Fishermen from the islands of Lampedusa and Linosa demanded that the Italian government declare a state of emergency so that they could be protected from the Islamic State, which is now only a short distance away from them on the coast of Libya. Meanwhile, kinetic activists of the Islamic State have ransacked the libraries of Mosul and burned thousands of books and rare manuscripts.
In other news, the new Islam Law was passed today by the Austrian parliament.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, DS, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Papa Whiskey, 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.
Greece: Debt, Drachmas and Devaluation
A leading German economist has urged Athens to scrap its bailout deal and stop using the euro as lawmakers in Berlin gear up for a vote later this week aimed at keeping Greece in the common currency bloc.
Sinn urged Athens to scrap its bailout deal and go back to using a devalued drachma, Greece’s former currency.
A return to the drachma would be the fastest and most reliable way for the indebted country to kick-start its flagging economy and become competitive again, he said.
“It’s not enough to just give debt relief,” Sinn said. “The country has to be made competitive and this is only possible by exiting (the euro).”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Confindustria Says GDP Will Beat Expectations
Employers’ group forecasts jump in profits, jobs, exports
(ANSA) — Rome, February 25 — Economic indicators from employment to profits to rising demand for cars and exports will all be stronger than expected, forecasters with major employers’ group Confindustria said Wednesday.
It predicted “many surprises that are finally positive for the economy” are in store, and gross domestic product (GDP) will be stronger than forecasts made in December, said Confindustria.
Then, it had predicted growth of 0.5% this year and 1.1% in 2016 which should now be exceeded, said the organization.
Italy’s economy has not grown in about six years but forecasts are for a turnaround this year albiet with slow growth.
Confindustria suggested that by June, signs of a pick-up in activity should be clearer.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Janet Yellen is Freaking Out About ‘Audit the Fed’ — Here Are 100 Reasons Why She Should be
Janet Yellen is very alarmed that some members of Congress want to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve for the first time since it was created. If the Fed is doing everything correctly, why should Yellen be alarmed? What does she have to hide? During testimony before Congress on Tuesday, she made “central bank independence” sound like it was the holy grail. Even though every other government function is debated politically in this country, Yellen insists that what the Federal Reserve does is “too important” to be influenced by the American people. Does any other government agency ever dare to make that claim? But of course the Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a private banking cartel that has far more power over our money and our economy than anyone else does. And later on in this article I am going to share with you dozens of reasons why Congress should shut it down…
It is quite clear that they do not want the rest of us to be able to see what they are really up to.
And the truth is that if the American people really did know how the Federal Reserve works and what it has been doing behind closed doors, most Americans would want it shut down tomorrow.
At the end of the day, the reality of the matter is that we don’t even need a Federal Reserve. I really like how David Stockman made this point the other day…
In short, what the nation really needs is not an “independent” Fed, but one that is shackled to a narrow and market-driven liquidity function. The rest of its current remit is nothing more than the self-serving aggrandizement of the apparatchiks who run it; and who have now managed to turn the nation’s vital money and capital markets into dangerous, unstable casinos, and the nations savers into indentured servants of a bloated and wasteful banking system.
The Federal Reserve has been around for just over a hundred years, and it has done an absolutely abysmal job for the American people.
I want to share with you some facts and figures that I have shared before, but they bear repeating. Please share this list of 100 reasons why the Federal Reserve should be shut down with everyone that you know…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Spiegel Interview With Naomi Klein: ‘The Economic System We Have Created Global Warming’
Can we still stop global warming? Only if we radically change our capitalist system, argues author Naomi Klein. In an interview with SPIEGEL, she explains why the time has come to abandon small steps for a radical new approach.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The 20 Fastest-Growing Economies This Year
The world is expected to grow 3.2 percent in 2015 and 3.7 percent next year after expanding 3.3 percent in each of the past two years, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia, which together make up about 16 percent of global gross domestic product, are all forecast to grow more than 5 percent in 2015.
By comparison, the U.S. and U.K., which combined account for about a quarter of global growth, are expected to grow 3.1 percent and 2.6 percent this year, respectively. The euro area probably will expand just 1.2 percent as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi deals with a fragile Greece and embarks on a bond-purchase program to stimulate the region’s growth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Euro Was a Bad Idea From the Start
Can Europe finally admit it?
Europe’s monetary union has been based on bad economics from the start. As German economist Rudiger Dornbusch wrote in Foreign Affairs in 1996, “If there was ever a bad idea, EMU is it.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Toothless Lions: Socialists Betray Greece
The betrayal by the newly-minted Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras and his side kick, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, has been complete.
One month after being elected to stop the Troika and banker-imposed austerity, controlled-opposition Tspiras and Varoufakis agreed to continue the very same policies of debt enslavement with only minor adjustments in a deal in Brussels.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Controlled by Secret Corporate Masters Since 1933 — Video
On March 9, 1933, House Joint Resolution No. 192-10 by the 73rd Congress, was voted into law, which is the Emergency Banking Act.
This Act declared the Treasury of the United States, ‘Bankrupt’, which is an impossible feat since the U. S. Treasury was secretly closed by the Congress twelve years earlier in 1921. The Emergency Banking Act succeeded in abrogating America’s gold standard and hypothecated all property found within the United States to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank.
All Sovereign American Citizens residing within the Republic of States suddenly and falsely were expatriated from their Sovereign American status without their knowledge or consent and their labor, souls, children, property, sweat equity and credit became the financial collateral for the public debt, which had then been converted into a Public Trust, which had been scripted after the ancient Roman Trusts.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
What to Do While Waiting to End the Fed
There is a sliver of good news on the central banking front.
Given the Fed’s poor performance before and after the 2007—08 financial crisis and Great Recession, and its now recognized 100 year history of failure, at least some members of Congress, even without Ron Paul, are now willing to consider major reform. Many libertarians who recognize that the correct long-run reform is to “End the Fed” — or essentially eliminate central banking (see here or here) — have focused most on the Audit the Fed Bill. On the other hand, non-Austrian economists have been more focused on the Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act and its aimed reform: a rules based policy rather than current Fed discretionary policy which is counter-productive, if not destructive of prosperity.
Among the defenders of the Fed and the status quo are Paul Krugman (see here also) and his reliable sidekick Alan Blinder. Both use their typical blend of bad argument, deception, and distortion of the position of their opponents. John B. Taylor, who correctly lists a major cause of the crisis as the Fed keeping rates too low too long, is also the leading proponent of a rules based policy, responds here, here, and here with references to some very good empirical work. This work shows central bank policy is better when policy follows a rule based approach when compared to periods of discretion and seat-of-the-pants policy. Given that the Austrians are correct, and that the real reform is the end of central banking — and replacement with a market-chosen sound money and banking freedom — why should Austrians be involved in or care about the rules versus discretion reform discussion?…
Ron Paul’s “Transition to Monetary Freedom,” while dated, is still highly relevant. Paul’s suggested monetary reforms include:
1. End all legal tender laws. “Monetary freedom ends where legal-tender laws begin.” Behind this suggestion is a fundamental right, freedom of contract. “Freedom of contract — and the right to have such contracts enforced, not abrogated, by the government — is one of the fundamental pillars of a free society.”
2. Define the dollar. Per Paul, “It is of secondary importance whether we define a ‘dollar’ as a weight of gold or as a weight of silver. What is important is that it be defined.”
3. Create a new coinage and allow private minting of coins under their own trademarks. This must be accompanied by “removal of capital-gains taxation on the coins and the elimination of all transaction taxes, such as excise and sales taxes.”
What are the expected benefits of such changes? Paul explains:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Chris Kyle and His Murderer — is Anyone Paying Attention?
“He died because someone wanted to kill him.” -Taya Kyle
Chris Kyle, “The American sniper,” was quite an American in so many ways. He was known to his Navy SEAL brethren as “The Legend” and to his enemies as Al Shaitan, the “Devil.”
The Navy had confirmed 160 kills to Kyle’s credit. However, both he and his comrades counted double that number. Because of his high success rate of taking out American enemies, there was an $80,000 bounty put on his head. As a result, Chris Kyle’s wife Taya stated, “He died because someone wanted to kill him.” And kill him, they did.
The Chris Kyle murder case is taking precedent on many headlines across the country. Kyle was shot 6 times while his friend Chad Littlefield had been shot seven times by Eddie Ray Routh, who is claiming mental insanity as his defense.
The prosecutor in the case claims that Routh said “some kind of odd statements” while being recorded. Among those statements were: “I don’t know if I’m going insane,” “It’s disease right now,” “If it’s voodoo upon us,” “Is the apocalypse upon us right now?,” “I can feel everybody feeding on my soul.”When Routh was told by a police officer, “You will defeat the evil….and then that feeling that you have is going to go away,” he disagreed, saying, “It won’t though, cause all its gonna do is diffuse in my brain.”
In addition, it was reported both Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield texted one another while the trio drove to the gun range, “This dude is straight-up nuts.” One has toask why two tried and true intelligent military men would take a man like this to a gun range.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Cop Who Illegally Kidnapped and Beat Down Syndrome Man Says He Would Do it Again if He Could — Video
[WARNING: Disturbing content.]
On Tuesday, we reported that the police had admitted that San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Guy broke the law when he assaulted 22-year-old Antonio Martinez, who doctors say, has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old.
On Wednesday, a shocking new report from ABC 10 News has uncovered that Guy also has a history of using force with another agency. Not only did this cop say he would assault an innocent man with down syndrome again if the opportunity arises, but an investigation revealed that he has a history of excessive force.
Also, the department has not been complying with a California law requiring police to undergo training on how to proceed with the mentally disabled.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Respond to Williams Suspension for Lying by Going After Fox’s Bill O’Reilly
Media Matters, the media attack dog that zeroes in exclusively on Republicans and so-called conservatives, wants to hold Fox’s Bill O’Reilly accountable for “lies and fabrications.”
The Media Matters attack is a liberal Democrat response to criticism of NBC news anchor Brian Williams who said he was aboard a military helicopter hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Bill O’Reilly’s lies and fabrications matter. Tell Fox News to hold him accountable: http://t.co/d3qmBT3WAZ
— Media Matters (@mmfa) February 25, 2015
The Peabody award winning corporate media journalist was suspended for six months after it was discovered his story was a lie.
Williams is a staunch Democrat who started his journalism career as a White House intern during the Carter administration.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Via Mark Sletten comes this thread from yesterday’s Ask Me Anything session at Reddit that featured Edward Snowden, Oscar-winning documentarian Laura Poitras, and journalist Glenn Greenwald.
The question posed to Snowden:
What’s the best way to make NSA spying an issue in the 2016 Presidential Election? It seems like while it was a big deal in 2013, ISIS and other events have put it on the back burner for now in the media and general public. What are your ideas for how to bring it back to the forefront?
His answer is well worth reading in full (below), but its essence is a full-throated defense of classical liberal and libertarian theorizing not just about the consent of the governed but the right to work around the government when it focuses on social order over legitimacy. And, as important, a recognition that this is what we at Reason and others call “the Libertarian Moment,” or a technologically empowered drive toward greater and greater control over more and more aspects of our lives. While the Libertarian Moment is enabled by technological innovations and generally increasing levels of wealth and education, it’s ultimately proceeds from a mind-set as much as anything else: We have the right to live peacefully any way we choose as long as we are not infringing on other people’s rights to do the same. Our politics and our laws should reflect this emphasis on pluralism, tolerance, and persuasion (as opposed to coercion) across social, economic, and intellectual spheres of activity.
As Snowden emphasizes, it’s not simply that governments (thankfully) fail at attempts for perfect surveillance and law enforcement. It’s that technologically empowered people are actively worked to route around government attempts to fence us in.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Eleventh-Hour Drama for Net Neutrality
A Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission wants to see changes that could narrow the scope of new net neutrality rules set for a vote on Thursday.
Mignon Clyburn, one of three Democrats on the FCC, has asked Chairman Tom Wheeler to roll back some of his provisions before the full commission votes on them, FCC officials said.
The request — which Wheeler has yet to respond to — puts the chairman in the awkward position of having to either roll back his proposals, or defend the tough rules and convince Clyburn to back down.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fat, Stupid & Depressed: Fluoride Side Effects — Video
Unlike the US, the UK doesn’t have universal fluoridation.
This has allowed an epidemiological study comparing health effects, with the result being that those drinking fluoridated water are more likely to suffer from thyroid disorders leading to obesity and depression. You’ll be surprised at the fluoride concentrations that are correlated with disease and loss of IQ points.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
FCC Refuses to Testify Before Congress Ahead of Internet Takeover
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is refusing to appear before Congress as the FCC prepares a regulatory Internet takeover.
Not only that, but Wheeler has also refused to publicly release the FCC’s 332-page draft of the Internet regulations.
“So long as the chairman continues to insist on secrecy, we will continue calling for more transparency and accountability at the commission,” House Representatives Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said in a statement. “Chairman Wheeler and the FCC are not above Congress.”
The FCC is expected to vote on its new regulations Thursday, which would allow the agency to expand government control over the Internet, such as regulating service providers like a public utility.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Flu Deaths Keep Mounting in People Vaccinated Against the Flu
(NaturalNews) The official body count of this year’s flu shot victims continues to mount, as yet another previously healthy individual is reported to have died not long after getting the heavily pushed jab. Chad Rattray, a 37-year-old former hot dog vendor from Spokane, Washington, reportedly fell ill and died of complications from the flu recently, much to the sorrow of his close-knit community.
Known affectionately as “Cheddar Chad” among locals, Rattray had recently been hired as a bus driver for the Spokane Transit Authority (STA). And like millions of other Americans, he followed the advice of health authorities in getting a flu shot this year, which he presumably believed would help protect him against flu infection.
Instead, he fell deathly ill and had to call in sick just one day after driving his first, and only, route for STA.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hitler Survivor Warning America: Wake Up Now!
Given the fact that nothing good has come out of the Obama Administration for the past six years, why would the Republican leadership flock to this so-called “Free Trade” agenda at this time? Additionally, why would the Republican Congressional rank and file line up in support of the leadership?
Does anyone believe that Obama, who has done everything in pursuit of “Fundamentally Transforming America” since he was elected, that he is now going to turn around and proceed in the opposite direction? These so-called “free trade” partnerships are calculated to fall right in line with his agenda for bringing the transformation . How naive and stupid can one be to believe otherwise?…
It is quite clear that the Republican Party has become saturated with Neo-Con Trotkyites, now let’s talk about that.
Well, they aren’t just moderates, or RINOS; they are much more than that. They fill the spot in the dialectical scheme used by all collectivists to bring about change which coincides with the agenda to result in the New World Order, i.e., World Government.
Forty or fifty years ago or more, those who have become leaders in today’s Republican party drifted away from Trotskyism and began to identify themselves as democratic socialists. Still later, under the guise of neo-cons Irving Kristol and William F. Buckley, who emasculated true old right conservatism, they slithered into the Republican party as “moderates.” They stole the name of “conservative” and seized intellectual control of the true conservatives, as well as the entire Republican party.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
How Your Credit Card Turned Into a Mini Computer
Credit cards are about to get their biggest makeover in decades, transforming them from simple slivers of plastic to mini-computers in your wallet.
These technological marvels could allow you to make payments more safely and cut down on the number of them you actually need to carry.
Here, Money Mail reveals the six cards of the future currently being designed by MasterCard…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
If Obama Loves America, I’m a Pole Dancer
While politicos, pundits and the man in the street agonize over why Obama refuses to identify Islamic terrorism as such, or if he loves America or not, the answer is hiding in plain sight. It is the dirty little secret that was kept so well from the American people, the one that would have precluded Barack Hussein Obama ever being elected president of the United States of America.
It is also the reason Obama’s critics employ terms such as “incompetent” and “clueless” to describe his policies, instead of “sabotage” and “treason.”
The secret is that Obama and nearly all in his employ despise America and the entire model of Western society. This includes democratic republicanism, capitalism, as well as Judeo-Christian principles and values. A large measure of their antipathy is also due to the fact that they consider this paradigm an Anglo-European (white) paradigm.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Moon Space Law: Legal Debate Swirls Around Private Lunar Ventures
A recent action by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is stirring up some moon dust in a legal debate about private companies setting up shop on the moon.
In late 2014, the FAA’s Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) responded favorably to a Bigelow Aerospace’s “payload review” request. This query related to commercial development of the moon. Some view the verdict as a necessary step toward creating a legal framework for businesses to set up shop on the moon. But it’s also clear more legal conversations are in the offing.
Without a legal framework, proponents of lunar business say that investors won’t develop the financial and technical wherewithal to build industry on the moon. There’s need for assurance from the United States government that private-sector activities will be approved and protected when they aim for the moon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Navy Proves Flu Shot Causes Flu
Canadian scientists and the U.S. Navy have both proven in separate studies that the flu shot is not effective.
Numerous other studies are also cited showing its ineffectiveness.
Don’t take my word for it read the studies, share this vid, stop taking the flu shot.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Study: Soda Ingredient Poses Cancer Risk to Millions of Americans
A new study carried out by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) has found that millions Americans who consume soda every day are putting themselves at risk of developing cancer as a result of an ingredient contained in many soft drinks.
4-Methylimidazole, commonly known as 4-MEI, is a coloring used by soft drink makers to give their beverages that distinctive dark hue. It can be found in many popular soft drinks, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Diet Cola.
However, 4-MEI is a carcinogen that has been found to increase rates of malignant tumors when fed to mice and rats in laboratory studies. Despite this research, the FDA has not restricted its use as a caramel coloring agent in food and drinks.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) Oregonians are about to find themselves living in a bona fide medical police state if State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward gets her way. She’s spearheading changes to state law that would eliminate philosophical and religious exemptions for vaccines, thereby forcing all parents to have their children physically violated with extremely toxic substances still used in vaccines: mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde and monosodium glutamate — all still used in vaccines as openly admitted by the CDC.
Nazi fascism is deeply rooted in the belief that the state owns your body — a belief now shared by Sen. Steiner Hayward. Under the banner of “science,” Nazi scientists readily endorsed all the following “medical science” policies while claiming they were all necessary for the “greater good of society.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
PLO After US Terror Trial: Palestinians Don’t Have Funds to Compensate Victims’ Families
The Palestinians don’t have the money to compensate families of terror victims as ruled by a jury in New York earlier this week, PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi said Tuesday.
Ashrawi’s announcement came in response to the jury’s verdict, which found the PLO and the Palestinian Authority liable for supporting terrorist attacks in Israel more than a decade ago.
The jury in Manhattan federal court awarded $218.5 million in damages to 10 American families. The sum is expected to rise to $655.5 million under a 1992 US anti-terrorism law.
“The PLO and the Palestinian Authority don’t have the money to pay compensation to these families,” Ashrawi told reporters in Ramallah.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Research Exposes How Our Water is Making US Depressed, Sick
Adding to the evidence that backs many U.S. communities’ decisions to end water fluoridation, a recent study has found that fluoride within our water supply may be fueling thyroid issues experienced by millions of Americans, leading to depression and more.
After analyzing 98% of GP practices in England, the study found specifically that rates of hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) were 30% more likely in areas that fluoridated their water. In the study, it equated to approximately 15,000 needlessly suffering from the ailment.
As mentioned, hypothyroidism is an issue that affects millions — often without anyone knowing it. It’s an issue that can lead to depression, weight gain, fatigue, aching muscles, weakness, and much more. While there are a number of causes of hypothyroidism, as well as numerous hypothyroidism natural treatments, this recent study suggests that limiting fluoride ingestion is one many should consider.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Senior State Department Official Arrested, Suspected of Soliciting Sex From Minor
A senior State Department official who oversees counter-terrorism programs has been arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex from a minor, authorities in Virginia said late Tuesday.
Daniel Rosen was arrested at his home in Washington just after noon and is being held in the city’s jail on suspicion of use of a communications device to solicit a juvenile, said Lucy Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Soros, Ford Shovel $196 Million to ‘Net Neutrality’ Groups, Staff to White House
Liberal philanthropist George Soros and the Ford Foundation have lavished groups supporting the administration’s “net neutrality” agenda, donating $196 million and landing proponents on the White House staff, according to a new report.
And now, as the Federal Communications Commission nears approving a type of government control over the Internet, the groups are poised to declare victory in the years-long fight, according to the report from MRC Business, an arm of the conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center.
“The Ford Foundation, which claims to be the second-largest private foundation in the U.S., and Open Society Foundations, founded by far-left billionaire George Soros, have given more than $196 million to pro-net neutrality groups between 2000 and 2013,” said the report, authored by Media Research Center’s Joseph Rossell, and provided to Secrets.
“These left-wing groups not only impacted the public debate and funded top liberal think tanks from the Center for American Progress to Free Press. They also have direct ties to the White House and regulatory agencies. At least five individuals from these groups have ascended to key positions at the White House and FCC,” said the report which included funding details to pro-net neutrality advocates.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Friend in Congress
By Frank Gaffney, Jr.
Yesterday, the Center for Security Policy released a dossier showing that Rep. Andre Carson, Democrat of Indiana, has long been personally associated with individuals and organizations tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. The government has established in court that the Brotherhood’s mission is “destroying Western civilization from within.”
Rep. Carson is not just a Member of Congress. He was recently appointed to the House Intelligence Committee. That’s the panel responsible for overseeing the most sensitive of U.S. efforts to understand and counter all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That this obvious security problem has so far gone unremarked and uncorrected underscores official Washington’s dangerous failure to address appropriately the Muslim Brotherhood threat. Worse, it can only be seen by our enemies as further evidence of the inevitability of their victory.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The case, known as Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) v. Abercrombie, centers on Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim who applied for a position as a model at the Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa, Okla., in 2008. She was denied employment because she was wearing a black headscarf, known as hijab, during her interview.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Three Brooklyn Residents Charged With Attempt and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISIL
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York
Earlier today, a criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, Akhror Saidakhmetov, and Abror Habibov with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization.
[…]
As alleged in the complaint, Juraboev first came to the attention of law enforcement in August 2014 after he made a posting on an Uzbek-language website that propagates ISIL’s ideology. The investigation subsequently revealed that Juraboev and Saidakhmetov devised a plan to travel to Turkey and then to Syria for the purpose of waging jihad on behalf of ISIL. Saidakhmetov, a resident of Brooklyn and a citizen of Kazakhstan, was arrested early this morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
[…]
“As alleged, the defendants looked to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant by flying to Turkey in a vain attempt to evade detection. And one of the defendants was prepared to commit acts of terror here—in America—if he could not travel, to include killing FBI agents. The defendants violated the true tenants [sic] of their faith in pursuit of their radical, violent agenda. … “ said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.”
[What “true tenets of their faith” did these creatures violate, Mr. Director? Qur’anic verse 9:29, which commands believers to “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” ? Or the dozens of other verses that exhort Muslims to “fight,” “instill terror,” and “strike … at their necks”? — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Military Decimated Under Obama, Only ‘Marginally Able’ To Defend Nation
By Rowan Scarborough
The U.S. military is shedding so many troops and weapons it is only “marginally able” to defend the nation and falls short of the Obama administration’s national security strategy, according to a new report by The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday.
“The U.S. military itself is aging. It’s shrinking in size,” said Dakota Wood, a Heritage analyst. “And it’s quickly becoming problematic in terms of being able to address more than one major conflict.”
President Obama’s latest strategy is to size the armed forces pledged in 2014 so that the four military branches have sufficient troops, ships, tanks and aircraft to win a large war, while simultaneously acting to “deny the objectives of — or impose unacceptable costs on — another aggressor in another region.”
In other words, the Quadrennial Defense Review says the military can essentially fight two major conflicts at once. It could defeat an invasion of South Korea by the North, for example, and stop Russia from invading Western Europe or Iran from conquering a Persian Gulf state.
But Heritage’s “2015 Index of U.S. Military Strength” took a look, in detail, at units and weapons, region by region, and came to a different conclusion…
| — Hat tip: DS | [Return to headlines] |
USDA Betrays American People, Approves Monsanto’s New GMOs
(NaturalNews) In a sop to biotech and agriculture giant Monsanto, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the company’s controversial genetically modified herbicide-resistant strains of soybean and cotton, leaving critics to speculate that the corporate giant’s influence within the federal agency won out over legitimate concerns about human and environmental health.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A Liberty Blitzkrieg reader who is a resident of Naples, Florida recently sent me a note highlighting a video in which he, and several other concerned parents, were reprimanded and treated like little children in a School Board Workshop as a result of them expressing concerns about school curriculum.
In order to give you some background on the issue, see the Letter to the Editor he wrote to the Naples Daily News on 1/28 to say what he was prevented from saying at the 1/20 School Board Workshop. Letter reprinted below:
Patton the cause
The controversy behind the recent parents’ review of school textbooks lays squarely at the feet of Superintendent Kamela Patton.
Specifically, Collier County School Board Policy 2240 reads, “Furthermore, the Superintendent shall prepare administrative procedures detailing the manner in which students and parents will be adequately informed, each year, regarding their right to inspect instructional materials, and the procedure for completing such an inspection.”
By failing to prepare procedures to implement Board Policy 2240, Patton created the perception the textbook review was a nighttime Watergate-style break-in masterminded by conservative political operative and School Board member G. Gordon Lichter.
I examined seventh-grade “Civics in Practice” and it contained numerous factual inaccuracies. For example, on Page 100 it states, “The Constitution can be changed in two ways; formally by Amendment, and informally by Government.” This notion of dictatorship is enhanced by eighth-grade textbook “United States History,” which states on Page 185, “The President issues Executive Orders. These commands have the power of law.”
While some called us book-burning Nazis, Page 274 of “Civics in Practice” states, “Citizens must be alert to propaganda” and glittering generalities is a “type of propaganda which often uses words such as freedom and patriotism.” This world government indoctrination is augmented on Page 425, where a geographical map of North America eliminates the United States, and places our great nation in nine new “cultural nations.”
For pointing this out, one public speaker at the School Board textbook workshop called us “narrow-minded, racist Bible-thumpers.”
Thank you, Superintendent Patton.
The author has assured me that there is absolutely zero racist or religious angle to any of his concerns, and that this is being shamelessly injected into the argument due to an inability to debate the actual concerns.
* As a disclaimer, I am not well versed in the intricacies of this debate, nor have I personally reviewed Collier County school materials. I welcome and encourage open debate in the comment section.
Without further ado, take a look at how contemptuously and dismissively these parents’ concerns are dealt with at the Collier Country School Board Workshop.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why ‘Net Neutrality’ Is a Trojan Horse for Obama’s Web Takeover — Video
The federal government is about to seize control of the Internet and most Americans don’t even know about it.
Send your complaints to the FCC via this link: www.fcc.gov/comments
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) In the prescient 1948 tome, author George Orwell wrote about a supposedly “fictitious” future in which the civilized world lived in what can only be called a surveillance society, in which “the government” would be able to keep watch on the citizenry 24-7, and through a variety of technological means.
It turns out that Orwell’s premonitions were a lot more realistic than even he likely imagined.
Today, surveillance cameras are everywhere, at least in the modern world. Police have a range of listening devices and surveillance technology, some of which can see through your walls and into your home. And federal spy agencies like the NSA routinely intercept and track Internet and wireless communications.
Now, it seems, even your household goods can spy on you. As reported by Britain’s Daily Mail, you might want to keep a lid on what you say this evening when you sit down in front of your television.
Samsung has issued a warning to owners of its Internet-connected “smart TV” — anything they say while sitting in the vicinity of the device could be overheard.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The research also revealed that more than 1 in 10 British Muslims agreed that the magazine, known for printing a number of offensive images of the Prophet Mohammed, ‘deserved’ to be attacked.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Three Men First to Get Reconstructed Bionic Hands After Amputation
Three Austrians have replaced injured hands with bionic ones that they can control using nerves and muscles transplanted into their arms from their legs.
The three men are the first to undergo what doctors refer to as “bionic reconstruction,” which includes a voluntary amputation, the transplantation of nerves and muscles and learning to use faint signals from them to command the hand.
Previously, people with bionic hands have primarily controlled them with manual settings.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Passes Controversial Reforms to 1912 Islam Law
The Austrian parliament has passed controversial reforms to the country’s century-old law on Islam.
The bill, which is partly aimed at tackling Islamist radicalism, gives Muslims more legal security but bans foreign funding for mosques and imams.
Austria’s Integration Minister, Sebastian Kurz, defended the reforms but Muslim leaders say they fail to treat them equally.
The 1912 law made Islam an official religion in Austria.
It has been widely held up as a model for Europe in dealing with Islam.
The new measures, first proposed three years ago, include the protection of religious holidays and training for imams.
But Muslim groups say the ban on foreign funding is unfair as international support is still permitted for the Christian and Jewish faiths.
They say the legalisation reflects a widespread mistrust of Muslims and some are planning to contest it in the constitutional court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Extra Surveillance Tasks Cost a Pretty Penny
The extra surveillance tasks as part of the anti-terrorist measures are costing a lot. Members of the Belgian army have been guarding certain public places since the terror alert level was lifted to 3 Mid-January. Since the Paris terrorist attacks and the anti-terror operation in Verviers in Belgium, some 300 soldiers and paratroopers have been working as guards at places that could be targeted by extremists, such as Antwerp, Brussels and Liège.
The surveillance tasks are costing a lot of money. So far, the Home Office has had to pay 1.85 million euros extra on top of their normal wages. The extra money goes to special grants for night shifts and weekend shifts and extra material.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EC Says ‘Crucial’ Italy, France, Belgium Push Reforms
Proposed structural changes must be made, says Commission
(ANSA) — Brussels, February 25 — The European Commission said Wednesday that it is “crucial” for Italy, France and Belgium to push through significant structural reforms to their economies. The EC, which is closely monitoring budgets in those three countries, said that planned reforms in all three nations must be implemented. In Italy, the government has been pushing through labour market reforms, and is working on changes to election law, governance and education. All are aimed to encouraging growth in a lacklustre economy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EC Warns Italy it be Watching ‘Bad Banks’ Legislation
Commission says it will ‘take note’ of other reforms
(ANSA) — Brussels, February 25 — The European Commission on Wednesday said that it would be watching reforms coming in Italy’s banking legislation, including proposals for a sort of “bad bank” that may be created by the government to take on non-performing loans from private-sector banks.
A spokesman said that the Commission “takes note of the planned reforms of the Italian banking sector launched by the…government,” that also include changes to governance of Italy’s popolari banks.
The Commission is “in close and constructive contact,” the spokesman said.
According to some reports, the Commission is also concerned that a ‘bad bank’ could constitute unfair State aid to the private sector.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
European Rabbis Learn Self-Defense at RCE Conference
Over 100 rabbis from across Europe on Monday practiced how to combat weapon attacks and other physical threats at the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) conference in Prague.
This special training session for communal emergency situations was led by Dov Maisel, chief operations officer of IsraeLife: United Hatzalah, and Matti Goldstein, head of ZAKA, and was a part of a three-day conference covering important halakhic (concerning Jewish law — ed.) and communal issues for Jews across Europe.
Following the recent wave of anti-Semitics attacks in Europe, the European Jewish Association (EJA), the Matanel Foundation’s Hulya think tank and the RCE invited Maisel and Goldstein to train communal leaders in self-defense and how to cope with terrorism.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finns in Sweden Celebrate Their Day
Today is a day celebrated by Finns living in Sweden, as their day — the day of the Sweden Finns. It is a way to highlight the existence of the Finnish-speaking minority in Sweden.
Have you got Finnish rye bread in your freezer? Spending time in the sauna at least once a week? Chances are you are one of the approximately 712.000 people in Sweden with Finnish origins, making up 7 percent of the population.
Sweden and Finland are neighbours, and over the years, have had lots of cultural and political exchange. They were even the same country for hundreds of years until 1809 — but in a way the nations are very different from each other.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finns Party Juniors: Cartoon Competition About Islam to Defend Freedom of Speech
The Finns Party youth wing announced Tuesday that it was organising a cartoon competition to support freedom of speech. The subject of the contest was set to be Islam, “in light of recent events”, the group said, referring to the terrorist attacks in France last week that left 17 people dead.
“We are worried about the state of freedom of speech in Finland and Europe. The Islamist attacks against a magazine over caricatures have put many other publications on their toes. It is outrageous to limit press freedom and freedom of speech with threats of violence” said Sebastian Tynkkynen, newly-appointed editor in chief of the youth wing’s Rahvas magazine.
According to Tynkkynen the furore over a Danish caricature of Mohammed in 2005 was a warning signal to the west, but it was written off as an isolated incident.
“This shouldn’t be done. We must take action to preserve freedom of speech, and to show the terrorists that the use of violence is futile and that it will turn against them,” Tynkkynen added.
[Much, much more of this is needed. Good on them! — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
France Reveals Plan to Fight Muslim Extremism
France unveiled a series of new measures on Wednesday aimed at increasing security for the country’s Muslim population and forging closer links with the community. From surveillance to training imams, here’s a breakdown of the new action plan.
Security — In January around 1,000 Muslim sites — including cultural centres and mosques — were put under surveillance by the police and military as part of a government crackdown on terrorism. The government now plans to install CCTV on the most at-risk Muslim sites. Any acts of Islamophobia will be logged as such by local authorities, as is currently the case with anti-Semitic attacks, french newspaper Liberation reports.
Dialogue — A new forum is planned to promote dialogue with the Muslim community. It will be made up of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM) and “all associations that would like to join”. Together, Muslim groups will discuss various issues including the commercialization of halal products and the definition of ritual slaughter.
Imam training — Much of the focus will be on the training of Muslim preachers, trying to “encourage the emergence of a generation of imams fully engaged in the Republic”, an interior ministry source said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Google Denies 320mn Tax Deal With Italy
Internet giant allegedly registered Italy profits offshore
(ANSA) — Rome, February 25 — Google on Wednesday denied media reports that it has reached a deal to pay Italy 320 million euros in back taxes.
“The news item is unfounded and the agreement does not exist,” a spokesperson for the California-based Internet giant told ANSA.
“We will continue cooperating with tax authorities”.
Italian prosecutors confirmed that “no agreements have been reached with (Google)” and that an investigation is ongoing.
Corriere della Sera daily earlier reported Google had agreed to pay Italy 320 million on taxable income of 800 million euros produced in Italy in 2008-2013.
Italian investigators charged Google made money on advertising sales in Italy but “registered the profits in Ireland and Bermuda”, the paper said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iceland: Foreign Minister Wants National Security Council
Minister for Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson expressed his opinion today that the police in Iceland must have the necessary powers to protect the country’s citizens. National security has been in discussion in Iceland in recent days after it was reported on Monday that an asylum seeker in Iceland had declared his support for IS.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Songwriter Gino Paoli Resigns as SIAE President
Probed for tax evasion
(ANSA) — Rome, February 24 — Singer Gino Paoli on Tuesday resigned as president of SIAE, the Italian royalties clearinghouse for copyrighted material.
“I am certain I have committed no crime,” said the 81-year-old singer, who is under investigation for allegedly evading 800,000 euros in taxes on an undeclared transfer of two million euros to a Swiss bank account. SIAE accepted his resignation, while hailing his contribution in furthering “the rights and freedom of expression” of its members.
“Thank you Maestro Gino Paoli,” the organization said in a note.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Salvini Makes Waves in Rome Anti-Government Protest Preview
Northern League leader talks about Saturday demonstration
(ANSA) — Rome, February 25 — Right-wing Northern League party leader Matteo Salvini made waves in Rome on Wednesday in a lead-up to his planned anti-government protest in the capital on Saturday.
Salvini appeared at Capitoline Hill, seat of the local government and Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino, bearing a banner that read “Send Marino Home”, a play on the title of Saturday’s planned demonstration against the Italian premier entitled “Send Renzi Home”.
“I’m here because I hope to help the Romans retake their city because Mayor Marino is inadequate to administer a beautiful city,” Salvini said.
Meanwhile, left-wing Sel party local leader Gianluca Peciola said his party will stage a counter-protest in Rome on Saturday.
“The League governed for years with (ex-premier Silvio) Berlusconi and now Salvini wants to act like he’s new to politics. These men are dangerous and they must be stopped. On Saturday we’ll demonstrate with democratic, anti-fascist and anti-racist forces,” Peciola said.
However, even members of the extreme right-wing Casa Pound party said their planned Saturday anti-government demonstration in Piazza Vittorio, which hasn’t been authorized by local police, is against Salvini.
The party tweeted: “In Piazza Vittorio we invite the Rome that doesn’t want Salvini”.
Casa Pound added: “On Saturday we’ll fill the streets of the city with those who are against Salvini and his hypocritical operation”.
“Now he says he wants to leave the euro, but for nine years the League was with the government,” said a member of Casa Pound.
Salvini has garnered harsh criticism for his outspoken views on the euro and immigration.
“The euro is dead,” Salvini said in a radio interview on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: The Islam That ‘Frightens’ A False One, Ben Jelloun
Author decries inaction before advance of extremism
(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 25 — The author Tahar Ben Jelloun’s latest work, which centers on Islam at a time when terrorists invoke ‘Allah’ with frightening regularity, will be presented on Tuesday at the Institut Français-Centre Saint Louis in the Italian capital. In an imagined dialogue with his daughter, the writer of Moroccan origins who has lived in France for years describes the indignation of moderate Muslims before ‘criminal fundamentalism’, explaining the concept of jihad and what the Islamic State (ISIS) is, how it was created and how it recruits from among the young and those feeling lost amid unemployment, moral wastelands and poverty. Attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, as well as the recent beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic workers, has often caused fear to overshadow all else.
Ben Jelloun stresses, however, that “Islam is not this. It is not violence or terror. It is rather an approach towards others”. Like many Muslim intellectuals, the author of ‘Islam Explained’ says that ISIS fundamentalists have interpreted Islam as they saw fit, in order to gain power and territorial control, noting that ISIS makes headway in areas where government institutions are fragile or nonexistent.
“Iraq, Syria, Libya,” and parts of the Sinai, he said, “have already fallen, while other territories are in danger, such as southern Algeria.” Ben Jelloun notes that Arab nations and the Muslim world in general have done little to resolve the conflicts raging throughout the Middle East. “I see immobility and regression. The Muslim world cultivates divisions and does not move forward, and the will for true reform just isn’t there,” he said, noting that throughout the centuries “anyone who tried to reform Islam either wasn’t listened to or was eliminated.” Even today, he said, “there is an ‘intellectual terrorism’ that stops intellectuals of Muslim culture or origins from expressing themselves freely. Anyone who has dared to speak out has been threatened.” In his book, Ben Jelloun criticizes Westerners as well, who are often indifferent to the serious problems faced by immigrants and their children — who are frequently attracted to the temptation of jihad — or who benefit from an Arab world weak and riven by divisions. “If the US actually wanted to get rid of ISIS or Boko Haram, it would have already done so. It has the full ability to do so,” he says. A united, strong Arab world, Ben Jelloun states, “wouldn’t be convenient for Israel and, consequently, Washington”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
This morning the BBC published details of a major poll of the attitudes of Britain’s Muslims. The headline on the front of the BBC website linking to the research states: “Muslims ‘oppose cartoon reprisals’“. This of course relates to attitudes within the Muslim community towards the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks.
It’s a reassuring headline. It’s also wrong. Many Muslims — a majority — do indeed utterly oppose the murderous killings in Paris. But a very, very large number of Muslims don’t. Presented with the statement “I have some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris”, 27 seven percent agreed with the statement. A further 2 per cent refused to answer the question. And an additional eight percent said they were unsure whether they had some sympathy or not.
That is a shocking figure. And an utterly shaming one for Britain’s Muslim community. If this poll is accurate, over a quarter of British Muslims overtly sympathise with the motives of those responsible for the cold blooded murder of 16 journalists, police officers and Jews.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rats Exonerated in 14th Century Spread of Bubonic Plague
By Sarah Kaplan
WASHINGTON — After nearly eight centuries of accusations for spreading the bubonic plague, scientists say they have compelling evidence to exonerate the much-maligned black rat. In the process, they’ve identified a new culprit: gerbils.
It’s always the cute ones you have to watch out for, isn’t it?
According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, climate data dating back to the 14th century contradicts the commonly held notion that European plague outbreaks were caused by a reservoir of disease-carrying fleas hosted by the continent’s rat population.
‘‘For this, you would need warm summers, with not too much precipitation,’’ Nils Christian Stenseth, an author of the study, told the BBC. ‘‘. . . And we have looked at the broad spectrum of climatic indices, and there is no relationship between the appearance of plague and the weather.’’
Instead, the fearsome ‘‘Black Death,’’ as the epidemic was known, seemed curiously tied to the climate in Asia. Analysis of 15 tree-ring records, which document yearly weather conditions, shows that Europe always experienced plague outbreaks after central Asia had a wet spring followed by a warm summer — terrible conditions for black rats, but ideal for Asia’s gerbil population. Those sneaky rodents and their bacteria-ridden fleas then hitched a ride to Europe via the Silk Road, arriving on the continent a few years later to wreak epidemiological havoc.
The findings absolve Europe’s black rats of responsibility for the deaths of more than 100 million people in the ‘‘second plague pandemic,’’ which began with the Black Death in the mid-14th century and recurred until the 1800s. They also explain why the disease popped up intermittently century after century, rather than lingering on the continent as long as rats were around to carry it.
[Gerbils! Who’d a’ thunk it? Truth is indeed the daughter of time. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
Some UK Muslims Support Paris Attack Motives: Poll
A poll of British Muslims published on Wednesday found that 27 percent had some sympathy for the motives behind last month’s Islamist attack in Paris against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Sixty-two percent said they had no sympathy.
The survey also found that 11 percent agreed that those who publish images of the Prophet Mohammed deserve to be attacked, while 85 percent did not and four percent refused to answer or did not know.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swede’s 21st Balloons Dubbed ‘IS’ Propaganda
After Sarah Ericsson hung up balloons in the shape of the number ‘21’ for her birthday, her home was paid a visit by Swedish police who thought they stood for ‘IS’ and had been put up by supporters of the Islamic State extremist group.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Daily: Ministers Will Not Scrap Saudi Arms Deal
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström have agreed that Sweden should not unilaterally seek to end its military cooperation with Saudi Arabia, newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Taking Birth Control Pills More Than Doubles Brain Tumor Risk in Five Years
(NaturalNews) Women who take birth control pills will not be pleased with a recent discovery that suggests a link between taking the contraceptive and brain tumor development.
Danish researchers have discovered that taking a birth control pill for over five years can more than double the risk of developing a rare form of brain cancer, glioma. The experts analyzed over 300 women who had been diagnosed with glioma over the course of nine years, ultimately discovering that the women who were using progestogen-only birth control methods had a brain tumor risk that was 2.4 times higher than that of the control group.(1)
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Mystery of the Norwegian Mountains
by Vivi Pedersen
Norwegians love their mountains. They go there for hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter, and all year round to enjoy the company of friends and family in remote, cosy cabins. But I wonder, do the Norwegians know why their mountains are there in the first place? If they do, they know more than the scientific community. Here significant controversy surrounds both age and origin of these mountains.
Controversy exists because it is inherently difficult to assess mountain heights back in time.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Militants, Migrants and the Med: Europe’s Libya Problem
Islamic State militants in Libya have vowed to attack Europe. Meanwhile, boatloads of migrants flee the collapsing state for European shores. Could the Mediterranean migration mask an influx of militants?
Italy and Egypt have warned that Islamic State (IS) militants could hide among thousands of migrants rescued by European patrols.
Both countries are troubled by the situation in Libya and have an interest in influencing it. However, neither has given any evidence to support its warnings.
The migrants are mostly from Syria and sub-Saharan Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
As ISIS advances in Libya, the radical jihadist group could soon be attacking shipping in the Mediterranean. Noting ISIS’s latest achievements in the failed North African state, Seth Cropsey warns of worse to come in The Wall Street Journal.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Drive-by Jihadis Murder Another Coptic Christian in Sinai
by Raymond Ibrahim
On February 23, another Coptic Christian man was fatally shot in al-’Arish, Sinai, by members of the Islamic terrorist group, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis.
Hani, the Coptic man, was in his shop when three terrorists drove by and opened fire on him; with bullets lodged in his head he immediately died.
Earlier, on January 31, masked gunmen stormed the home of another Coptic Christian man residing in al-’Arish. After robbing him and his family at gunpoint, they shot him several times in the head, instantly killing him. According to the slain man’s wife, her husband was murdered “only because he was a Copt (i.e., Christian).”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Suez Canal Authority Asks Italy to Invest
Authority chief tells entrepreneurs, ‘you are brothers’
(by Rodolfo Calò) (ANSAmed) — ISMAILIA (EGYPT) — The Egyptian authority managing the Suez Canal has shown to a delegation of Italian entrepreneurs visiting Egypt potential investment sectors and opportunities in the huge development project on which the partial doubling of the strategic canal is based.
“We consider the Italian government, the Italian people, our partners, our friends, our brothers and we are working together for the development” of Egypt, said the president and executive director of the Suez canal authority, Admiral Mohab Mohamed Mameesh, addressing almost 40 representatives of major Italian companies mostly active in the infrastructure sector. “We consider you as friends, partners and brothers, Mediterranean brothers”, said Italy’s Ambassador Maurizio Massari on behalf of the delegation. “The Italian entrepreneurial community is very interested in playing an active role” in the “development of the canal’s area”, the ambassador said.
The presentation took place as part of a “visit on the ground” in Ismailia at the end of the entrepreneurial mission.
Before a recognition aboard boats of the new part of the canal which is being built, a video recalled that the objectives of the “Suez Canal area development project” (SCADP) include the exploitation of “trade flows from China and South-East Asia towards Europe” and the construction of six ports, an industrial area and a technology valley.
The project will include infrastructures, telecommunications, auto component industries, electronics, oil refineries, steel industries, logistics, construction and reparation of containers, furniture, textile and glass. Among incentives, along with the strategic position of the hub, are favorable laws and little bureaucracy.
As far as the partial doubling of the Canal worth 8.2 billion dollars is concerned, Admiral Mameesh confirmed the ambitious objective posed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to complete construction work in just a year, in August. The new canal of 35 km has already been excavated and now needs to be deepened to enable the passage of the largest cargos. The new part, alongside the old one where Ismailia is located, was aimed at eliminating alternating traffic and reduce to 11 hours from 18 the time required to go through the canal, doubling 2023 today’s traffic (from the current 49 ships to 97) and a huge increase, by an estimated 259%, of the annual 5.3 billion dollars. By adding the deepening and widening of the two existing routes, the huge project doubles 72 of the 193 km of the strategic Canal built west of the Sinai peninsula in the 1800s to allow the navigation from Europe to Asia and avoid the circumnavigation of Africa.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Training Camp 45 Km From Tunisia
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, FEBRUARY 25 — The largest training camp for Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Libya is located only 45 kilometers from the border with Tunisia, Libyan army spokesman Ahemd Mesmari told the Tunisian daily Assarih on Tuesday. Mesmari said that about 3,000-4,000 jihadists regularly train at the camp in Sabratha, most of whom either Tunisian or foreigners connected with other Tunisian terrorist groups.
The army spokesman said that the number of Tunisian combatants in Libya had risen sharply recently, especially in Derna.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya ‘Could Become Another Syria’, Minister Warns
Libya’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri has called for Western military support, saying the growing threat from jihadist groups threatened to turn his country into another Syria.
“Time is running out,” Dayri told AFP in an interview on Tuesday. “Terrorism amounts to a danger not just for Libya and its neighbours. It is an intensifying threat to Europe.
“Without a political solution, the country could get trapped in a full-blown civil war like in Syria,” he said.
The North African country has collapsed into a bitter struggle between rival governments and militias since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed with Western help in 2011.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Susan Rice: Netanyahu’s Speech Destructive for Ties
Premier declines meeting with Democratic senators
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — The announced speech on Iran to be delivered to the US Congress by Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3, in spite of the opposition of the Obama administration, continues to be controversial.
National Security Advisor Susan Rice was quoted by Israeli media as saying that the speech is destructive for relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile Netanyahu has decided not to accept the invitation of some democratic senators who would like to meet him during his trip to the US.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
How Iran’s Military Chiefs Operate in Iraq
The face stares out from multiple billboards in central Baghdad, a gray-haired general casting a watchful eye across the Iraqi capital. This military commander is not Iraqi, though. He’s Iranian. The posters are a recent arrival, reflecting the influence Iran now wields in Baghdad.
Iraq is a mainly Arab country. Its citizens, Shiites and Sunnis alike, have long mistrusted Iran, the Persian nation to the east. But as Baghdad struggles to fight the Sunni extremist group ISIS many Shiite Iraqis now look to Iran, a Shiite theocracy, as their main ally.
In particular, Iraqi Shiites have grown to trust the powerful Iranian-backed militias that have taken charge since the Iraqi army deserted en masse last summer. Dozens of paramilitary groups have united under a secretive branch of the Iraqi government called the Popular Mobilization Committee, or Hashd Shaabi.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Burns Thousands of Rare Books and Manuscripts From Mosul’s Libraries
Isis militants have reportedly ransacked Mosul library, burning over a hundred thousand rare manuscripts and documents spanning centuries of human learning.
Initial reports said approximately 8,000 books were destroyed by the extremist group.
However, AL RAI’s chief international correspondent Elijah J. Magnier told The Independent that a Mosul library official believes as many as 112,709 manuscripts and books, some of which were registered on a UNESCO rarities list, are among those lost.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Respond to Publicity Surrounding American Sniper With Assassinations Video
The footage, showing a series of assassinations in Syria, is said to be a bid to rival the Oscar nominated film American Sniper, which tells the story of the most lethal marksman in U.S. history.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS: Archbishop Lashes Out at West’s ‘Wretched’ Choices
An estimated 120-140 Syrian Christians taken hostage
(ANSAmed) — VATICAN CITY — Between 120 and 140 Assyrian Christians are being held hostage by the Islamic State (ISIS) after being taken during the night between Sunday and Monday during an attack by the jihadist group. Christian villages along the Khabour river in the northeastern Al-Jazira province were targeted, and those taken were from the Tel Jazira, Tel Shamiram e Tel Gouram villages.
Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, ordinary of the Syrian Catholic Archieparchy in Hasaka-Nisibis, spoke to the Vatican news agency FIDES on Wednesday about the attack.
“The jihadists,” he said, “have taken full control of the villages on the western shore of Khabur, while yesterday afternoon, February 24, all the inhabitants of 22 villages scattered along the eastern shore were evacuated and more than a thousand Christian Assyrian and Chaldean families fled to the major centers of Hasaka, Qamishli, Dirbesiye and Ras Al-Ayn.” “As of yesterday evening,” Hindo added, “in Hasaka alone there were over 950 new refugee families.” The ISIS offensive has thus far killed four Christians enlisted in Assyrian militias allied with Kurdish battalions fighting the jihadists, while — according to Assyrian sources — a young Christian Assyrian names Milad is the only civilian victims of the Islamists. In the eyes of the Syrian Catholic archbishop, the jihadists launched the offensive in the Khabour region to compensate for their loss of ground and escape routes in Kobane (Ayn Al-Arab) and around their stronghold, Raqqa. The archbishop accused the West of playing a role in triggering the conflicts affecting the Middle East. “With their disastrous policies,” he said, “mainly the French and the US, with their regional allies,” have fostered a rise an escalation of the conflict with ISIS.
He added that “now they persevere in error, commit strategic, grotesque mistakes such as the announcement of the ‘spring campaign’ to liberate Mosul and insist on interfering with irrelevant interventions, instead of recognizing that their guaranteed support to jihadist groups has led us to this chaos and has destroyed Syria, making us regress 200 years.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS: 150 Christian Hostages in Syria, Video Soon — CNN
Sana, Christians taken to Shaddadi, jihadist stronghold
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 25 — The Christians abducted in Syria by ISIS are 150, more than previously thought, CNN reported on Wednesday, quoting the Assyrian Human rights Network, which has a team on the ground.
The network’s founder Osama Edward told CNN that the jihadists are planning to release a video addressed to US President Barack Obama and other leaders in the anti-ISIS coalition in which they threaten to kill the hostages.
Syrian government news agency Sana claims that some of the Christians held hostage in north-east Syria by ISIS have been transferred to the town of Al Shaddadi, “a stronghold of the Islamic State in the province of Al Hasakah”. According to Sana, the hostages are 89, including 56 abducted in the villages of Tal Hermez and Tal Shamiram and 33 others in Tal al Jazira.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jordanian and Saudi Kings Discuss Anti-ISIS Strategies
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Yemen also on agenda
Jordanian King Abdullah II walks with King Salman of Saudi Arabia on his arrival ceremony in Riyadh
(ANSAMED) — BEIRUT — Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday visited Riyadh to discuss the situation in the region with King Salman.
Focus was placed on the two countries’ role in the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS). In early February, when a video was released showing ISIS fighters burning alive Jordanian pilot Moaz Al-Kassasbeh (captured while taking part in a coalition airstrike on jihadists’ positions in Syria), King Salman was one of the first Arab heads of state to condemn the incident, calling it a “hateful crime”. Saudi sources say that the agenda also includes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the latest developments in Yemen, where Houthi Shia rebels — allegedly supported by Iran — have taken control of the capital Sanaa, dissolving the government and parliament. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has also recently met with King Salman in Riyadh. During the meeting, King Salman stressed Saudi Arabia’s support for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
One-Way Ticket to Syria: Profile of a Finnish ISIS Fighter
“Joni” has been in Syria with ISIS forces for five months. His online postings and contact with an Yle journalist reveal a lonely, unsociable young man from eastern Finland who converted to Islam and found solace in extremist teachings—before making what he says is a one-way journey to join the “Caliphate”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: IS Abducts 150 Christians, Rapes and Kills Women, A “Tragic Situation” For Vicar to Aleppo
A steady stream of horrific stories is coming out of jihadist-held areas. Terrorists hold hundreds of Christians, including seniors and children. For apostolic nuncio to Damascus, “Christians feel abandoned”. There is “blood everywhere” and everyone is suffering. He believes that the war on terrorism is pointless but oil, “financial and military supplies” should be cut off.
Damascus (AsiaNews) — Initial “reports mentioned 90 people abducted but for others the actual number is greater, perhaps 150. A church was destroyed, at least three Assyrian villages have been occupied and people have had to flee. We do not have accurate information, but the initial evidence points to a tragic situation,” said Mgr Georges Abou Khazen, Latin apostolic vicar to Aleppo.
The prelate spoke to AsiaNews about Monday’s attack by the Islamic State group against Assyrian villages like Tel Tamar, Tel Shamiran, Tel Hermuz, Goran Tel and Tel Khareta, in north-eastern Syria. Jihadists reportedly raped a woman and then murdered her, but the information could not be confirmed.
Whilst everyone is suffering, “Christians feel they have been abandoned,” said Mgr Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio to Damascus.
Bassam Ishak, president of the Syriac National Council, reports that latest figure for abducted Christians is at least 150, more than the early figure of 90. They were taken in Al-Hasakah Governorate, north-east of the country, where Assyrian Christian communities have lived for centuries.
Some reports indicate that Islamic State militants killed some hostages. “Jihadists have taken a lot of people, including women, the elderly and children,” said a local source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “They burnt their houses, and torched a church.” And “At least six” people were killed. The terrorists “also raped a woman before killing her.”
The Syriac Military Council, a Christian paramilitary organisation, said that the IS attack on Christian villages was an act of revenge following jihadist defeat in Kobane and other villages in the area, following the Peshmerga offensive and international coalition air strikes.
The apostolic nuncio in Damascus agrees. “They came down from the mountains around 3 am Monday morning, and attacked an area largely inhabited by Assyrian-Nestorian,” he told AsiaNews.
This a “high risk area.” Some “four or five months ago, I received a text message from the bishop of Hassakah, in which he warned that the danger of a jihadist invasion was high.”
After they were pushed out of Kobane, “they shifted to these villages to seize more land,” Mgr Zenari explained. Now Christians feel abandoned, he added. However, everyone has suffered. “I see blood everywhere, in the cities, in the neighbourhoods. The desert has changed colour. It is no longer golden yellow but blood red.”
The prelate said he hopes that “sooner or later reason will prevail” and “the war will end. It must end” even though at present, “we are still in the middle of winter, not some Arab Spring.”
Addressing directly the West and the international community, the apostolic vicar to Aleppo warned emphatically that “military action against the Islamic state is not the right way” to solve the crisis and restore peace and security to Syria and Iraq. “I never believed in war because it creates more hatred and division,” he explained.
“The West claims that it is fighting these groups,” the prelate said. “Yet, it helps them too. Who is buying their oil? Who is selling them weapons? Who is involved in trafficking of priceless archaeological artefacts?”
For Mgr Abou Khazen, there is a lot of “hypocrisy” in the fight against the terrorists. “This will not be solved with bombs; cutting financial and military supplies will. What we ask is for others to stop supporting these people, to stop selling them weapons. We have been saying this for some time but no one has been listening to us.”
The attacked Assyrian community, he said, has lived “in the area for thousands of years with its own ancient traditions and rites. Defenceless, its members have been uprooted. Campaigns are undertaken to save animals threatened by extinction to allow them to live in their habitat. But what is being done for us,” he laments.
Christians are gripped by a sense of fear, Mgr Georges noted. “Many want to run away and this is a very dangerous sign. Removing Christianity from these lands would be a tragedy for everyone. Maybe the aim is to create another Afghanistan, in the hands of new Taliban”.
“This is our reading of the situation,” the prelate said. “They want to empty the Middle East of its Christians and create many small confessional states.”
“We Christians are the only ones spread across the territories of Syria and Iraq. We are the only ones who defend national unity and uphold the principle of pluralism . . . something that they increasingly want to destroy.” (DS)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Two Princes Are Rising Stars of King Salman’s Saudi Arabia
When the new Saudi king installed his own team, the most eye-catching appointments involved two princes young enough to be steering the world’s biggest oil exporter for decades to come.
One is a familiar figure to Saudi Arabia’s global allies. Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, heads a new security council and was made deputy crown prince, putting him in line to become the first king from his generation of royals. He’s leading a large Saudi delegation on a trip to the U.K. this week. The other is less well known outside of Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman’s son, takes charge of an economic council in addition to posts as defense minister and gatekeeper to the royal court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen Ex-President Amassed Up to $60bn, Colluded With Rebels: UN Experts
Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh is suspected of corruptly amassing as much as $60 billion, equivalent to Yemen’s annual GDP, during his long rule, and colluding in a militia takeover last year, UN-appointed investigators have told the Security Council.
The report by the world body’s Panel of Experts on Yemen echoes criticism by his opponents that Saleh’s rule from 1978 to 2012 was marred by graft, and that even out of office he is fomenting instability — allegations he has consistently denied.
Presented with the experts’ 54-page findings, the Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend sanctions on Saleh and two top militia leaders, first targeted by the world body in November for their alleged role in destabilising the country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nato forces put on a show of strength in Estonia, just yards from the Russian border, with troops, armoured personnel carriers and tanks forming a military parade.
Around 100 British, Dutch, Spanish, Latvian and Lithuanian troops yesterday marched in the snow in the city of Narva, alongside some 1,300 Estonian soldiers, to mark the independence of the formerly Soviet-ruled republic, now a member of the European Union and Nato.
Today Moscow responded by deploying thousands of soldiers on exercise just across Russia’s borders with Estonia and Latvia. Russian President Vladimir Putin also lashed Ukraine’s decision to cut off gas to its eastern regions, saying the move ‘smacks of genocide’.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Slams Ukraine Decision to Cut-Off Gas to East as “Genocidal”
Ukrainian authorities decision to halt gas supplies to Donetsk amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe occurring there “bear the hallmarks of genocide,” blasted Russia’s Vladimir Putin during an awkward press conference with Cyprus’ President Nicos Anastasiades (who he had just agreed bilateral military and trade deals with). “Apparently, some responsible leaders of the modern-day Ukraine are unable to understand the importance of humanitarian issues,” Sputnik News reports Putin concluded. In an attempt to gain leverage and force Ukraine’s hand however, Russia’s Gazprom has indicated it intends to suspend gas deliveries to Ukraine (and thus Europe via pipelines) unless Kiev makes a further prepayment.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Pushes for Escalation, Arms Kiev by Laundering Weapons Through Abu Dhabi
The U.S. is circumventing its own proclaimed policy of not delivering weapons to Ukraine and is thereby, despite urgent misgivings from its European allies, increasing the chance of a wider catastrophic war in Europe.
The Ukrainian coup president Poroshenko went to an international arms exhibition in Dubai. There he met the U.S. chief military weapon salesman.
ABU DHABI — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to meet with U.S. defense companies Tuesday during a major arms exhibition here even though the American government has not cleared the firms to sell Kiev lethal weapons. Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s acquisition executive is scheduled to meet with a Ukrainian delegation Monday evening, however Poroshenko is not expected to be there. Kendall, in an interview, said he will be bringing a message of support from the United States.
“I expect the conversation will be about their needs,” Kendall told Defense One a few hours before the meeting. “We’re limited at this point in time in terms of what we’re able to provide them, but where we can be supportive, we want to be.”…
The United Arab Emirates is not known as arms producer. But it buys lots of U.S. weapons. It will now forward those to Ukraine while the U.S. will claim that it does not arm Ukraine. Who do they think will believe them?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Back in March 2014 we forecast that it in the aftermath of the US State Department-sponsored military coup in Kiev, it was only a matter of time before Ukraine (all of its sovereign gold having since “vaporized”) succumbed to full blown hyperinflation and economic implosion. Less than a year later, precisely this outcome has finally played out, and as a result, the entire nation has finally entered its economic endgame, one which has two conclusion: either it joins Greece in becoming a ward of Europe (of which it is not an official member) and the IMF (thank you Joe Q Public taxpayer), or it quietly fades away into insolvent “failed state” status.
This is in a nutshell the assessment by Goldman Sachs, presented below, which really doesn’t say much we didn’t cover earlier in “Ukraine Enters Hyperinflation: Currency Trading Halted, “Soon We Will Walk Around With Suitcases For Cash”, but which does lays out the (very unpleasant) alternatives for yet another nation brought to ruin through American neo-colonial expansion, in what may well be a record short period of time. Of these, the primary ones focus on yet another IMF bailout which the agency may find some resistance to as a result of the near-total collapse of Greece at the same time. And not only that but Goldman’s “base case of IMF fund disbursement in mid-March may not come quickly enough to stabilize the Hryvnia.” Oops.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Indians Lose Billions of Life Years to Air Pollution
Air pollution in India is robbing its citizens of an estimated 2.1 billion years of life collectively. India is home to 13 of the 20 cities with the highest levels of particulate air pollution worldwide, according to a 2012 report by the World Health Organization.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Five Pieces of Indisputable Evidence of Forced Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Sharp increase of number of organ transplants coincides with onset of persecution of Falun Gong (Falun Dafa).
The number of organ transplants increased immediately after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in China on July 20, 1999. Over the past ten years, China has performed more than 90,000 various organ transplant operations, providing a huge revenue and profit for the second largest economy in the world.
Let’s use liver transplants as an example:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Funerals Are Being Held for Robotic Dogs in Japan Because Owners Believe They Have Souls
Incense smoke wafts through the cold air of the centuries-old Buddhist temple as a priest chants a sutra, praying for the peaceful transition of the souls of the departed.
Some Japanese owners of robot dog AIBO believe their ‘pet’ have souls
It is a funeral like any other in Japan. Except that those being honoured are robot dogs, lined up on the altar, each wearing a tag to show where they came from and which family they belonged to.
The devices are ‘AIBOs’, the world’s first home-use entertainment robot equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and capable of developing its own personality.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Espionage Blowback: China Drops Apple, Cisco From State Purchase Lists
Another quarter of leaks of ubiquitous US espionage in every corner of the world, and sure enough we get another quarter of China just saying no to spending any more money on companies which are, as far as Beijing is concerned, a natural extension of the NSA. According to Reuters, China has just dropped some of America’s leading technology brands from its approved state purchase lists, chief among them Cisco (which already was hammered a year ago due to the Snowden revelations), and everyone’s favorite $1 trillion market cap or bust cell phone maker, Apple.
At the same time China shifted production focus away from foreign production approved thousands more locally made products. The reason according to Reuters, and pretty much anyone else: a response to revelations of widespread Western cybersurveillance.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Dozens of Australian Women ‘Supporting Terrorism’
Up to 40 Australian women have either taken part in terrorism or supported terrorist groups, officials say.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said that an increasing number of young women are joining Islamic State (IS).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
173 People Die in Extremist Attacks in Kenya in 2014: Police
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Islamic extremists killed 173 people in Kenya in 2014, the highest number in the three years that Kenya has experienced violence blamed on neighboring Somalia’s al-Shabab militants, Kenya’s police force said Wednesday.
The 2014 death toll is even higher than that of 2013 when extremists killed 67 people in the assault on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall.
Kenyan police said 312 people were killed in the country in militant attacks since 2012 and 779 people were wounded during the period.
Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa, Mandera and Wajir were towns where the attacks took place between 2012 and 2014. The targets were security officials, places frequented by tourists, passenger service vehicles, churches, malls and other crowded places, said acting police chief Samuel Arachi.
Al- Shabab has vowed retribution for Kenya sending troops to Somalia. Kenya deployed its troops to Somalia in October 2011 to fight the extremist rebels who had carried out cross-border attacks including the kidnapping of four Europeans. Kenyan troops are now part of a multinational African Union force bolstering Somalia’s weak government against an insurgency by al-Shabab which is linked to al-Qaida.
Al-Shabab, in a video released Saturday, threatened more attacks on Kenya.
[This is the outfit that threatened to attack the Mall of America in Minnesota, which has the nation’s largest population of Somali immigrants — a “sea” in which Mao Tse-tung’s guerrilla “fish” may swim. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
Cuba Could Export $250 Mn of Cigars to US
Cuba’s renowned cigar makers could export at least $250 million to the United States yearly if the five-decade embargo on the communist island is lifted, a top executive said Tuesday.
While the current US Congress looks unlikely to lift the embargo, the historic rapprochement announced in December by US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro had industry insiders wistfully asking “What if?”
“I think we could (export) $250 million or more,” said Jorge Luis Fernandez Maique, commercial vice president at Habanos S.A., a joint venture between the Cuban government and Britain’s Imperial Tobacco.
Cuba has 70 percent market share for global cigar sales outside the United States, which accounts for two-thirds of world sales.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS-Spooked Lampedusa Fishers Demand State of Emergency
Islands’ beleaguered seamen ask Renzi to fight terrorists
(ANSA) — Palermo, February 25 — Premier Matteo Renzi must declare a state of emergency given the looming threat of ISIS terrorists to tiny southern Italian islands and their inhabitants, the president of the consortium of Lampedusa and Linosa fishers, Totò Martello, said Wednesday.
With ISIS gaining territory in Libya, the jihadists are drawing closer to Italy, separated by only a narrow strip of sea from Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost point.
“It may seem strange to you, but we are truly worried for ourselves and our families,” Martello said in a letter to the premier and to Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina.
“Ever since ISIS arrived in Libya and our foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni sounded the alarm on the approach of the terrorists and the defence minister, Roberta Pinotti, said she had 5,000 soldiers ready, we are not at peace,” he added.
Fishers say they are upset by warnings from authorities to keep a distance from the Libyan coast, which they say is hurting their haul and the families.
“We are frightened of being boarded by terrorists and people traffickers, one can’t live with the nightmare of not going home,” said Martello.
“We need to be protected and defended, but to work we need to be tranquil in a Mediterranean that every day becomes more the world’s powder keg”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Amnesty “Town Hall” Closed to Public, Will Feature Handpicked Illegals Asking Questions
The President will today take questions from undocumented immigrants and supporters of the Amnesty program in a closed and scripted event that is being ludicrously billed as a public “town hall” meeting.
In reality, the event will serve as a propaganda broadcast to sell the American public on executive action to sweepingly grant legal status up to 5 million illegal immigrants.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Amnesty Raps Finland on Refugee, Transgender Rights
The human rights organisation Amnesty International has again criticised Finland for its treatment of asylum-seekers, migrants, transgender people and conscientious objectors, as well as what it sees as inaction on violence against women and girls.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
College Indoctrination on Steroids: Capitalism Must be Overthrown for Sake of Humanity
American universities are pumping out loyal socialist soldiers and a reading assignment that excoriates capitalism at the University of Michigan is being used as propaganda tool to further fuel socialist ambitions.
It’s apparent that many colleges and universities are becoming more like activist indoctrination camps than they are institutions of higher learning.
The textbook, “Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution,” was assigned as mandatory reading for U of M’s “Organizational Studies 203: Activism,” according to The College Fix.
While the description of the course itself claims it is unbiased and “will not preach social change from any particular point of view,” the coursework students are to complete sings a very different tune.
According to the College Fix, the textbook blames the “global slump we are living through” on capitalism. Adding, it is “the predictable manifestation of a crisis-prone economic system rooted in production for profit rather than for human need.”
“… For the sake of human development and ecological sanity it needs to be overthrown.”
The free enterprise system that has lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system known to man needs to be “overthrown for the sake of humanity?”
No… there’s no particular “point of view” directing the coursework here.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Feminists Ignore Woman Violently Gang Raped During Home Invasion
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
Despite routinely targeting men for fostering a “rape culture,” feminists are deftly silent about the brutal gang rape of a woman in her own home while her children were present.
The victim, retired adult performer Cytherea, was at home with her family in Las Vegas, Nev., when a gang of thugs reportedly kicked in her door, robbed the family at gunpoint, then proceeded to rape her.
And although multiple news outlets carried the story, it received no attention from popular feminist blogs.
“Here you have a woman who’s a real victim of a real rape and a real assault, and those same women who claim they care about women’s rights have done nothing,” Mercedes Carrera stated, who started a charity for Cytherea. “…This is why I’m so pissed off at modern feminists: they claim to care about women but when there are actually women in need, what do they do? #*@$ing radio silence.”
“They don’t [care] about anyone except themselves.”
But why is that? Why do feminists ignore real rape victims like Cytherea to focus instead on rape hoaxes, such as the recent Rolling Stone/University of Virginia controversy? Because the modern feminist movement is not about protecting women: it’s about subjugating men.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The creators of the classic 1980s TV series MacGyver are asking fans to come up with an idea for a similar new show. All you’ll need is a pen and paper, a piece of chewed gum, four paper clips, a strip of duct tape and your Swiss Army knife.
MacGyver, which starred Richard Dean Anderson as a mullet-sporting secret agent with the skills to build complex devices from whatever everyday items he had to hand, ran for seven series from 1985 to 1992. Rather than resort to violence, Angus MacGyver saved the day with science.
Now, the US National Academy of Engineering, the University of Southern California’s Viterbi school of engineering and the MacGyver Foundation are running a competition to create a new show, inspired by MacGyver, but with one significant stipulation: the main character must be a woman.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Swedish Kids’ Video Explains How Babies Are Made
After a Swedish genitals song became a global internet sensation, now the producers of the kids’ show behind it have created an animated video explaining human reproduction.
“All you need is for an egg and a sperm to meet,” a voiceover explains. “And they can meet with the help of a test tube or a jab. Or an adult willy and an adult twinkle can get together and make babies inside the body.”
The 1.43-minute long video also features a nude, animated couple and an animated “sperm race”, accompanied by a sports-commentator style voiceover and interspersed with black-and-white archive footage of swimmers and race horses.
“When sperm meets egg, you get a baby — the best prize anyone can receive,” the video explains.
Just like the genitals song — where the video featured dancing cartoon genitals — the reproduction video, titled That’s How Babies Are Made, will be shown on Swedish Television’s Bacillakuten, meaning the Germ Emergency. The show teaches three- to six-year-olds about the body, health and illnesses.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sharp increase of number of organ transplants coincides with onset of persecution of Falun Gong (Falun Dafa).
This has been going on for decades. Read Harry Wu.
France’s plan to fight “extremism” sounds more like a perfect blueprint for an accelerated rate of dhimmification and submission to the Ummah.