to eight years’ jail for raping a teenage girl said in his home country western women were “portrayed as whores”, a court heard yesterday.

Amir Mohebbifar, 27, ­pleaded guilty to the aggravated sexual assault of the 19-year-old woman in an brutal early morning attack on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge on January 16 last year.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

‘Like a Horror Movie’: Rare Frilled Shark Caught Off Australia

A rare frilled shark, whose species dates back 80 million years, was caught in a fishing trawler off Australia’s coast.

“It’s a freaky thing,” Simon Boag, the chief executive officer at South East Trawl Fishing Association, told Australia’s ABC Rural. “I don’t think you would want to show it to little children before they went to bed.”

The association said the frilled shark is often referred to as a “living fossil.” It is described as having an eel-like body with three fins on its back. It gets its name from the six pairs of gill slits that give it a fringed appearance.

“I’ve been at sea for 30 years and I’ve never seen a shark that looks like that,” he said. “It was like a large eel, probably 1.5 meters (5 feet) long, and the body was quite different to any other shark I’d ever seen.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Boastful Boko Haram Leader Throws Down Gauntlet to ‘Kings of Africa’, Saying ‘Come and Get Me’

The leader of Boko Haram taunted the “kings of Africa” for their failure to halt his campaign on Wednesday, boasting that his fighters had “killed” the inhabitants of a Nigerian town.

“The kings of Africa — you are late! I challenge you to attack me even now: I’m ready,” Abubakar Shekau said.

Boko Haram captured the Nigerian town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad on January 7, killing hundreds of people. Satellite photos from Amnesty showed that large areas of the town were razed to the ground.

In the video message posted on YouTube, Shekau said that massacring the people of Baga was an act of divine vengeance. “We killed the people of Baga. We indeed killed them, as our Lord instructed us in His Book,” said Shekau.

The video showed him standing in front of four white pickups, each displaying a mounted machine-gun and a black banner saying in Arabic: “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.” Seven masked men, dressed in black and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, appeared in the background.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

Boko Haram Hostage Freed in Cameroon

Cameroon said on Wednesday its forces have freed a German hostage kidnapped six months ago in Nigeria by Boko Haram, as African leaders appealed to the United Nations for support in fighting the Islamist militants.

“A special operation led by Cameroonian armed forces along with security services of friendly nations succeeded this night (Tuesday) in freeing Nitsch Eberhard Robert, a German citizen abducted in Nigeria in July 2014 by the Boko Haram sect,” the Cameroon presidency said in a statement.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry confirmed the man’s release, adding that he was now in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Former Mandela Assistant Sparks South Africa Race Row

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is attending the Davos World Economic Forum with a message that investment and business are key to South Africa’s economic success. He leaves behind a simmering row caused by Zelda la Grange, Nelson Mandela’s former personal assistant who has said she would feel more welcome in France than in her native South Africa.

La Grange says potential white investors from Europe and the United States should be told they’re not welcome in South Africa.

She later apologised for any hurt her remarks might have caused but she has not withdrawn her assertion that President Jacob Zuma is making whites the scapegoats for South Africa’s ills.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Majority of Italians Are Against Immigration

Three quarters of Italians feel negatively about immigration from outside the EU, while more than half are against Europeans coming to live in Italy, figures from a Eurobarometer survey show.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey Intercepts Ship With Over 330 Migrants: Report

(ISTANBUL) — The Turkish coastguard intercepted in Mediterranean waters a ship carrying 333 mainly Syrian migrants bound for the European Union, the official Anatolia news agency said Monday.

In an operation employing over 300 coastguard personnel, the coastguard captured the commercial vessel in open water off the Turkish port of Mersin in the northeastern Mediterranean close to Syria.

It said that the migrants — the vast majority of whom are Syrian — were taken back to Mersin after the overnight Sunday to Monday operation.

Four Turks and 11 Syrians suspected of people smuggling have been detained over the incident, Anatolia added.

Mersin has in recent months become known as an increasingly important hub for Syrian migrants in search of a better life in the European Union, with people smugglers increasingly turning to larger vessels to transport them.

https://euobserver.com/tickers/127305

Hungary seeks tighter immigration rules

Hungary on Tuesday said it will seek tighter rules on immigration and asylum, reports the AP. “We are going to insist on a strict, common European policy on migration,” said a government spokesperson. Hungary accepted 503 asylum seekers last year, out of 42,700 people who applied.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France Hands Out First Fines for Anti-Gay Tweets

Three French Twitter users were fined this week for sending tweets that included homophobic hashtags. It’s the first time a French court has handed out convictions for homophobic abuse on Twitter.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Growing Human Kidneys in Rats Sparks Ethical Debate

Researchers say they have developed a new technique that will get more kidneys to people who need transplants, but the method is sure to be controversial: The research shows that it is feasible to remove a kidney from an aborted human fetus, and implant the organ into a rat, where the kidney can grow to a larger size.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: ‘Vagina’ Art to be Sold at International Ikea Stores

Controversial Swedish artist Carolina Falkholt, who paints pictures that symbolise female genitalia, is set to have her pieces included in Ikea’s upcoming spring ‘Street Art’ collection.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

International Union of Muslim Scholars Calls on UN to Criminalize “Contempt of Religions”

“In a statement released Tuesday, the union said there should be protection for ‘prophets’ and urged Islamic countries to submit a draft law to the UN calling for defamation of religions to be outlawed.” You’ll notice that the International Union of Muslim Scholars isn’t saying that there should be protection for the freedom of speech and urging Islamic countries to submit a draft law to the UN calling for blasphemy laws to be outlawed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

9 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/21/2015

    • Poor sods playing mind games while the followers of ISIS entrench themselves inside the gates. As we seem to have learnt zilch from any past or current conflict anywhere it looks very like its going to be the same old mayhem. Weak neutered lefty government.

  1. #It also called for the West “to protect Muslim communities from attacks, whether they are citizens or residents or visitors”.

    I agree with this. Deport the lot of them!

  2. Postscript:

    As I recall at least one, maybe both, of those sites are based on radio reports.

  3. Re: Killing spree on the bus.

    No mention of it in the democratic free western media. If a muslim’s ear were scratched, then the media would know what to say.

    Mentioning this crime would be considered biased against Palestinians savages. It does not matter if Muslims /Arabs occupy 57 countries, and ethnically cleanse them of Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, Hindus. But it is horrible and illegitimate for Jews to defend their own land of 3000 year’s history. No matter how many artifacts, bible scrolls, Jewish Temples are discovered in Judea and Samaria are not enough for a world that has no conscience.
    Has any European ever felt an iota of sadness at the loss of Constantinople to the savages? Were not Dardanelle Straits granted to Ottomans by the West?
    Democracy, communism, Kingdom, . . . It is the people that make a system not a system produces real honorable truthful men.
    No. Today China is only nominally communist. Has corruption.
    India has been a democracy. Everything in it is corrupt. Competing for jobs, food, other carnal needs in an over-populated country and stricken by poverty, turns saints into savages.

    • “Has any European ever felt an iota of sadness at the loss of Constantinople to the savages? Were not Dardanelle Straits granted to Ottomans by the West?”

      Yes, after WWI, Toynbee and other British aristocrats tried to get London to take Constantinople and the Dardenelles away from the Turks, even then the Brits knew that neither should belong to the Turks, Constantinople because it was even at that time a city of the West and of Christendom.

      However other views prevailed and this is why Constantinople remains in the hands of the perfidious Turk.

      I would suspect it was the Germans who wanted it kept in Turkish hands since they had very strong business and political ties to Turkey going back to the 1800’s.

      The Americans probably had a say as well since they wanted Britain to dismantle it’s empire as part of the price for entering WWI.

  4. As a worshipper of Moloch, I now hope that my right to practice my religion will be respected include child sacrifice.

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