Today the euro fell to a low against other currencies that it has not seen since 2006. The currency markets were reacting to clear signals that the ECB would initiate another round of quantitative easing, and to the possibility that Greece would exit the Eurozone.
In other news, three jihad commanders in Chechnya and three in Dagestan swore allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliph of the Islamic State.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
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Euro Slides to Weakest Since 2006 on ECB, Greece
The euro fell to the weakest level in almost nine years versus the dollar amid speculation the European Central Bank is moving closer to large-scale sovereign-bond purchases.
The shared currency slid as much as 1.2 percent today after President Mario Draghi last week gave his clearest signal the ECB will start quantitative easing. The euro also weakened as Greece began an election campaign that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said will determine the country’s euro membership. A dollar gauge headed for its highest close in almost six years as the Federal Reserve moves toward raising interest rates. New Zealand’s dollar and Norway’s krone fell as commodities dropped.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Euro Crashes to Nine-Year Low on ‘Grexit’ Fears
The euro tumbled to its lowest level against the dollar in nearly nine years on Sunday night amid mounting fears that Greece could exit the eurozone.
The sharp slide came as Asian markets accelerated a sell-off sparked on Friday, when Mario Draghi gave his strongest hint ever that the European Central Bank was ready to launch quantitative easing to tackle the threat of deflation.
A separate, though disputed, report in Der Spiegel on Friday, claimed that Angela Merkel’s government in Germany now believes the eurozone could handle a Greek exit, piling even more pressure on the single currency.
The German government has since countered that it is confident Greece will stick to the bailout terms set out by the EU and the IMF.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Tells Greece ‘We Can’t be Blackmailed’
Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday that the government would expect a new Greek leadership to hold to the country’s promises on the economy.
Germany expects that “whatever the shape of the new government, it should stick to the agreements that have been reached with the EU”, Gabriel told the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.
But he added that despite reports this weekend on government eurozone-report contingency plans for a “Grexit” (Greek exit from the Euro), “the goal of the whole government, the EU and the government in Athens itself is to keep Greece in the Eurozone.”
Greeks will go to the polls on January 25th to elect a new parliament after the previous legislature could not agree on who should be named as President.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Euro Exit Seen as Costly Gamble by Germany’s Social Democrats
Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras won’t get German support for easing austerity, though Greece’s exit from the euro area would be costly for Germany, members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s two main coalition parties said.
“Europe can’t afford a Greek exit,” Joachim Poss, the Social Democratic Party’s deputy finance spokesman in the German parliament, said in a phone interview. Suggestions by allies of Merkel that the 19-nation currency bloc could weather Greece’s departure amount to “playing with fire at a fragile moment in the stability of the euro area,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Euro Slips to Lows Not Seen Since March 2006
Currency trades as low as $1.1864 US
(ANSA) — Rome, January 5 — The euro slipped in early trading on Monday to lows not seen since 2006, touching $1.1864. The euro had not seen that low since March 2006. It soon regained some strength, trading at $1.1959 later in the morning. The euro has been weakening since an interview with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was published last week, suggesting the ECB was close to implementing quantitative easing. The measures would be designed to stimulate the economy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Autonomous Audi A7 Concept Steers Itself From San Francisco to Las Vegas for CES
Audi is making two world premieres at this week’s 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of which is an autonomous A7 concept that drove to the event itself, after starting off Saturday in San Francisco. The total distance traveled was more than 550 miles, with a number of engineers and journalists given time behind the wheel.
Not only is the stunt being used to gather data for an eventual production autonomous car from Audi, it’s also a means of demonstrating the viability of a self-driving car in existing traffic and road conditions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bill De Blasio Slams Protesting Officers: ‘I Can’t Understand Why Anyone Would Do Such a Thing’
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was “disrespectful” for protesting NYPD officers to turn their backs to him during the funerals for slain Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
“Those individuals who took certain actions this last week — or last two weeks, really — they were disrespectful to the families involved. That’s the bottom line,” Mr. de Blasio said in his first remarks to the public about the officers’ protests, Mediaite reported.
“They were disrespectful to the families who had lost their loved one,” the mayor added. “And I can’t understand why anyone would do such a thing in a context like that.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boston Marathon Bombing Trial Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of Starts Today: Here’s What You Need to Know
The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the only surviving suspect of the Boston Marathon bombing, begins today.
Tsarnaev is 21 years old and was just 19 at the time of the bombing in April 2013. He is a US citizen who was born in Kyrgyzstan but came to America at the age of eight as a refugee.
Friends remember him as an intelligent and likeable young man who was well integrated in the multicultural Boston area. But prosecutors allege that he embraced radical Islam under the guidance of his older brother, Tamerlan.
On April 15, 2013 the brothers allegedly detonated a pair of bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring around 260 others. Days later they allegedly shot dead a university police officer and engaged in a shootout with the police.
Tamerlan was killed in the gunfire but Dzhokhar escaped and was later found hiding in a boat where he had scrawled: “Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NASA’s Messenger Probe Ready for Final Tour of Mercury
The first spacecraft to orbit Mercury is almost out of gas. After nearly four years in orbit and discovering water ice, organic compounds and the planet’s iron core, NASA’s Messenger orbiter will make one last thruster boost on 21 January.
Engineers expect the 120-second engine burn to give the craft an 80-kilometre lift that will keep it aloft until March. But before then, as Messenger swoops low over the planet, it will heat up so much that the solder holding some instruments together could melt.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Author of “Islamophobic” French Novel: “Jihadists Are Bad Muslims”
How “Islamophobic” is Michel Houllebecq? He has said: “The Koran turns out to be much better than I thought, now that I’ve reread it — or rather, read it. The most obvious conclusion is that the jihadists are bad Muslims … an honest reading will conclude that a holy war of aggression is not generally sanctioned, prayer alone is valid.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Six Prison Guards Injured in Violent Incident in Vorst
Six prison wardens sustained injuries in a violent incident in Vorst gaol, on Sunday morning. An inmate was in the possession of a sharp object and attacked his prison guards. One man is in a bad way, but he is not in a life-threatening condition.
The inmate responsible for the attack is the man who was handed a 27-year prison sentence last month on charges of arson. The fire in Anderlecht’s Rida mosque killed the imam. How the assailant got hold of the weapon, is still unclear.
“When one of the prison wardens came to take him out of his cell, he suddenly got angry and attacked the guard. Several other prison guards came to his rescue, but the man turned out to be in the possession of a knife, injuring the prison wardens where he could”, says Mohammed Bercha of the Christian trades union ACV.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
DNA Study: Vikings Were Plagued by Intestinal Parasites
A study of the remains of a 1,000 year old latrine reveals an unpleasant fact about the Vikings.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Moroccans Set Up Radicalisation Helpline for Parents
The Dutch Moroccan association SMN on Monday launched a telephone helpline and website for parents who are worried their children have become radicalised and may go to fight in Syria, the Volkskrant reports. These parents ‘have little trust in government, are unsure about their own role in educating their children and are afraid of stigma,’ said SMN spokesman Farid Azarkan. ‘They need someone to listen to them but often suffer in silence.’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU to Set Up Expert Group to Fight Jihadist Propaganda
The European Union plans to set up a cell of advisors in Belgium that member governments can draw on to fight jihadist propaganda, EU counter-terrorism chief Gilles de Kerchove has told Le Soir. The experts would offer “counter-narratives” to fight the propaganda used by Islamic State and other jihadist groups.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Europe’s Empty Churches Go on Sale
Hundreds of Churches Have Closed or Are Threatened by Plunging Membership, Posing Question: What to Do With Unused Buildings?
ARNHEM, Netherlands—Two dozen scruffy skateboarders launched perilous jumps in a soaring old church building here on a recent night, watched over by a mosaic likeness of Jesus and a solemn array of stone saints.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fifty Thefts a Day on Belgian Public Transport
Figures produced by Belgium’s federal police and publicised by newspapers of the Sudpresse group show that fifty people a day are the victim of a theft on Belgian public transport.
Federal police recorded 20,000 incidents in 2013. This works out at 54 incidents a day. The figures relate to theft, but also to mobbing with a view to relieving the victim of money or an item of value.
Believe it or not, but the figure is down 14% on the year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Unpopular President Hollande Launches 2015 Media Offensive
French President François Hollande has kicked off a marathon media campaign aimed at championing a string of economic reforms and reversing his record-low approval ratings at the three-year mark of his presidency.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Hollande Eyes End to Russia Sanctions, Rules Out Solo Action in Libya
French President François Hollande discussed the options for lifting sanctions on Russia, ruled out unilateral military action in Libya and addressed Greece’s looming snap election in a wide-ranging interview Monday on France Inter radio.
The unprecedented two-hour interview with France Inter radio was aimed at championing a string of economic reforms and reversing Hollande’s record-low approval ratings. It also gave the French president a chance to state his views on a range of foreign policy issues. FRANCE 24 looks at the key international topics he addressed…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Fredrik Reinfeldt Stays in Sweden But Not Politics
Former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has insisted he has no plans to make a political comeback or to work abroad after he formally steps down as leader of the Moderate party this week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Author Houellebecq Sparks Controversy
The French writer Michel Houellebecq sparked such controversy with his latest novel “Submission” to be published this week that President François Hollande said on Monday he’ll read it “because it stirs debate”.
As the new book by Houellebecq deals with a fictionnal Muslim Brotherhood party in France winning the 2022 presidential election, it has stirred controversy even before its publication on Wednesday.
Houellebecq, 56, imagines an Islamic government in power in France, veiled women and the Sorbonne renamed Paris-Sorbonne Islamic University.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gasoline Prices Fall Only Slightly in Italy
International oil costs plunge but doesn’t move pump price
(ANSA) — Rome, January 5 — Despite the dramatic drop in international crude oil prices, costs at the pumps for Italian motorists fell only slightly on the weekend, according to reports Monday.
At Eni stations, gasoline and diesel prices fell by an average of 2 cents per litre.
At IP stations, prices dropped by about half a cent on the same products, and Q8 and Shell cut prices about one cent per litre.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: 3,000 WW2 Bombs Still Under Berlin
City authorities believe there are still some 3,000 unexploded Second World War bombs buried in the earth under Berlin.
Bombs, shells and other munitions totalling 54 tonnes were found and made safe in the city in 2014, BZ reported, adding to the 1.8 million explosive devices found since 1945.
Large finds, such as the 250-kilo American bomb uncovered by builders in Potsdam in December, are becoming rarer — although when they do turn up, they cause mass disruption as thousands have to be evacuated from homes and offices.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Anti-Islam Demos Spread to Berlin
The anti-Islam demonstrations which have rocked Dresden will spread to Berlin on Monday night, with the first such xenophobic march being held in the capital.
Calling itself “Berlin Patriots Against The Islamification of the West”, or Bärgida, organisers are calling for a crowd of several hundred to assemble outside the city hall at 6.30 pm for a march to the Brandenburg Gate.
However, that figure is likely to be dwarfed by counter-demonstrations, organised by both the city’s numerous anti-fascist activists and the capital’s Turkish community — who hope to draw up to 11,000 marchers.
Police numbers are also likely to be deployed in large numbers to keep the two factions apart.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Employers: PEGIDA is ‘Damaging’ Germany’s Image
The head of an employers group has said Germany’s image is being damaged by an anti-foreigner movement. Officials at Cologne’s cathedral have said they will turn off floodlights to counter a protest set for Monday.
Ingo Kramer, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), told the Munich-based magazine Focus on Friday that Germany needed immigration to sustain its job market and social system, given that its population is aging.
Germany’s image as a business location was being damaged, Kramer said, by the impression that foreigners were the targets of Monday evening protests held since October by the PEGIDA movement in Dresden.
The group, which purports to be patriotically European and anti-Islamic, drew German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ire on Wednesday when she called its leaders racists who were full of hatred.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Merkel Rebuffed by Record Attendance at Anti-Islamist Rally
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plea to German voters to resist participation in anti-Islamist protests was rejected today in Dresden as a record number of demonstrators for such rallies gathered in the eastern city.
About 18,000 people joined a march through city that started at 7:30 p.m. in a park near Dresden’s center, police said. Fewer than 4,000 counter-demonstrators rallied at other locations in the city.
Protest organizers, who call themselves Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida, demand stricter immigration and asylum laws. The group’s demands have raised concern among Germany’s business community, which increasingly relies on skilled immigrants as the population shrinks.
Volkswagen AG (VOW) turned off the illumination of its glassy Transparent Factory in Dresden, where the Phaeton model is made, in protest for several hours. Migration ensures growth and prosperity in Germany, the BDI Federation of German Industry, which represents 100,000 companies with 8 million workers, has said…
| — Hat tip: SR | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: PEGIDA Cancels Cologne Demo Amid Protests
Anti-Islamist ‘Pegida’ supporters have had to cancel their appearance in Cologne, where thousands of demonstrators showed solidarity with migrants. However, thousands of anti-Islamists showed up in the city of Dresden.
20,000 residents in Cologne and neighboring areas gathered on the streets to demonstrate against the anti-immigrant movement, Pegida.
Overwhelming support for immigrants and asylum seekers in Cologne led to the Pegida demonstrators cancelling their appearance. Citizens in Cologne shouted out in jubilation, the sole goal of their demonstration being to prevent the Kögida- the name of the anti-Islam movement in Cologne- from marching in their city.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Syriza Still Favourite According to Polls
But 74.2% of greeks want to remain inside the eurozone
(ANSA) — ATHENS — Greece’s radical leftist Syriza party led by Alexis Tsipras, proves to be the favourite among voters against New Democracy (centre-right) led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. This is the result of an opinion poll conducted by Rass, on behalf of the Sunday edition of the newspaper “Elefteros Tipos” , according to which Syriza continues to be in pole position, even though the gap with New Democracy is narrowing.
According to research, Syriza polled 30.4% against 27.3% for New Democracy . In third place, the Greek Communist Party (KKE ) with 4.8%, followed by “To Potami” (The River, centre-left party) with 4.7% , pro-Nazi party “Chrysi Avghi”(Golden Dawn) with 3.8 % and Pasok (socialist party) with 3.5%. When asked who would be the best prime minister , 41% responded Samaras, against 33.4 % who prefer Tsipras. It is remarkable that the percentage of Greeks who are convinced that Greece must stay in the Euro: 74.2% of respondents answered that Greece must remain, at any cost, inside the eurozone.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iceland to Withdraw EU Application, Lift Capital Controls
Despite public protests, Iceland’s PM Gunnlaugsson plans to formally withdraw the country’s EU application early in the new year, he told Icelandic radio station Bylgjan on Sunday. First steps of removing capitals controls, in place since the financial crisis hit Iceland in 2008, would likely be taken as well.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Inspectors Quiz Rome Police Who Went Sick on New Year’s Eve
Police trade unions close ranks around Roman ‘white hats’
(ANSA) — Rome, January 5 — Government inspectors were due to arrive in Rome’s city hall Monday as part of a probe into reports that hundreds of municipal policemen called in sick on New Year’s Eve.
First officers due to be quizzed were 44 police agents “who provided no justification for absence from the shifts on the night of New Year’s Eve,” Deputy Mayor Luigi Nieri said.
The inspectors from the Civil Service ministry were dispatched by Public Service Marianna Madia to interrogate the absenteeist agents as Premier Matteo Renzi called for serious treatment of the case.
At the same time, Renzi quipped that the police officers’ mass sickness was unusual for “a country where people are cured of Ebola” — a reference to an Italian doctor released from hospital last week after he contracted the deadly disease while working for a medial charity in Sierra Leone.
Madia said there would be “disciplinary actions” to “hit the irresponsible people” as opposition parties claimed the 85% absenteeism rate on Dec. 31 was “an affair concocted by the media”.
At the same time, the trade union representing police said that Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino should resign for calling for offending officers to be sacked.
As many as 905 municipal police were ordered on duty on Dec. 31 but of those 767, or 85%, allegedly did not show up for work.
Of those 571, or 75%, called in sick while the others claimed they were giving blood.
“Obviously the overall figure of 85% absence is unacceptable and has to be investigated in general,” said Nieri.
The Rome police force also has started an internal inquiry headed by deputy commanding office Raffaella Modafferi.
Police trade union leader Mauro Cordova counter-attacked however by telling Marino to resign “if he really loves Rome.” Giancarlo Cosentino of the national CISL trade union federation concurred, saying “the mayor continues to sling mud at what he does not understand.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Meet Northern Sweden’s Frozen Roma Beggars
Roma beggars became a common sight in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö in 2014. Now, growing numbers are making their way to the country’s most northerly city Umeå, where temperatures regularly drop below -10C in winter. The Local’s Editor Maddy Savage went to meet some of them.
The ice is slippery on the petrol station forecourt where half a dozen caravans are lined up on a tiny patch of grass next to a forest.
Inside one of them, Culai Ciurar, who is 23 and from Romania, is cooking lunch.
“It’s good here in Sweden, I like it,” he says in broken English as potatoes bubble in his pan — the only ingredient in his midday meal.
“The weather is like Romania, so it’s not so cold for us,” he insists.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Sea Slug Species Found in Northern Waters
Scientists have recently found a species of sea slug that has apparently made its way north from the Mediterranean Sea. These mobile nudibranchs are carnivores that eat coral and jellyfish.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Philae Comet Lander Eludes Discovery
Efforts to find Europe’s lost comet lander, Philae, have come up blank.
The most recent imaging search by the overflying Rosetta “mothership” can find no trace of the probe.
Philae touched down on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November, returning a swathe of data before going silent when its battery ran flat.
European Space Agency scientists say they are now waiting on Philae itself to reveal its position when it garners enough power to call home.
As 67P moves closer to the Sun, lighting conditions for the robot should improve, allowing its solar cells to recharge the battery system.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: No Country for Free Speech
The UK government appears convinced the country may soon be menaced by a plague of terrorist toddlers hellbent on their own hideous brand of jihad. Nor was the infamous — and still shameful — Twitter Joke Trial a matter pursued by the Scottish police. Nevertheless, don’t let anyone think the Scotch police are going to allow anyone else to outdo them in their quest to be the nastiest, most chilling, pernicious police force in Great Britain.
Apparently, however, your ‘right’ not to be offended now trumps my actual right to be offensive. Any offensive (sic) comments will be investigated (except for those we tweet ourselves). Police Scotland are, in this instance, no better than ambulance-chasing defence lawyers. Have you been offended? Please say you have! We can help you!
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: US Wants Elite Marine Squad to be Stationed Permanently in Andalusia
The United States is seeking permission from Spain to convert its temporary presence at the Morón de la Frontera air base, in Andalusia, into a permanent agreement. The site would become the center of operations for the US rapid-response unit dealing with crises in Africa.
In a letter sent last month, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel explained to Spanish officials that the Obama administration wants the current temporary agreement that allows a certain number of marines to be stationed at the base outside Seville on a year-by-year basis to be redrafted. If approved, as many as 3,000 US troops could be sent to Morón — a substantial increase to the current 850 officials (or 1,100 when troops are being relieved) that have been at the base for the past two years, military sources said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Police “No Longer Suspect Arson” At Eskilstuna Mosque
Police now believe that a fire that broke out at a mosque in Eskilstuna, west of Stockholm, on Christmas Day, was not arson, says a source to TV4.
The anonymous police source says to TV4 the investigation is now working on the assumption the fire was an accident, and may have been started inside the prayer room itself.
The police initially said they thought it was an attack, after a witness told them someone had thrown an object into the basement mosque. Police later withdrew that statement, but have not officially said they are no longer treating this as an arson case.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The ‘Violent’ Gene: Genetic Mutation Found Only in Finnish Men That Makes Them Fight
A genetic mutation that makes men impulsive and aggressive, especially when drunk, has been isolated in Finnish men.
Research on violent criminals in Finland has uncovered a genetic variant of a brain receptor molecule that contributes that makes people more likely to be aggressive when they have been drinking.
The findings could lead to a better understanding into why some people are more prone to sudden bouts of violence and to the treatment of violent offenders.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
BRUSSELS — The prospect of an EU-US trade agreement was one of relatively few sources of comfort for EU lawmakers during the bloc’s struggling economy in 2013.
But in 2014, TTIP’s teflon coat started to wear off as politicians and trade negotiators got down to hard detail, while opponents of the talks got organised.
The backlash came as a surprise to both the EU commission, which is negotiating on the EU’s behalf, and the Americans. No previous trade talks have attracted so much attention or controversy. But then no EU trade deal has come close in size and importance to TTIP.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Oil Tanker Bombed in Libyan Port of Derna
Military jets have attacked a Greek-operated oil tanker in the Libyan port of Derna, killing two crew members, the Greek authorities have said.
The attack, on Sunday, was carried out by the Libyan air force after the ship’s movements aroused suspicion, a Libyan military spokesman told the BBC.
Derna has been controlled by Islamist militants for the past two years.
Libya has been in chaos since its long-time leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown with Western military help in 2011.
Numerous militias govern their own patches of territory, with successive governments struggling to exercise control.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Danish Convert Killed by West in Syria: Reports
An 18-year-old Dane who had converted to Islam and supported the terrorist group Isis died in Syria over the Christmas holiday, several media outlets have reported.
A Danish teenager, identified as ‘LD’ in most media reports but by his full name on the controversial website Syrienblog, reportedly died in Ayn al-Arab on Christmas Day.
According to sources, the 18-year-old LD was killed by a US-led air strike, making him the first Danish citizen to die at the hands of Western forces in Syria. Politiken spoke to another Danish fighter in Syria as well as other individuals in Denmark’s extremist Islamic community who all confirmed the death.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan in Wonderland: “Freedom” In Turkey
by Burak Bekdil
Erdogan can be very sure of himself when he claims that Turkey has the world’s freest press. But then there are facts.
Police detained a 16-year-old boy for “insult,” with the prosecutors asking for up to four years in prison. He allegedly said that he considered Erdogan as “the leader of corruption, bribery and theft.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
IS Jihadists Claim Execution of Eight People in Iraq
The Islamic State jihadist group has executed eight people, four of them policemen, in Iraq’s Salaheddin province, according to a series of pictures posted online.
A message that accompanied the pictures, the authenticity of which could not be independently confirmed, said the eight men had reneged on a pledge to stop working for the Iraqi government.
It was not immediately clear when the photos were taken.
Seven of the victims can be seen wearing orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by journalists and aid workers killed by IS…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwaiti Lawmaker Facing Charges After Supporting Alcohol, Public Dancing
KUWAIT CITY — A member of Kuwait’s parliament says he is facing charges of insulting the nation after saying he supports legalizing the sale of alcohol in the predominantly Muslim country.
Nabil al-Fadhl told The Associated Press late Sunday that controversy was sparked after he first proposed repealing a law that bans dancing at public music concerts and festivals. Kuwaiti law bans people from dancing at concerts, though they are allowed to clap their hands and sway.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia Suicide Bombing Puts Country on Alert for Jihadi Attacks
Saudi Arabia is on alert for jihadi attacks after a general and another soldier were killed by a suicide bomber on the country’s border with Iraq.
The interior ministry in Riyadh blamed “terrorist elements” for the early morning incident on Monday but did not name any group, though it is thought likely to be Islamic State (Isis), which controls large areas of neighbouring Iraq as well as Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Parliamentary Panel Refuses to Send Former Ministers to Court Over Graft Claims
Former Economy Minister Zafer Çaglayan (L), former EU Minister Egemen Bagis (R), former Interior Minister Muammer Güler (2R) and former Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar (2L) have faced accusations of bribery and influence-peddling. The commision rejected the trial demand by nine votes to five.
A parliamentary inquiry commission has voted not to send four former ministers engulfed in the massive corruption and graft operation launched on Dec. 17, 2013, to the Supreme Council for trial.
The deputies voted nine to five to not send the four ex-ministers to the Supreme Council, with the nine votes all coming from ruling party deputies.
Following the Jan. 5 vote, Hakki Köylü, the commission’s chair from the AKP, said the commission would draft its detailed decision, with opposition deputies drafting their own dissenting opinion.
Both the detailed ruling and the dissenting opinion will be sent to the Parliament Speaker’s Office by Jan. 9 at the latest, Köylü said. Upon receiving these documents, the parliamentary speaker will have to publish and send them to the General Assembly within 10 days, he added.
Despite the vote in the commission, a majority of whose members were from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the quartet could still be sent to the top court following a final vote in Parliament’s General Assembly after the commission submits its report.
The panel’s decision created uproar in the main opposition party.
“What we have witnessed is an operation to cover up Turkey’s biggest corruption probe,” said Levent Gök, deputy parliamentary group leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). “This decision does not clear the former ministers,” he added.
“The issue will now come to Parliament, where we will see if the AKP lawmakers will vote on orders from the party executives or with their conscience.”
The parliamentary inquiry commission was set to vote late Dec. 22, 2014, on whether to send the four former ministers involved in Turkey’s Dec. 17 and 25, 2013, corruption probes to the Supreme Council, which only hears cases against Cabinet ministers and other top officials. However, the vote was delayed until Jan. 5.
Former Economy Minister Zafer Çaglayan, former EU Minister Egemen Bagis, former Interior Minister Muammer Güler and former Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar have faced accusations of bribery and influence-peddling. All four have been cleared judicially of any wrongdoing.
The commission featured nine lawmakers from the AKP, four lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and one lawmaker from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). One member of the commission from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) withdrew earlier, citing a court’s ban on publishing the testimonies at the panel.
At the Dec. 22 session, Çaglayan, Bagis and Güler filed written objections to reports displaying the growth in their wealth which were prepared by experts at the Financial Crimes Investigative Board (MASAK), eventually leading to the delay.
A day before the Dec. 22 session, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vowed that he would display zero tolerance for corruption, saying the authorities would “cut off the arm” of anyone involved in graft “even if it is our own brother.”
According to speculation, there were two different tendencies within the AKP. The first view, which is shared by Davutoglu, maintained that sending the former ministers to the top court would benefit the AKP in the run-up to parliamentary elections in June because it would provide an opportunity for the figures to absolve themselves. Supporters of this view also believed that the absence of any judicial process would cast a shadow over the entire party even if the former ministers are innocent.
According to the second view, which is reportedly defended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prosecution of the ministers would harm the party’s oft-repeated line that both the Dec. 17 and the Dec. 25 probes were actually part of a coup plot hatched by followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen that aimed at toppling the government.
January/05/2015
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France Seeks End to Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine
French President Francois Hollande says he wants Western sanctions on Russia to be lifted if progress is made in talks on the Ukraine conflict this month.
He did not specify which sanctions — imposed by the EU, US and Canada — could be lifted. The sanctions began after Russia annexed Crimea in March.
Germany’s vice-chancellor has warned against further sanctions on Russia.
Sigmar Gabriel — a centre-left politician like Mr Hollande — said the sanctions were aimed at making Russia negotiate to resolve the Ukraine conflict. But some “forces” in Europe and the US wanted sanctions to cripple Russia, which would “risk a conflagration”.
“We want to help get the Ukraine conflict resolved, but not to push Russia onto its knees,” he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jihadi Commanders in Russia Pledge Allegiance to Islamic State’s Al-Baghdadi
The Islamic State group just gained six new commanders — in Russia.
Three Chechen and three Daghestani commanders have retracted an oath of loyalty to Caucasus Emirate leader Sheikh Ali Abu-Muhammad (Aliaskhab Kebekov) and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Sultan Zaynalabidov, Rustam Aselderov, Abu-Mukhammad Agachaulsky, Makhran Saidov and two other commanders known as Khamzat and Usman are now loyal to the terror organization attempting to create an Islamic caliphate in the heart of the Middle East, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty reported Friday.
The website reported that experts are unclear why the realignment has happened. Radio Liberty said it is possible that some Islamic radicals in Russia may be turned off by a more “moderate” approach to jihad, or that generational disagreements may be a factor.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Lodges Protest After North Korea Man ‘Kills Four’
China has protested to North Korea following reports that an army deserter killed four people in a Chinese border city.
The soldier crossed the border in late December, stealing money and food before killing residents in Helong, local media reported.
He was later arrested north of the Tumen River that divides China and North Korea.
The river has been used for years by people trying to flee North Korea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nine People Choke to Death Eating Mochi Rice Cakes in Japan
Japan’s habitual New Year killer has struck again, after nine people were reported to have died in recent days from choking on rice cakes.
Mochi — glutinous cakes of pounded rice — are traditionally eaten in vast quantities over the holidays, usually in soup, or toasted and served with sweet soy sauce and wrapped in dried seaweed.
Several people die eating the starchy delicacy every January, but this year the number is particularly high.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ebola Death Toll Goes Past 8,000: WHO
The UN’s health agency says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed at least 8,000 people. Sierra Leone had the biggest increase in fatalities since last week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Guterres (UNHCR), Triton Not Enough
(ANSAmed) — GENEVA — Triton is not enough, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres, who has denounced the ‘‘unacceptable tragedy’’ of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean of migrants fleeing violence and poverty.
In an interview published on Monday by Swiss daily Le Temps, Guterres says he sees as an ‘‘imperative developing sweeping operations like Mare Nostrum to avoid new human tragedies’’ and reflect on ‘‘new legal ways’’ enabling to ‘‘bar the way to traffickers’’ and their ‘‘odious trade’’. The UN refugee agency chief also said that ‘‘European countries cannot ignore these tragedies’’.
With almost 3,500 dead in 2014 alone, according to the latest UNHCR data, ‘‘the Mediterranean crossing is the most lethal and the one with the widest media coverage’’, recalled Guterres. A drama within the drama, according to the commissioner, is represented by the fact that, in 2013 and 2014, most of the people attempting to reach Europe were ‘‘fleeing persecutions — from Syria and Eritrea in particular’’, he stressed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Migrant Became ‘Captain’ of ‘Ghost Ship’
The man who piloted nearly 770 illegal Syrian migrants aboard the Blue Sky M cargo ship towards Italy has described how he became the “captain” of the human trafficking vessel, according to Italian media.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
13% of All Marriages in Paris Last Year Were Gay
Some 1,331 gay marriages took place in the French capital in 2014, making up 13.5 percent of the total number of weddings last year according to figures from city authorities.
Same-sex marriages have been legal in France since May 2013 despite significant protests by the country’s conservative opposition.
In Paris, the vast majority of gay marriages (72 percent) took place in districts (arrondissements) with Socialist mayors.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bacteria Can Wake up in Your Kitchen After a Thousand Years of Sleep
Do you ever cook too much rice or pasta and save the remains for another day? Then you should watch out for this little critter. The bacteria can have been dormant for over a millennium — only to be energised back to life when you prepare your dinner.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Deep Bacteria May Evolve Even Without Passing Genes on
Is evolution possible without reproduction? Bacteria living hundreds of metres below the seafloor carry more genetic changes than their peers nearer the surface — even though the deep microbes are unlikely to reproduce and undergo natural selection in its traditional sense.
Investigations over the last 30 years have revealed that life exists several kilometres below both the land surface and the seafloor. Or, perhaps more accurately, life endures: nutrient levels drop off so rapidly with depth that the microbes can barely function at all. In fact, the cells show so few signs of life that it wasn’t until 2011 that researchers confirmed that microbes in sediments below the seafloor are, indeed, living.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Given that Sultan Zaynalabidov, Rustam Aselderov, Abu-Mukhammad Agachaulsky, Makhran Saidov and two other Islamic-Jihadist commanders known as Khamzat and Usman from Chechnya and Dagestan have publicly pledged allegiance to the Caliph of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, we can expect a serious response by Putin. Whilst the IS is not a sovereign state under international law, it is a de facto “foreign country” and as the three Chechens and three Dagestanis are citizens of Russia they are thus committing treason.
Putin will come down on the six and their organizations like a ton of bricks. Remember how the Islamic Jihadi siege of a Moscow opera house and taking of 850 hostages was dealt with by Putin? All 40 Chechen perpetrators died as well as 140 hostages when a toxic gas was pumped into the theatre after several hostages had been shot by their captors. Putin came under criticism for the deaths of the 140 hostages – the critics were silent on the fact that the hostage-takers had rigged the entire building with explosives explicitly intending to kill everybody unless their demands were met.
Adverse international opinion is unlikely to deter Putin from action. Existing US and EU sanctions against Russia have been basically laughed off, in part because they were originally imposed for Russia annexing the (majority ethnic Russian) Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014. Recall that Crimea had first declared independence from Ukraine following a referendum and demanded to be part of Russia. As Crimea, hitherto an ‘autonomous oblast of the USSR, had been “given” to the Ukraine SSR in a spontaneous act of “generosity” by the dimwitted drunkard Nikita Khrushchev in 1954, the justification for the sanctions was pretty thin – although Russia had signed a treaty with the Ukraine in 1997 respecting existing borders. The very recent French call for the easing of the sanctions could not have come at a better time for Putin.